Sigismund's plan of moscow. Engraving by l. Kilian, 1610. Dedicated to king sigismund iii. Moscow, or muscovy, the capital of white rus' (the grand duchy of moscow), ranked by botero among the four largest cities in europe, fourth after constantinople, paris and lisbon. It is divided into four parts. The first, inner, is called kitay-gorod, the second is belgorod, both are surrounded by special walls, the third is skorodum, the fourth is streletskaya sloboda, all are surrounded by an embankment, or polyanka, built of logs and covered with earth, on it are beautiful towers. A horseman can ride around the fortress in three full hours. Almost in the middle of the city, between the moskva and neglinnaya rivers, there is a fortress of the grand duke called tsar-gorod (kremlin), vast and large. It has eighteen temples, built of rubble and stone, with the same number of towers, noticeable because of the gilded roofs, very pleasant to look at. The city temples are partly of brick, the majority of them are wooden, the houses are all wooden. No one is allowed to build of stone or rubble, except for a few of the nobility, and the leading merchants are allowed to build storehouses in their homes - small and low, in which they hide the most valuable things during a fire. The english and dutch and merchants from the hanseatic cities mainly store their goods here, selling fabrics, silk products and incense. The local merchants are very knowledgeable and inclined to trade deals, very roguish, but somewhat more decent and civilized than other inhabitants of this country. Prominent places in the city of moscow: 1 - the fortress of the grand duke called tsar-gorod; 2 - the new chambers of the grand duke; 3 - the church of st. Michael; 4 - the courtyard or chambers or terem of the patriarch; 5 - a building made of brick where the grand duke appears before the people and from where the decrees of the grand duke are announced to the people; 6 - benches and tables from which animal skins and other goods are sold; 7 - the zemsky sobor and prikaz, near which ointments are made; 8 - a courtyard or hotel for foreign ambassadors; 9 - a dungeon for convicts; 10 - artists' shops; 11 - a courtyard or hotel for foreign merchants; 12 - a square where hay and timber are sold; 13 - hot water; 14 - the garden of the grand duke; 15 - poganskoye lake; 16 - the stables of the grand duke; 17 - horse square; 18 - arsenal; 19 - foundry hut; 20 - glinsky's courtyard. Date: 1610.
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