Alexander Column in St. Petersburg: brief description, history, photo

Many sights of St. Petersburg cause admiration of tourists . The Alexander Column occupies a special place among them. Many of those who come to the northern capital of Russia, go first of all to the Palace Square. It is here that the Alexander Column is located in St. Petersburg. It is one of the most famous monuments of this city. This building in Empire style was erected in the center of the Palace Square in 1834. The architect is O. Montferrand. The Alexander Column in St. Petersburg was built by the decree of Nicholas I. It is a tribute to the memory of a very important victory for Russia and the whole world over Napoleon Alexander I. Below is the Alexander Column in St. Petersburg (photo taken several years ago).

The idea of Carlo Rossi

This monument complements the composition dedicated to the victory in the war of 1812 by the Arch of the General Staff. Carlo Rossi, the famous architect, gave the idea of building a monument. He believed that in the center of the Palace Square should be placed a monument. Rossi rejected the idea of installing another statue of Peter the Great on horseback. He wanted to see something else.

The original Montferrand project

Not immediately there was an idea, which was later realized as the Alexander Column in St. Petersburg. Let us briefly describe the initial project proposed to the emperor. In 1829, an officially opened competition was announced. He was approached by Auguste Montferrand with his project of erecting a grandiose granite obelisk. However, the emperor considered that the Alexander Column in St. Petersburg should look somewhat different. A brief description of the original project can be made on the basis of its excise, which has survived. The architect proposed to install a granite obelisk, whose height is 25.6 m, on a granite basement. It was also planned to decorate the face of this obelisk with bas-reliefs depicting the events of the war of 1812. The architect saw on a pedestal a rider on a horse, who tramples a snake with his feet. The double-headed eagle is flying ahead of him. The goddess of victory follows the rider, crowning him with laurels. Two female figures lead the horse.

Effects of previous samples and the individuality of the project

The second project, implemented later, consisted in the installation of a column, the height of which exceeds the one erected in honor of the victories of Napoleon Vandome, installed on the square of the same name. Auguste Montferrand was offered as a source of inspiration to the Roman Column of Trajan. The narrow framework of this project did not allow the architect to escape from the influence of samples known to the whole world. Only a small modification of the ideas of his predecessors became the Alexander Column in St. Petersburg. The description of it, however, would not be quite accurate, if we did not mention the originality of this monument. In it, Montferrand expressed his own individuality, refusing to use in the building additional decorations, such as bas-reliefs, twisting the spiral column of the Trajan column. The architect preferred to show the beauty of polished pink granite. 25.6 m is the height of the Alexander Column in St. Petersburg. Montferran made its monument above all existing. In 1829, on September 24, the project was approved by the sovereign in this new form, without sculptural completion. In the period from 1829 to 1834 construction was carried out.

Extraction of stone for the future column

A rock was used for the main part of the column (granite monolith). Her sculptor planned earlier in his previous trips to Finland. In the years 1830-32. The extraction and preliminary processing of the rock in the Pyuterlak quarry, located between Friedrichsgam and Vyborg, was carried out. By the method of Sukhanov these works were carried out. V. A. Yakovlev and S. V. Kolodkin supervised the production. After examining the rock, the stonemasons confirmed the suitability of this material, they cut off the prism from it, much larger than the future column. Giant devices were used for this: huge gates and levers in order to move a huge boulder from its place and then to tilt it onto a resilient and soft litter of spruce lapnik. From the same rock, after the separation of the workpiece, huge stones were cut down for the foundation of the monument. The largest of them weighed more than 400 tons.

Delivery of stone and columns to St. Petersburg

It was very difficult at that time to realize such a grandiose project as the Alexander Column in St. Petersburg. Interesting facts are connected not only with the extraction of stone, but also with its transportation. By water, the parts of the future column were delivered to St. Petersburg. Barca special design was involved for this. The very monolith was deceived on the spot, after which it was prepared for transportation. Colonel Glasin, a ship engineer, was involved in transportation issues. He designed and then built a special bot called "Saint Nicholas". Its carrying capacity reached 1100 tons. A special pier was built to carry out loading operations. From the wooden platform loading was carried out. The column was loaded on board, after which the monolith was sent to Kronstadt, towed by two steamships, and then to St. Petersburg to Dvortsovaya Embankment. In 1832, on July 1, the central part of the future column arrived in St. Petersburg - an important event that marked the history of the Alexander Column in St. Petersburg.

