The main dominant of the ensemble is the Assumption Cathedral — the oldest building in the city.[1] The Church was built in 1508–1512 on the site of its white-stone predecessors of the 12th-13th centuries. The gorgeous volume of the cathedral, covered by keel-shaped zakomars, is crowned by a powerful five-domed construction. The internal six-column structure of the building is revealed by pilasters of a large take-out on facades.

Most of the extant buildings of the Kremlin were built much later than the cathedral, mainly during the reign of Metropolitan Jonas Sysoevitch [ru] (1652-1690), who had a significant influence on the formation of the artistic appearance of these structures. Thus, according to his plan, around 1682, a belfry was built to the South-East of the cathedral. At the same time, Moscow masters Philip and Cyprian Andreev cast two huge bells for the belfry: "Polyeleine" in 1000 poods and "Swan" in 500 poods. Later, in 1688, the master Flor Terentyev cast a large bell of 2000 poods, named "Sysoy", in the memory of the father of Metropolitan Jonas. Especially for this bell an additional tower-like building was constructed and adjoined the Northern facade of the belfry. It has a complete set of 15 original bells.[2]

The construction of the central part of the Kremlin ensemble began with the formation of the main courtyard, which was surrounded mainly by the religious and administrative buildings. One of the first buildings constructed here in the 1650s – 1660s was the two-story edifice of the Judicial Office, which, in addition to judicial functions, was in many ways the center of the general administration of the diocese. Around 1670, the Church of the Resurrection with two flanking fortress towers on its Northern facade was constructed close to the Judicial Office building. This complex was designed main entrance to the Metropolitan courtyard - the Holy gate. The appearance of the Church of the Resurrection is also striking by the contrasting combination of the harsh, almost unadorned top of the temple with the lower part, which is abundantly decorated with various brick patterns, multicolored tiles, and a large picturesque kiot.

On the other side of the Central courtyard stands a large building of Metropolitan chambers, constructed under Metropolitan Jonas in about 1650s — early 1670s. From the very beginning, it was intended for the residence of the Metropolitan, as well as for the storage of his treasury. Part of the premises was occupied by the Exchequer, which oversaw all financial affairs of the diocese. Until the end of the 17th century the building remained two-story, in the 18th century, the third floor was added, and at the end of the same century it has received a new decor in the spirit of classicism. Now only the ornamental belt, typical for the second half of the 17th century, and the narrow windows of the first floor, restored by restorers in the 1920s, remind of the ancient appearance of the structure.

 Metropolitan Chambers (on the left) and Red Chamber (on the right). Rostov Kremlin. 2018

There is a complex of the Royal Apartments or, as it is also called, the "Red Chamber", which were constructed in 1670 – 1680. The building has a picturesque layout of volumes, each of which is completed with a special steep roof. A magnificent porch topped with two tents gives even more picturesqueness to the Royal chambers.

The complex of the Church of the Saviour of the Holy Image (later — the Saviour by the Porch) was built behind the Metropolitan chambers around 1675. A bakery and the other administrative offices were situated on the ground floor, and at the first: the Church of the Saviour of the Porch, a large dining room, porch between them, and otdatochnye chambers (storage of kitchen utensils) which was adjacent to the Northern façade of the building and was dismantled in 1778. The Church of the Saviour was the home church of Metropolitan Jonas. Its slender volume, crowned with a gilded head on a drum of complicated shape, dominates the surrounding buildings.

 White Chamber. Rostov Kremlin. 2020

The Dining or White chamber has a traditional for the 16th-17th centuries single-column design. The interior is well lit by wide windows decorated with the so-called "hanging stone". Here, Metropolitan Jonas has arranged a festive meal.

During the 1670s – 1680s the fortress walls and towers of the Metropolitan residence were built. The masters provided them with all the attributes of a fortress structure the loopholes of the plantar, oblique, and upper battle. However, the richness of the decorative decoration of the towers, which, like ordinary chambers, have wide windows with platbands, indicate that the fortress from the very beginning had no military significance. Undoubtedly, it was intended to demonstrate the greatness of the Rostov diocese, one of the largest in Russia. At the same time different buildings of the household yard were constructed. Storerooms, brewery, and drying room were housed in buildings situated between the Watery and Wood-burning Towers. And on the other side of the Wood-burning Tower – kitchen and pastry shop. The architectural decoration of all these structures is very modest. Thus the hierarchically subordinate position of household buildings in the overall artistic whole of the ensemble was emphasized.

One of the last Kremlin buildings of the time of Metropolitan Jonas was the gate church of John the Theologian (1683). This is perhaps the most perfect work of the Ionian masters. All the best of the experience gained during the years of construction of the metropolitan residence, found a brilliant embodiment in this wonderful monument. The Church of St. John the Theologian looks more elegant and festive than the churches of the Kremlin that preceded it. There is no longer a contrast between the richly decorated bottom and the severe, almost ascetic top of the temple in its appearance.

