Monument to Nicholas I at St. Isaac's Square in St. Petersburg

The monument to Nicholas I is one of the most significant sculptural structures of St. Petersburg. It is located on one of the main squares of the northern capital and serves as its magnificent decoration. Recalling the externally famous "Bronze Horseman", he, nevertheless, has its original features, first of all, from the engineering and technical point of view, and also differs from it in appearance.

general characteristics

The monument to Nicholas I was erected on the initiative of his successor and son Alexander II. The author was O. Montferrand, or rather, the latter designed the composition and created a pedestal, and the figure of the emperor was invented and cast by P. Klodt. Casting and creation lasted three years, and the opening took place in 1859. At its construction valuable materials, for example the Italian marble were used. Originally, the sculptor planned to make the figure of the ruler on a calmly standing horse, but this project was rejected by Montferrand, who wanted to join in the composition two parts of the square, which were solved in different architectural styles. As a result, the monument to Nicholas I acquired the species that exists now. The emperor sits on a horse in motion, which is contrasted with the calm figure of the rider.

Location:

The sculptural composition is located on the square between the St. Isaac's Cathedral and the Mariinsky Theater. It is on the same axis as the famous "Bronze Horseman", which is a kind of allegory: it is known that during his lifetime the emperor strove to imitate Peter I, and this arrangement, obviously, should emphasize this continuity in politics. However, it should also take into account the fact that the creators sought to turn the area into a single cultural and archaeological ensemble, and for this they decided to put the monument in this place. For the final design of the space in the indicated place, a monument to Nicholas I on the Isaakievskaya Square was erected. St. Petersburg, thus, was decorated with another sculptural composition, dedicated to one of the emperors.

Appearance

At first glance, the new composition is very similar to the famous statue of Peter I, whom Nikolai Pavlovitch really wanted to emulate during his reign. That is why the composition has explicit references to this monument, but at the same time it differs from it. First of all, this refers to the rider's position. On the first composition the king is depicted in dynamics: he sits with an outstretched hand, his body is directed forward, and the turn of the head symbolizes the aspiration to the future. The monument to Nicholas I, on the contrary, represents it calm and majestic, which is also emphasized by the main pedestal on which the figure is located. The king himself is represented in the uniform of the Horse Regiment, which also emphasizes the official character of the sculpture, while the "Bronze Horseman" was more symbolic. It was carried out in the spirit of enlightenment ideals and was to signify the victory of reason and the progressive nature of Peter's reforms. But the monument to Nicholas I on St. Isaac's Square personified the power and grandeur of the imperial power. This fully corresponded to the spirit of the government of this king, who cared about the strengthening of absolutism.

Decoration

Separately, it should be said about the allegorical images located on the pedestal of the monument. First of all, these are four female figures that symbolize strength, wisdom, justice and faith. Their faces are portraits of the empress and daughters of this king. The author of them is R. Zaleman. Between the two figures is a coat of arms. We should also mention the bas-reliefs that depict the most significant events of the reign of Nicholas: the Decembrist uprising, the cholera riot, the awarding of Speransky for the publication of the code of laws and the opening of the railway bridge by the emperor. Three bas-reliefs were executed by Romazanov, one - Zaleman. At first the monument to Nicholas I on St. Isaac's Square in St. Petersburg did not have a fence, but later it was added.

Technical advantages

Sculpture is unique from an engineering point of view. The fact is that the statue stands on the pedestal, relying only on two points - these are the hind legs of the horse. It was the only structure of its kind in Europe. A similar design was used only in the US when erecting the sculpture of E. Jackson. Initially, it was assumed that the monument to Nicholas I in St. Petersburg is stable due to the fact that a metal shot was put in the statue of the horse in order to weight the fulcrum. However, during the restoration work in the Soviet era, nothing like this was found. It turned out that the construction is stable due to special heavy metal bars, which were ordered by the sculptor at one of the best factories.

The further destiny

In Soviet times, the question arose about demolishing a monument to Nicholas I at St. Isaac's Square in St. Petersburg. Instead, it was planned to put a sculpture of one leader of the Red Army: Frunze or Budyonny. However, when discussing the issue, it was important that the design was unique from a technical point of view, and that it would be very difficult to dismantle it, and therefore decided to leave the structure. Subsequently, they also rejected the project to replace it with another structure. Only the fence was removed, which, however, was restored after a while.

Value

The monument, made in neo-baroque style, became really a link in the whole square. The fact is that on it are several buildings made in different styles, and the project was called to create some harmony and unity in this space. This composition is distinguished simultaneously by its lightness, dynamism and at the same time it is characterized by monumentality, majesty, calm solemnity. Such a successful combination of several different architectural features allowed the composition to become the final element on the square. In addition, a clear resemblance to the "Bronze Horseman" is a kind of reference to the previous structures, which should have linked the whole cultural space of the place to a single whole. This task was completely solved by the creators of the new project.

Monument to St. Nicholas I in St. Petersburg, whose address - St. Isaac's Square (from the station "Admiralteyskaya", along Morskaya Street), has become a very successful architectural decision of its author to complete the overall appearance of not only this place, but the whole city as a whole. It is known that it is one of the most visited attractions due to the composition, so because of the beautiful lanterns around it.