Vi. Alexander Column. Alexander Column (Column of Alexandria) - history, construction, legends The Column of Alexandria weighs

History of creation

This monument supplemented the composition of the Arch of the General Staff, which was dedicated to the victory in the Patriotic War of 1812. The idea for the construction of the monument came from the famous architect Carl Rossi. When planning the space of Palace Square, he believed that a monument should be placed in the center of the square. However, he rejected the proposed idea of ​​installing another equestrian statue of Peter I.

An open competition was officially announced on behalf of Emperor Nicholas I in 1829 with the wording in memory of “ unforgettable brother". Auguste Montferrand responded to this challenge by erecting a grandiose granite obelisk, but this option was rejected by the emperor.

A sketch of that project has been preserved and is currently in the library. Montferrand proposed to erect a huge granite obelisk 25.6 meters (84 feet or 12 fathoms) high on a granite plinth 8.22 meters (27 feet). The obelisk's front face was supposed to be decorated with bas-reliefs depicting the events of the 1812 war in photographs from the famous medallions by the medalist Count F.P. Tolstoy.

On the pedestal it was planned to make the inscription "Blessed - grateful Russia". On the pedestal, the architect saw a rider on a horse trampling a serpent with his feet; a double-headed eagle flies in front of the rider, the goddess of victory follows the rider, crowning him with laurels; the horse is led by two symbolic female figures.

The sketch of the project indicates that the obelisk was supposed to surpass all known monoliths in its height (secretly highlighting the obelisk erected by D. Fontana in front of St. Peter's Cathedral). The artistic part of the project is superbly executed with watercolor technique and testifies to Montferrand's high skill in various areas of visual arts.

Trying to defend his project, the architect acted within the subordination, dedicating his work to Nicholas I “ Plans et details du monument consacré à la mémoire de l'Empereur Alexandre”, But the idea was still rejected and Montferrand was unequivocally pointed to the column as the desired shape of the monument.

Final project

The second project, which was later implemented, consisted in the installation of a column higher than Vendôme (erected in honor of Napoleon's victories). As a source of inspiration, Montferrand was offered Trajan's Column in Rome.

The narrow scope of the project did not allow the architect to escape from the influence of world famous designs, and his new work was only a slight modification of the ideas of his predecessors. The artist expressed his individuality by refusing to use additional decorations, like the bas-reliefs that spirally wrapped around the pivot of Trajan's antique column. Montferrand showed the beauty of a giant polished pink granite monolith 25.6 meters (12 fathoms) high.

In addition, Montferrand made his monument taller than all existing monolithic columns. In this new form, on September 24, 1829, the project without sculptural completion was approved by the sovereign.

Construction was carried out from 1829 to 1834. Since 1831, Count Yu. P. Litta was appointed chairman of the Commission on the Construction of St. Isaac's Cathedral, which was also responsible for the installation of the column.

Preparatory work

After separating the blank, huge stones were cut out of the same rock for the foundation of the monument, the largest of which weighed about 25 thousand poods (more than 400 tons). Their delivery to St. Petersburg was carried out by water, for this a barge of a special design was involved.

The monolith was duped on the spot and prepared for transportation. The ship's engineer, Colonel K.A. Glazyrin, who designed and built a special bot, named "St. Nicholas", with a carrying capacity of up to 65 thousand poods (1100 tons). A special pier was built to carry out loading operations. Loading was carried out from a wooden platform at its end, which coincides in height with the side of the vessel.

Having overcome all the difficulties, the convoy was loaded aboard, and the monolith went to Kronstadt on a barge towed by two steamers to go from there to the Palace Embankment of St. Petersburg.

The central part of the column arrived in St. Petersburg on July 1, 1832. The contractor, the merchant's son V.A.Yakovlev, was responsible for all of the above work, further work was carried out on site under the leadership of O. Montferrand.

Yakovlev's business qualities, extraordinary intelligence and discretion were noted by Montferrand. Most likely he acted on his own, " at your own expense»- assuming all financial and other risks associated with the project. This is indirectly confirmed by the words

Yakovlev's case is over; the upcoming difficult operations concern you; I hope that you will be as successful as he was

Nicholas I, to Auguste Montferrand on the prospects after the unloading of the column to St. Petersburg

Works in St. Petersburg

In 1829, on Palace Square in St. Petersburg, work began on the preparation and construction of the foundation and pedestal of the column. The work was supervised by O. Montferrand.

First, a geological survey of the area was carried out, as a result of which a suitable sandy continent was discovered near the center of the area at a depth of 17 feet (5.2 m). In December 1829, the site for the column was approved, and 1,250 six-meter pine piles were driven into the base. Then the piles were cut under the spirit level, forming a platform for the foundation, according to the original method: the bottom of the pit was filled with water, and the piles were cut at the level of the water table, which ensured the horizontal position of the platform.

The foundation of the monument was built of half-meter thick stone granite blocks. It was brought out to the horizon of the square with plank masonry. A bronze box with coins minted in honor of the victory of 1812 was laid in its center.

