Buildings collapsed in Sibiu, including the city's Catholic church. Constantinople and neighboring provinces also suffered extensive damage. Initially, it was thought that Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, had been completely destroyed. A letter from Petrovaradin described particular devastation in the Galata district, Topkapı Palace, the Hagia Sophia and the Edirne bazaar. The main shock and subsequent aftershocks lasted up to 30 minutes. At 1:30 p.m., violent tremors were felt in what is now Ukraine. The aftershocks, six in total, lasted three minutes and were so strong that masonry buildings in Kiev and Lviv were shaken and the city bells began to ring. The Gentleman's Magazine reported damage in Moscow: "the walls were cracked, the windows were shattered and vaults fell". Anatolie Drumea, an academic from Chișinău, wrote in a letter that a nanny was walking a little boy in a stroller in the courtyard of the Lomonosov University library when, at 1:53 p.m., "the statues began to fall" and the stone benches were overturned. The boy was the future Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. Intensity Restoration of Bucharest After the earthquake, Constantine Ypsilantis ordered the immediate restoration of Bucharest. To prevent masons and craftsmen from profiting from the disaster, he set maximum wages for their work. Bucharest was rebuilt within a few years, although some buildings and structures were never restored to their pre-earthquake state. Several earthquakes occurred in subsequent years, but they caused comparatively little damage. One, on 15 June 1803, affected Bucharest's water system and rendered many pumps unusable. Three other major earthquakes occurred in 1804 and 1812. See also 1986 Vrancea earthquake 1977 Vrancea earthquake 1940 Vrancea earthquake List of earthquakes in Vrancea County References Earthquakes in Romania Vrancea earthquake Earthquakes in Moldova 1802 earthquakes Earthquakes in Ukraine Disasters in Bucharest October 1802 events 1802 disasters in Europe