The Kalyazin Bell Tower is a Neoclassical campanile rising to a height of 74.5 metres (244 ft) over the waters of the Uglich Reservoir on the Volga River opposite the old town of Kalyazin.
The steepled belfry was built in 1796-1800 as part of the Monastery of St. Nicholas with a pentacupolar katholikon dating from 1694.[1] Of its 12 bells, the largest weighed some 1038 poods. It was cast in 1895 to commemorate the coronation of Nicholas II of Russia.[2]
When Joseph Stalin ordered the construction of the Uglich Reservoir in 1939, the old part of Kalyazin, including several medieval structures, was swallowed by the waves. The katholikon was dismantled, whilst the belfry was left sticking above the water.[1]
As the structure became the main object of touristic interest in the east of Tver Oblast, an islet was shored up underneath. It has a small pier for boats. A divine service is held in the belfry several times a year.