The work was completed in October 1830.

Pedestal construction

After laying the foundation, a huge four-hundred-ton monolith was erected on it, brought from the Puterlak quarry, which serves as the base of the pedestal.

The engineering problem of installing such a large monolith was solved by O. Montferrand as follows:

1. Installation of a monolith on a foundation
2. Precise installation of the monolith
   • The ropes, thrown over the blocks, were pulled with nine capstans and raised the stone to a height of about one meter.
   • They took out the rollers and poured a layer of a slippery, very peculiar in its composition solution, on which the monolith was planted.

Since the work was carried out in the winter, I ordered to mix cement with vodka and add a tenth of soap. Due to the fact that the stone initially sat down incorrectly, it had to be moved several times, which was done with the help of only two capstans and with particular ease, of course, thanks to the soap, which I ordered to be mixed into the solution.

O. Montferrand

The setting of the upper parts of the pedestal was a much simpler task - despite the higher lifting height, the subsequent steps consisted of stones of much smaller sizes than the previous ones, and the workers gradually gained experience.

Column installation

The rise of the Alexander Column

As a result, the figure of an angel with a cross, made by the sculptor B. I. Orlovsky with expressive and understandable symbolism, was accepted for execution - “ Win with your sim!". These words are associated with the story of the acquisition of the life-giving cross:

The finishing and polishing of the monument took two years.

Opening of the monument

The opening of the monument took place on August 30 (September 11) of the year and marked the end of the work on the design of the Palace Square. The ceremony was attended by the sovereign, the royal family, the diplomatic corps, the one hundred thousandth Russian army and representatives of the Russian army. It was carried out in an emphatically Orthodox setting and was accompanied by a solemn divine service at the foot of the column, in which the kneeling troops and the emperor himself took part.

This open-air service drew a parallel with the historical prayer service of the Russian troops in Paris on the day of Orthodox Easter on March 29 (April 10) of the year.

It was impossible to look without deep emotional emotion at the sovereign, humbly kneeling in front of this numerous army, moved by his word to the foot of the colossus he had built. He prayed for his brother, and everything at that moment spoke of the earthly glory of this sovereign brother: the monument bearing his name, and the kneeling Russian army, and the people among whom he lived, complacent, accessible to all<…>How amazing at that moment was this opposition of worldly greatness, magnificent, but transient, with the greatness of death, gloomy but unchanging; and how eloquent was this angel in view of the one and the other, who, having nothing to do with everything that surrounded him, stood between earth and sky, belonging to one with his monumental granite, depicting something that is no longer there, and to the other with his radiant cross, a symbol of that always and forever

In honor of this event, in the same year, a memorial ruble was knocked out in a circulation of 15 thousand.

Description of the monument

The Alexander Column resembles samples of the triumphal structures of antiquity; the monument has an amazing clarity of proportions, laconic form, beauty of silhouette.

The text on the plaque of the monument:

Alexander I grateful Russia

It is the tallest monument in the world, made of solid granite and the third highest after the Column of the Great Army in Boulogne-sur-Mer and Trafalgar (Nelson's Column) in London. It is higher than similar monuments in the world: the Vendome Column in Paris, Trajan's Column in Rome and the Pompey Column in Alexandria.

Specifications

South side view

• The total height of the structure is 47.5 m.
  • The height of the trunk (monolithic part) of the column is 25.6 m (12 fathoms).
  • Pedestal height 2.85 m (4 arshins),
  • The height of the angel figure is 4.26 m,
  • The height of the cross is 6.4 m (3 sazhens).
• The lower column diameter is 3.5 m (12 ft), the upper one is 3.15 m (10 ft 6 in.).
• The size of the pedestal is 6.3 × 6.3 m.
• The dimensions of the bas-reliefs are 5.24 × 3.1 m.
• Fence dimensions 16.5 × 16.5 m
• The total weight of the structure is 704 tons.
  • The weight of the stone column of the column is about 600 tons.
  • The total weight of the column top is about 37 tons.

The column itself stands on a granite base without any additional supports, only under the influence of its own gravity.

Pedestal

Column pedestal, front side (facing the Winter Palace). Above - the All-Seeing Eye, in the circle of an oak wreath - the inscription of 1812, under it - laurel garlands, which are held in their paws by two-headed eagles.
On the bas-relief there are two winged female figures holding a board with the inscription to Alexander I grateful Russia, under them are the armor of Russian knights, on both sides of the armor there are figures representing the Vistula and Neman rivers

The pedestal of the column, decorated with bronze bas-reliefs on four sides, was cast at Ch. Byrd's factory in 1833-1834.

A large team of authors worked on the decoration of the pedestal: sketches were made by O. Montferrand, based on them on cardboard artists J.B. Scotti, V. Soloviev, Tverskoy, F. Bryullo, Markov wrote life-size bas-reliefs. Sculptors P.V. Svintsov and I. Leppe sculpted bas-reliefs for casting. Models of double-headed eagles were made by the sculptor I. Leppe, models of the base, garlands and other decorations were made by the ornamentalist E. Balin.

