The majestic Mother of God Tower, part of the fortress fortifications of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery in Yaroslavl, rises in the historic center of the city, where Moscow Avenue intersects with the Epiphany Square. It is the first of the monastery's towers, built in 1624 as an extension to the already existing wall. The tower is named after the Nativity of the Mother of God Church, where the monument to Yaroslav the Wise now stands. In pre-revolutionary times, local cab drivers would set up a stand near the tower, among the centuries-old fir trees. The architectural design of the tower later served as the basis for the construction of the Uglich Tower, which has the same square cross-section and arrow-slit windows under a pyramidal roof topped with a gilded flag. Unlike the Uglich Tower, the Mother of God Tower did not have entrance gates, but they were replaced by deep cellars connected to the external space in front of the fortress walls by a network of secret underground passages.