 Red Chamber (on the left), Church of St. John the Divine and Church of Odigitria (on the right), Rostov Kremlin. 2018

A completely different architectural treatment has the Church of Gregory the Theologian (1680s), which is a part of the Grigoriev Monastery, that was attributed or completely dependent on the Metropolitan. At first glance, the Church of Gregory the Theologian with its multi-pitched completion and five-domed structure is close to other Kremlin churches. But there are no either an arcature-columnar belt, or a tile one, or rich platbands in its decoration. That had to underline the ascetic essence of the monastery life.

The last independent building of the Rostov Kremlin was the Church of Hodigitria, which construction has started in 1692 and was completed in 1693. It has received the features of the "Moscow Baroque" style, which was widespread in the late 17th-early 18th centuries. But unlike most of the buildings in this architectural trend, the Church of Hodigitria looks much more modest. The masters did everything to harmoniously fit it into the already established ensemble.

At the end of the seventeenth century a large Stable Yard was built for the Metropolitan residence, which included residential and domestic sections as well as stalls for the horses. This is the earliest surviving Russian building of this kind.

So, by the end of the 17th century, the formation of the Bishop's court was almost completed. All its various structures were combined in a rare picturesque, but at the same time surprisingly harmonious ensemble. The unity and noble restraint of the color scheme gave it a special spirituality. White with a slightly pinkish tinge color of the stone walls was peculiarly combined with the silvery, almost black color of the plank roofs and the dull luster of the tinned coating of the heads and crosses. The picture was completed by a magnificent garden laid out in the central courtyard with a wide pond, which resembled a garden of paradise.[3] And the ensemble as a whole, according to the plan of Metropolitan Jonas,[4] was supposed to remind the "pure river of life" which proceeded out of the throne of God and of the Lamb" (Rev. 22.1) in the heavenly city, and the apple trees of the "tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month" (Rev. 22. 2).

On the South to the Central part of the Rostov Kremlin the Metropolitan garden is situated. Initially, it was an integral part of the Metropolitan residence. it was built under Metropolitan Jonas, at the end of the 17th century, when the formation of the Rostov Kremlin ensemble was completed. The inventory of 1701 shows that the garden had "a length of fifty-five fathoms, a length of three hundred fathoms, and in it trees of Apple, pear, cherry, and other garden trees".[5]

Several changes took place in the appearance of the Kremlin over the next three centuries. In 1754 new Holy Gate was built in the outer wall near the Assumption Cathedral in the place of the old one. At approximately the same time most of the Kremlin towers acquired elaborately shaped Baroque spires instead of the earlier tent-shaped ones. At the end of the 18th century the Metropolitan Chambers were rebuilt in the classical style.

In 1787 the decision to move the Episcopal see from Rostov to Yaroslavl was made, and the Rostov Metropolitan residence lost its function, was left without attention, and gradually became dilapidated. The buildings of the ensemble were occupied by various departments as warehouses and there were no services in the temples of the ensemble. In the first part of the 19th century the upper tier of the Сlock Tower was demolished. In the 19th and early 20th century trading booths were set up by the outer wall near the Assumption Cathedral.

However, thanks to the enlightened Rostov merchants, the architectural complex was restored at their expense in the 1860s and 1880s. On the initiative of A. A. Titov and I. A. Shlyakov, the Rostov Museum of Church antiquities was opened in the White chamber of the Kremlin in October 1883. In 1886, the Kremlin was taken under its patronage by the heir to the Imperial throne, the future Emperor Nicholas II. In 1910, the State Duma legislated the all-Russian status of the Museum, deciding to release money from the Treasury for its maintenance.[6]

In 1953 many monuments of the ensemble were damaged because of the tornado. Emergency restoration work of individual objects of the Rostov Kremlin turned into a scientific restoration to recreate the original appearance of the entire ensemble. The work was supervised by the outstanding restorer V. S. Banige, who arrived in Rostov almost immediately after the tornado. In 1957, restoration work was completed on most of the sites.[7] As the result the most of the monuments regained something very closely to their original appearance.[8]

Since 1960 Rostov Kremlin became one of the key attractions of the tourist route through the ancient Russian cities of Central Russia "Golden ring"[9]

In the late 1990s, the garden was reconstructed. Its cross-shaped layout and species composition corresponds to the Metropolitan garden of the end of the 17th century.[10] This is the only reconstructed medieval garden of the Bishop's residence in Russia. In the Northern part of the garden, a Bosket marks the plan of the cell building of the Grigoriev monastery that existed here in ancient times. the remains of this building were discovered by archaeologists.