The bas-reliefs on the pedestal of the column in allegorical form glorify the victory of Russian weapons and symbolize the courage of the Russian army.

The bas-reliefs include images of Old Russian chain mail, shishaks and shields stored in the Armory in Moscow, including helmets attributed to Alexander Nevsky and Ermak, as well as the 17th century armor of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, and that, despite Montferrand's assertions, it is quite doubtful that the shield Oleg of the X century, nailed by him to the gates of Constantinople.

These ancient Russian images appeared on the work of the Frenchman Montferrand through the efforts of the then president of the Academy of Arts, a well-known lover of Russian antiquity, A. N. Olenin.

In addition to armor and allegories, allegorical figures are depicted on the pedestal on the northern (obverse) side: winged female figures are holding a rectangular board, on which the inscription in civilian script: "Alexander the First, grateful Russia." An exact copy of the armor samples from the armory is shown under the board.

Symmetrically located figures on the sides of the arms (on the left - a beautiful young woman leaning on an urn, from which water is poured out and on the right - an old Aquarius) personify the Vistula and Neman rivers, which were forced by the Russian army during the pursuit of Napoleon.

Other bas-reliefs depict Victory and Glory, recording the dates of memorable battles, and, in addition, the pedestal depicts the allegories Victory and Peace (the years 1812, 1813 and 1814 are inscribed on the shield of Victory), Justice and Mercy, Wisdom and Abundance ".

On the upper corners of the pedestal there are two-headed eagles, they hold oak garlands in their paws, lying on the ledge of the pedestal cornice. On the front side of the pedestal, above the garland, in the middle - in a circle bordered with an oak wreath, the All-Seeing Eye with the signature "1812".

On all the bas-reliefs, as decorative elements, weapons of a classic character are depicted, which

... does not belong to modern Europe and cannot hurt the pride of any people.

Column and sculpture of an angel

Sculpture of an angel on a cylindrical pedestal

The stone pillar is a one-piece polished piece of pink granite. The column shaft is tapered.

The top of the column is crowned with a bronze Doric capital. Its upper part is a rectangular abacus made of brickwork with bronze cladding. A cylindrical bronze pedestal with a hemispherical top is installed on it, inside which the main support massif is enclosed, consisting of multilayer masonry: granite, brick and two more layers of granite at the base.

Not only is the column itself taller than the Vendome, the figure of an angel is taller than the figure of Napoleon I on the Vendome column. In addition, the angel tramples the snake with a cross, which symbolizes the peace and tranquility that Russia brought to Europe by defeating the Napoleonic troops.

The sculptor gave the facial features of the angel a resemblance to the face of Alexander I. According to other sources, the figure of the angel is a sculptural portrait of the Petersburg poet Elisabeth Kuhlman.

The light figure of an angel, the falling folds of clothing, the clearly defined vertical of the cross, continuing the vertical of the monument, emphasize the slenderness of the column.

Fence and surroundings of the monument

Color photolithography of the 19th century, view from the east, depicting a sentry's booth, fence and candelabra of lanterns

The Alexander Column was surrounded by a decorative bronze fence about 1.5 meters high, designed by Auguste Montferrand. The fence was decorated with 136 double-headed eagles and 12 trophy cannons (4 in the corners and 2 framing double-leaf gates on four sides of the fence), which were crowned with three-headed eagles.

Between them were placed alternating spears and flagstaffs, crowned with guards' double-headed eagles. Locks were hung on the gate of the fence in accordance with the author's plan.

In addition, the project involved the installation of a candelabrum with copper lanterns and gas lighting.

The fence in its original form was installed in 1834, all elements were completely installed in 1836-1837. In the northeastern corner of the fence there was a sentry box, in which there was a disabled person dressed in a full guard uniform, who guarded the monument day and night and kept order on the square.

An end pavement was made throughout the entire space of the Palace Square.

Stories and legends associated with the Alexander Column

Legends

• During the construction of the Alexander Column, rumors circulated that this monolith had turned out by chance in a row of columns for St. Isaac's Cathedral. Allegedly, having received a column longer than necessary, they decided to use this stone on Palace Square.
• The French envoy at the St. Petersburg court reports interesting information about this monument:

Regarding this column, one can recall the proposal made to Emperor Nicholas by the skillful French architect Montferrand, who was present at its excision, transportation and staging, namely: he proposed to the emperor to drill a spiral staircase inside this column and required only two workers for this: a man and a boy with a hammer, a chisel and a basket in which the boy would carry out the fragments of granite as he drilled it; finally, two lanterns to illuminate the workers in their difficult work. In 10 years, he argued, the worker and the boy (the latter, of course, would grow a little) would have finished their spiral staircase; but the emperor, justly proud of the construction of this one-of-a-kind monument, feared, and perhaps thoroughly, that this drilling would not pierce the outer sides of the column, and therefore rejected this proposal.