The foundation of the column

On the Palace Square from 1829, work began on the construction of a pedestal and a foundation. They were led by Montferran, the architect of the Alexander Column in St. Petersburg. First of all, they conducted geological exploration of the nearest terrain. The sandy continent was discovered at a depth of 5.2 m not far from the center of the square. The place for the column was approved in 1829. 1250 six-meter pine piles were slaughtered under its base. Then they were cut to the spirit level. Thus, it turned out a platform for the foundation on which the Alexander Column was to stand in St. Petersburg. A brief description of the foundation is as follows. It consists of stone granite blocks half a meter thick. The foundation laying of the foundation lay to the horizon of the square. The bronze casket with the coins minted in honor of the victory in the war of 1812 was laid in its center. The work was completed in 1830, in October. The artist G. Gagarin captured on his canvas how to build the Alexander Column in St. Petersburg.

Column enclosure

A new stage was the installation of a 400-ton monolith on the foundation. This monolith serves as the basis of the pedestal. At that time, of course, it was not easy to install such a heavy stone on the foundation. But we coped with this task. In 1832, by July, the pedestal was completed, and the column monolith was on its way. Now the most difficult task was to install a column on the pedestal. The original lifting system was designed by A. A. Betancourt in December 1830. To do this, we needed scaffolding with a height of 47 meters, 60 cabins, and a block system.

The column on an inclined plane was driven to a special platform, located at the foot of the forest. After that it was wrapped in rings of ropes with attached blocks to them. At the top of the forest was another system of blocks. A large number of ropes that encircled the stone were wound with free ends in the capstans placed on the square. The Emperor, together with the whole imperial family, came to the summit. On the Palace Square, to bring the Betancourt columns to the vertical position, it took 400 workers and 2,000 soldiers to install a monolith within 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Establishing a statue on top of a column

After the installation, it was necessary only to fix the decor elements and bas-relief plates on the pedestal, and also polish the column. In September 1830, in parallel with the construction of the column, Montferrand also worked on a statue that was to crown it. It was to be turned, according to the wishes of Nicholas I, to the Winter Palace. The cross in the original project was completed by a cross, which was wrapped around a snake. Sculptors of the Academy of Fine Arts, in addition, offered several variants of angels with a cross. As a result, the figure executed by Boris I. Orlovsky was adopted for execution. Two years of polishing and finishing the monument.

Inauguration of the monument

In 1834, August 30, work on the Palace Square was completed. The Emperor and his family, the diplomatic corps, representatives of the Russian army and a 100,000-strong Russian army attended the opening ceremony. In the Orthodox entourage it was carried out. The solemn divine service performed at the foot of the column accompanied the opening. In honor of the opening of this monument a memorable ruble was issued, with a circulation of 15,000 coins.

Description of the monument

Samples of triumphal structures of the times of antiquity resemble the Alexander Column in St. Petersburg, a photo of which is presented in this article. The amazing beauty of the silhouette, laconicism of form, the clarity of proportions is this monument. It is the highest in the world, created from solid granite. The monument is crowned by the figure of an angel performed by Boris Orlovsky. He holds in his left hand a four-pointed Latin cross and raises his right hand to the sky. The angel's head is tilted, his gaze is fixed on the ground. His figure, according to the original design of Montferrand, was to rely on a steel rod. However, it was later removed. When in 2002-2003 the restoration was carried out, it became clear that the angel is kept at the expense of his own weight. The features of his face were likened to Tsar Alexander I. The angel tramples a snake cross, which symbolizes the peace and peace that Russia brought to Europe by a victory over the troops of Napoleon. Slender columns emphasize the light figure of the angel, as well as the vertical of the cross, which continues the vertical of the monument.

Bronze fence

The Alexander Column in St. Petersburg is surrounded by a bronze fence, which was designed by O. Montferrand. Its height is about 1.5 m. It was installed in 1834, and completely all the elements - in 1836-1837. The guard house was built in the northeast corner of the building. In it was a disabled, dressed in a guards uniform. He guarded such an important monument day and night as the Alexander Column in St. Petersburg, and also watched the order on the Palace Square.