Alexander Column
From
the creator of the marvelous St. Isaac's Cathedral came this monument
to the Russian military victory in the war with Napoleon's France. Named
after Emperor Alexander I, who ruled Russia between 1801 and 1825 (during
the Napoleonic Wars), the column is a terrific piece of architecture
and engineering.
The Alexander Column (Aleksandrovskaia Kolonna ), the focal point of
Palace Square, was designed by the French-born architect Auguste de
Montferrand and built between 1830 and 1834. The monument is 155 feet
8 inches tall and is topped with a statue of an angel holding a cross
(the face of the angel is said to be modeled on the face of Emperor
Alexander I). The body of the column is made of a single monolith of
red granite, which stands 83 feet 6 inches high and about 11 feet 5
inches in diameter. It is a terrific feat of engineering that this enormous
column, weighing an incredible 1,322,760 pounds (600 tons), was erected
in under 2 hours without the aid of modern cranes and engineering machines.
The pedestal of the Alexander Column is decorated with symbols of military
glory. The monument is particularly impressive on a sunny evening shortly
before dusk, when the last beams of sunlight are reflected in the polished
red granite of the column.
Monument to Peter the Great
In the
20th century a new square was developed on the site where Dance Square
was previously situated. In 1991, a new memorial was erected on this
square in the name of the city's founder Peter the Great. The memorial
was created by Leningrad artist Mikhail Shemyakin and donated to the
city.
The unfamiliar and mysterious Emperor who reminds one of a criminal
awaiting his execution in the electric chair is comfortably arranged
in a large bronze chair with armrests, and seemingly ready to jump out
of his chair and remind all around him that he is the ruler of his country.
Indeed, the sculpture seems to bring out the most contradictory feelings
in the viewer, and in spite of its relatively young age the sculpture
is already the object of much city folklore. In fact, the citizens of
the city have come to name the monument "Bronze Stay-at-Home"
and "Peter IV" which refers to the fact that it is the fourth
monument to Peter the Great in the city. It also does not seem to bare
any resemblance to the original and therefore it is called "the
fourth."
Over time St. Petersburg citizens have grown to love the memorial. Arguments
about the monument have died down, and curiously enough city traditions
have grown up around the monument. For example, the bronze on Peter
the Great's hands and legs shines brightly and therefore it seems that
everyone wants to touch the memorial for good luck and also lay flowers
at the feet of the monument, especially the young people of the St.
Petersburg.
ST. PETERSBURG
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