Baron P. de Burgoen, French envoy from 1828 to 1832

Completion and restoration works

Two years after the installation of the monument, in 1836, white-gray spots began to appear on the polished surface of the stone under the bronze topping of the granite column, spoiling the appearance of the monument.

In 1841, Nicholas I ordered an inspection of the flaws noticed on the column at that time, but the conclusion of the survey stated that even during the processing, granite crystals partially crumbled in the form of small depressions, which are perceived as cracks.

In 1861, Alexander II established the "Committee for the Investigation of Damage to the Alexander Column", which included scientists and architects. Scaffolding was erected for inspection, as a result of which the committee came to the conclusion that, indeed, the column contains cracks originally characteristic of the monolith, but it was feared that an increase in their number and size "could cause the column to collapse."

Discussions were going on about the materials that should be used to seal these cavities. The Russian "grandfather of chemistry" A. A. Voskresensky proposed a composition "which was supposed to give the covering mass" and "thanks to which the crack in the Alexander column was stopped and closed with complete success" ( D. I. Mendeleev).

For regular inspection of the column, four chains were fixed on the abacus of the capitals - fasteners for lifting the cradle; in addition, the craftsmen had to periodically “climb” the monument to clean the stone from stains, which was not an easy task, given the great height of the column.

The decorative lanterns at the column were made 40 years after the opening - in 1876 by the architect K. K. Rachau.

From the moment of its opening until the end of the 20th century, the column has undergone five cosmetic restoration works.

After the events of 1917, the space around the monument was changed, and for the holidays the angel was covered with a red-painted canvas cap or masked with balloons launched from a hovering airship.

The fence was dismantled and re-melted into cartridge cases in the 1930s.

The restoration was carried out in 1963 (foreman N. N. Reshetov, the work was supervised by the restorer I. G. Black).

In 1977, restoration work was carried out on Palace Square: historical lanterns were restored around the column, the asphalt pavement was replaced with granite and diabase paving stones.

Engineering and restoration work at the beginning of the XXI century

Metal scaffolding around the column during the restoration period

At the end of the 20th century, after a certain time had passed since the previous restoration, the need for serious restoration work and, first of all, a detailed study of the monument began to be felt more and more acutely. The prologue to the beginning of the work was the activities for the study of the column. They were forced to produce on the recommendation of specialists from the Museum of Urban Sculpture. The specialists were alarmed by large cracks at the top of the column, visible through binoculars. The inspection was carried out from helicopters and climbers, who in 1991, for the first time in the history of the St. Petersburg restoration school, landed a research "trooper" at the top of the column using a special fire hydrant "Magirus Deutz".

Having secured themselves at the top, the climbers took photographs and videos of the sculpture. The conclusion was made about the need for urgent restoration work.

The restoration was financed by the Moscow association Hazer International Rus. Intarsia was chosen to carry out works on the monument worth 19.5 million rubles; this choice was made due to the presence in the organization of personnel with extensive experience in such important facilities. L. Kakabadze, K. Efimov, A. Poshekhonov, P. Portuguese were involved in the work at the facility. The work was supervised by the restorer of the first category V.G. Sorin.

By the fall of 2002, the scaffolding was erected and the restorers carried out research on site. Almost all the bronze elements of the pommel were in disrepair: everything was covered with a "wild patina", the "bronze disease" began to develop fragmentarily, the cylinder on which the figure of the angel rested cracked and took a barrel-shaped shape. The internal cavities of the monument were examined using a flexible three-meter endoscope. As a result, the restorers also managed to establish what the overall structure of the monument looks like and to determine the differences between the original project and its real implementation.

One of the results of the study was the solution to the emerging spots in the upper part of the column: they turned out to be a product of the destruction of brickwork, flowing out.

Carrying out works

Years of rainy St. Petersburg weather resulted in the following destruction of the monument:

• The brickwork of the abacus was completely destroyed; at the time of the study, the initial stage of its deformation was recorded.
• Inside the cylindrical pedestal of the angel, up to 3 tons of water accumulated, which got inside through dozens of cracks and holes in the sculpture's shell. This water, seeping down into the pedestal and freezing in winter, tore apart the cylinder, giving it a barrel-shaped shape.

The restorers were assigned the following tasks:

1. Get rid of water:
   • Remove water from the cavities of the pommel;
   • Prevent water accumulation in the future;
2. Restore the structure of the abacus support.

The work was carried out mainly in winter at high altitudes without dismantling the sculpture, both outside and inside the structure. Control over the work was carried out by both specialized and non-core structures, including the administration of St. Petersburg.

The restorers carried out work to create a drainage system for the monument: as a result, all cavities of the monument were connected, as a "chimney" used a cross cavity about 15.5 meters high. The created drainage system provides for the removal of all moisture, including condensation.

The brick surcharge of the tops of the abacus was replaced by granite, self-wedging structures without binding agents. Thus, the original plan of Montferrand was again realized. The bronze surfaces of the monument were protected by patinating.

In addition, more than 50 fragments left from the siege of Leningrad were recovered from the monument.

The forests were removed from the monument in March 2003.

Fence repair

... “jewelry work” was carried out and during the reconstruction of the fence “iconographic materials, old photographs were used”. "Palace Square received the finishing touch."

Vera Dementieva, Chairman of the Committee for State Control, Use and Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments

The fence was made according to a project carried out in 1993 by the Lenproektrestavratsiya Institute. The work was financed from the city budget, the costs amounted to 14 million 700 thousand rubles. The historical fence of the monument was restored by the specialists of Intarsia LLC. Installation of the fence began on November 18, and the grand opening took place on January 24, 2004.

Soon after the opening, part of the grating was stolen as a result of two "raids" of vandals - hunters for non-ferrous metals.

The theft was not prevented, despite the 24-hour video surveillance cameras on the Palace Square: they did not record anything in the dark. To monitor the area at night, you need to use special expensive cameras. The leadership of the St. Petersburg GUVD decided to establish a round-the-clock police post near the Alexander Column.

Roller around the column

At the end of March 2008, an examination of the condition of the column fence was carried out, a defective statement was drawn up for all losses of elements. It recorded:

• 53 places of deformation,
• 83 lost parts
  • Loss of 24 small eagles and one large eagle,
  • 31 partial loss of parts.

• 28 eagles
• 26 peak.

The disappearance did not receive an explanation from the St. Petersburg officials and was not commented on by the organizers of the skating rink.

The skating rink organizers committed themselves to the city administration to restore the lost elements of the fence. The work was to begin after the May 2008 holidays.

References in art

Album cover "Love" of the rock group DDT

The column is also depicted on the cover of the album "Lemur of the Nine" by the St. Petersburg group "Refawn".

Column in literature

• "The Pillar of Alexandria" is mentioned in the famous poem by Alexander Pushkin "". The Alexandrian pillar of Pushkin is a complex image, it contains not only a monument to Alexander I, but also an allusion to the obelisks of Alexandria and Horace. At the first publication, the name "Alexandria" was replaced by VA Zhukovsky out of fear of censorship for "Napoleons" (meaning the Vendôme column).

In addition, contemporaries attributed the couplet to Pushkin:

Everything breathes with military craft in Russia
And the angel makes a cross on guard

Commemorative coin

On September 25, 2009, the Bank of Russia issued a commemorative 25-ruble coin dedicated to the 175th anniversary of the Alexander Column in St. Petersburg. The coin is made of 925 sterling silver with a circulation of 1000 pieces and weighing 169.00 grams. http://www.cbr.ru/bank-notes_coins/base_of_memorable_coins/coins1.asp?cat_num=5115-0052

Notes (edit)

1. On October 14, 2009, the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation issued an order on securing the rights of operational management of the Alexander Column
2. Alexander Column "Science and Life"
3. According to the encyclopedia of St. Petersburg on spbin.ru, construction began in 1830
4. Yuri Epatko Knight of Malta against the background of the Alexander Column, St. Petersburg Gazette, No. 122 (2512), July 7, 2001
5. As described in ESBE.
6. Architectural and artistic monuments of Leningrad. - L.: "Art", 1982.
7. Less common but more detailed description:

   1,440 guardsmen, 60 non-commissioned officers, 300 sailors with 15 non-commissioned officers of the guards crew and officers from the guards sappers were seconded

8. Win with your sim!
9. Alexander Column on skyhotels.ru
10. Auction page numizma.ru for the sale of commemorative coins
11. Auction page wolmar.ru for the sale of commemorative coins
12. After crossing the Vistula, there was practically nothing left of the Napoleonic troops.
13. The crossing of the Nemunas was the expulsion of the Napoleonic armies from the territory of Russia.
14. In this remark, the tragedy of trampling on the national feelings of the Frenchman, who had to erect a monument to the winner of his fatherland

The lines of the great poet Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin given below are known to almost everyone.

“I have erected a monument to myself not made by hands,

The folk path will not grow to it,

He ascended the head of the rebellious

Of the Alexandrian pillar ".

Of course, today it is difficult to say what the author's idea was when he wrote this work. However, most of the historians are sure that the poet was referring to the very Pillar of Alexandria, which stands on Palace Square and is one of the attractions of St. Petersburg. This amazing creation is admired by our contemporaries, so it is easy to imagine what a significant event was the installation of this monument dedicated to the victory over Napoleon. It seems that the history of the Pillar of Alexandria cannot have dark spots, because the monument was created only about two hundred years ago. However, apart from the official version of its manufacture and installation, as well as small hand-drawn albums, which give a very vague idea of ​​the technology of the nineteenth century, nothing has survived. Surprisingly, during the construction of St. Petersburg, architects created incredibly accurate maps, and construction technologies were described in specialized documentation. But the history of the creation of the Pillar of Alexandria is devoid of such details, and on closer look, it is not at all replete with joints and outright blunders. All this gives historians a lot of reasons to doubt the official version of the appearance of the monument. It is overgrown with myths and legends, which we will definitely mention today, not forgetting to tell about the official version.

Attractions of St. Petersburg: the Alexandrian pillar

All guests of the Northern capital strive to see this monument. However, in order to fully appreciate the skill of its creators, you need to throw your head back in order to see the very top of the column. It bears the figure of an angel with a cross and a snake at his feet, which is an allegory symbolizing the victory of Alexander I over the army of Napoleon.

The dimensions of the Pillar of Alexandria are truly impressive. Many of our contemporaries with technical knowledge claim that it may take decades to create such a creation today. And in order to install a column on a pedestal, it will not be enough for two days. And this is taking into account the fact that workers have a huge number of machines and various installations that facilitate the work. How all this was possible in the first half of the nineteenth century is a real mystery.

The weight of the Alexandrian pillar is six hundred tons, and another hundred tons weighs the base on which the column is installed, made of rare pink granite. It had the beautiful name "rapakivi" and was mined only in the Vyborg region in the Puterlak quarry. It is noteworthy that the column was cut from a single piece of granite. According to some reports, its original weight exceeded one thousand tons.

The height of the Pillar of Alexandria is forty-seven and a half meters. To the pride of Russian masters, it should be noted that the column significantly exceeds all similar structures in the world. The photo below shows Trajan's Columns in Rome, Pompeii in Alexandria and the Vendôme Column in Paris, compared to the monument on Palace Square. This drawing alone gives an idea of ​​this miracle of engineering, which delights all tourists without exception.

The angel installed on the top is six and four tenths of a meter high, and its base is almost three meters. The figure was installed on the column after it had taken its place on the square. The Alexandrian pillar, which seems absolutely incredible, is not fixed on its pedestal in any way. The engineers made all the calculations so accurately that the column has stood firmly without any fasteners for almost two hundred years. Some tourists tell. that if you throw your head back near the monument and stand like that for ten minutes, you will notice how the top of the pillar is swinging.

Connoisseurs of the history of St. Petersburg argue that the Pillar of Alexandria on Palace Square might not have appeared. Since the project of the monument was not approved by the emperor for a long time. In the end, his sketch was approved, and then the material from which it was planned to create this masterpiece.

Prehistory of the appearance of the column

The world-renowned Carl Rossi was responsible for planning the space of Palace Square. He became the ideological inspirer of the creation of the monument, which would become the main decoration of this place. Rossi himself made several sketches of the future structure, but none of them formed the basis of the monument. The only thing that was taken from the architect's ideas is the height of the monument. Karl Rossi wisely believed that the structure should be very high. Otherwise, it will simply not be a single ensemble with the General Staff.

Nicholas I had great respect for Rossi's advice, but decided to dispose of the free space of the square in his own way. He announced a competition for the best design of the monument. The authors' imagination was not limited to anything, the only nuance was the observance of the thematic focus. Nicholas I set out to perpetuate his ancestor, who managed to defeat the French.

The emperor had to look through a huge number of projects, but the most interesting were the works of Auguste Montferrand. He proposed to create a granite obelisk on which bas-reliefs depicting scenes of military battles will be placed. However, it was this project that the emperor rejected. He became interested in the Vendome Column, erected by the Parisians in honor of Napoleon. Therefore, it is quite symbolic that the defeat of the French army was also supposed to perpetuate the column, but a taller and more unusual one.

The architect listened to the wishes of Nicholas I and created a project for the building, which at that time became the tallest in the world. After some adjustments in the twenty-ninth year of the nineteenth century, the project for the Pillar of Alexandria was approved and signed. You could get to work.

The first stage of the creation of the monument

The history of the Pillar of Alexandria in St. Petersburg began with the choice of material. Since it was supposed to cut the column out of a single piece of granite, Montferrand had to go to study the quarries in order to choose a suitable place for the extraction of such a massive block. After some time of searching, the architect decided to send his workers to the Puterlak quarry in Finland. It was there that there was a rock of a suitable size, about which it was planned to split off a huge block.

In the twenty-ninth year, in the northern capital, they began to create the foundation of the Alexandrian pillar on the Palace Square. A year later, work began on the extraction of granite in the quarries. They lasted two years, and about four hundred workers took part in this process. According to official sources, they worked day and night in shifts. And the technology of stone mining was developed by a young self-taught Samson Sukhanov. It is still unknown how exactly a block was chipped off the rock, which was later used to make the column. Not a single official document has survived, where the technology would have been described in the slightest detail. In the albums of Montferrand it is written only that the piece of granite exceeded one thousand tons. He was chipped off with the help of some kind of long crowbars and levers. Then the monolith was turned over and a huge piece was cut off from it for the foundation.

It took another six months to process the lump. All this was done by hand with the simplest tools. We advise readers to remember this fact, since in the future we will return to it and consider it a little from the other side. The almost finished Pillar of Alexandria was ready for the trip to St. Petersburg. It was decided to do it with water, and for a difficult journey it was necessary to build a special ship that combined in its design all the innovative technologies of that time. At the same time, a pier was being built in the northern capital, ready to receive an unusual ship and its cargo. The plan of the architect was to roll the column to the square immediately after unloading the column over a special wooden bridge.

Delivery of a monolithic column

Very little is known about how the loading and unloading of the monument took place. Official sources describe this unique process very sparingly. If you trust the albums of Montferrand and the fragmentary information of the ship's captain, then the convoy was loaded above the waterline and almost safely taken to St. Petersburg. The only unpleasant event was a storm, which rocked the ship and almost threw the monument into the water. However, the captain, with great efforts, managed to personally secure the precious cargo.

Another incident occurred at the time of the unloading of the column. Under it, the logs laid down for movement along the pier sagged and cracked. One end of the column almost fell into the water, but they managed to hold it back by the ropes passed from below in time. The monument was kept in this position for two days. During this time, a messenger was sent to the neighboring garrison with a request for help. About four hundred soldiers, in the incredible heat, were able to overcome the forty-kilometer distance separating them from the pier in four hours and with joint efforts saved the six hundred ton column.

A few words about the pedestal

While the granite block was being mined in Finland in St. Petersburg, work was underway to prepare the foundation for the pedestal and the column itself. For this, geological exploration was carried out on the Palace Square. She identified deposits of sandstone, where it was planned to start digging a pit. It is interesting, but visually, it seems to all tourists that the Pillar of Alexandria is located exactly in the middle of the square. However, in reality this is not the case. The column was installed a little closer to the Winter Palace than to the General Staff.

While working on the foundation pit, the workers came across already installed piles. As it turned out, they were dug into the ground at the behest of Rastrelli, who planned to erect a monument here. It is surprising that seventy years later, the architect was able to choose the same location. The dug hole was filled with water, but more than a thousand piles were previously driven into it. To position them correctly relative to the horizon, the piles were cut exactly along the mirror of the water. The workers then proceeded to lay the foundation, which consisted of several granite blocks. A pedestal weighing four hundred tons was erected on it.

Fearing that the lump would not be able to immediately stand up as needed, the architect came up with and applied an unusual solution. He added vodka and soap to the traditional mixture. As a result, the block was moved several times. Montferrand wrote that this was done quite easily with only a few technical devices.

Column installation

In the middle of the summer of the thirty-second year of the nineteenth century, the builders came to the final stage of the creation of the monument. They were faced with perhaps the most difficult task in all the past years - to roll the monolith to its destination and put it upright.

To bring this idea to life, a complex engineering structure had to be erected. It included scaffolding, levers, beams and other devices. According to the official version, almost the whole city gathered to see the installation of the column, even the emperor himself and his entourage came to look at this miracle.

About three thousand people took part in raising the column, who were able to do all the work in one hour and forty-five minutes.

The end of the work was marked by a loud, delighted cry that escaped from the lips of all those present. The emperor himself was very pleased with the architect's work and declared that the monument had immortalized its creator.

The final stage of work

It took Montferrand two more years to decorate the monument. He "dressed" in bas-reliefs and received other elements that make up a single ensemble of decor. This stage of work did not cause any complaints from the emperor. However, the sculptural composition that completes the column became a real stumbling block between the architect and Nicholas I.

Montferrand planned to put a huge cross entwined with a snake at the top of the column. The sculpture had to be turned towards the Winter Palace, on which all members of the imperial family especially insisted. In parallel, projects and other compositions were created. Among them were angels in different poses, Alexander Nevsky, a cross on a sphere, and similar sculptures. The last word in this matter remained with the emperor, he inclined in favor of the figure of an angel with a cross. However, it also had to be redone several times.

According to the idea of ​​Nicholas I, the face of an angel was supposed to have the features of Alexander I, but the snake not only symbolized Napoleon, but also visually resembled him. It's hard to say how readable this similarity is. Many experts claim that the face of an angel was molded with one of the famous women of that time, while others still see him as a victorious emperor. In any case, the monument has reliably kept this secret for two hundred years.

Inauguration of the monument

In August 1934, a monument was opened in honor of the victory of the Russian people over the French troops. The event was held on a truly imperial scale.

For the audience, stands were built in advance, which did not stand out from the general style of the palace ensemble. The service, held at the foot of the monument, was attended by all the important guests, the army and even foreign ambassadors. Then a military parade was held on the square, after which mass festivities began in the city.

Myths, legends and interesting facts

The history of the Pillar of Alexandria would be incomplete without mentioning various rumors and facts associated with it.

Few people know that a whole box with gold coins is laid in the foundation of the monument. There is also a commemorative plaque with an inscription made by Montferrand. These items are still kept at the base of the column and will remain there as long as the monument stands on the pedestal.

Initially, the architect planned to cut through columns of stairs inside. He suggested that the emperor use two people for this purpose. They were supposed to complete the work in ten years. But due to fears for the integrity of the column, Nicholas I abandoned this idea.

Interestingly, the inhabitants of the city were very distrustful of the Alexandrian pillar. They feared his fall and bypassed the Palace Square. To convince them, Montferrand began to walk here every day and over time, the monument turned into the favorite place of the guests of the capital and its residents.

At the end of the nineteenth century, a rumor spread through the city about a mysterious letter that literally burns on a column at night. With the onset of dawn, she disappears and reappears at dusk. The townspeople were worried and came up with the most incredible explanations for this phenomenon. But everything turned out to be extremely prosaic - the letter from the name of the manufacturer of the lanterns that surrounded the fence near the pedestal was simply reflected on the smooth surface of the column.

One of the most widespread legend about the Pillar of Alexandria is the story of the inscription on its top. It was applied on the night after the flight into space of Yuri Gagarin and glorified him. Who managed to climb to such a height is still unknown.

Unofficial version of the appearance of the monument

This is the subject of the most fierce debate. Particularly meticulous and attentive archaeologists, historians and architects have carefully studied the official version of the construction of the monument and found a huge number of inconsistencies in it. We will not list all of them. Whichever of the readers is interested, he will be able to find such information. And we will tell only about the most obvious of them.

For example, experts question the very fact of raising the column in less than two hours. The fact is that not so long ago in Astana, the lifting and installation of the largest tent in the world took place. It weighed 1,500 tons and the process took about two days. At the same time, the most modern machines and technologies were used. After that, it seems strange how Russian craftsmen could do something similar by hand.

The production of the column itself raises even more questions. Many believe that even modern technology could not help our contemporaries create such a miracle. Since the monument was carved from a single block, it is impossible even to imagine what kind of technology was used by the masters. At the moment, nothing of the kind exists. Moreover, authoritative experts argue that even in two hundred years we could not have created something similar to the Pillar of Alexandria. Therefore, the stories about the manual extraction of a block, its movement and processing to an ideal state seem to people who are versed in working with a stone, just fabulously funny.

In addition, the biographies of the chief architect and inventor of the stone processing technology, the technical characteristics of the ship that delivered the monolith, completely different pictures depicting the column created by Montferrand, and many other nuances raise questions.

It is not for nothing that the great Pushkin immortalized this monument in his work. After all, all the information about it requires careful study, but it is already clear that before scientists, in the form of a well-known structure, is the greatest of the nineteenth-century mysteries.

Alexander Column (Column of Alexandria)

It is not only the world famous symbol of St. Petersburg, but the tallest free-standing triumphal column in the world (its total height is 47.5 m). That is, the column, carved out of a monolithic piece of granite, is not fixed in any way - it is held on the pedestal exclusively under its own weight, which is over 600 tons.

The foundation of the monument was built of half-meter thick stone granite blocks. It was brought out to the horizon of the square with plank masonry. A bronze box with coins minted in honor of the victory of 1812 was laid in its center.

The Alexander Column was designed by the architect Henri Louis Auguste Ricard de Montferrand, a native of France, who was called August Avgustovich in Russia. Created at the turn of the epochs, Montferrand determined the paths of further development of Russian architecture - from classicism to eclecticism.

A ready-made column was installed on the square in front of the Winter Palace in 1832 by two thousand soldiers. In this case, manual labor and ropes were used.

After the "Pillar of Alexandria" stood on the pedestal, a thunderous "Hurray!"

Over the next two years, the monument was being finalized.

The column was completed with an allegorical figure of an angel who tramples a serpent with a cross. Its light figure, flowing folds of clothing, strict vertical line of the cross emphasize the slenderness of the column. The author of the statue is sculptor Boris Ivanovich Orlovsky.

And what is interesting is that the monument on Palace Square, originally dedicated to the victory of Russia over Napoleon in the Patriotic War of 1812, began almost immediately to be perceived as a monument to the founding of the Russian state. This happened also thanks to the pedestal.

Alexander Column

The pedestal of the monument is decorated with bronze bas-reliefs depicting allegorical figures and military armor.

On three bas-reliefs there are allegories of Peace, Justice, Wisdom, Abundance and images of military armor. The armor reminds of the military glory of the Russian people and the era of Rurik and the era of the Romanovs. Here is the shield of the prophetic Oleg, which he nailed to the gates of Constantinople-Constantinople, the helmet of the hero of the Battle of the Ice, the faithful prince Alexander Nevsky, and the helmet of the conqueror of Siberia Ermak, the armor of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov.

The pedestal is topped with bronze garlands supported by double-headed eagles.

The base of the column is decorated in the form of a laurel wreath. After all, the winners are traditionally crowned with a wreath.

On the bas-relief, facing the Winter Palace, two figures are symmetrically placed - a woman and an old man. They personify the rivers Vistula and Neman. These two rivers were crossed by the Russian army during the pursuit of Napoleon.

On August 30, 1834, the inauguration of the Alexander Column took place on Palace Square in St. Petersburg. August 30 was not chosen by chance. Since the time of Peter I, this day has been celebrated as the Day of the Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky - the heavenly defender of St. Petersburg. On this day, Peter I concluded "eternal peace with Sweden", on this day the relics of Alexander Nevsky were transferred from Vladimir to St. Petersburg. That is why the angel crowning the Alexander Column has always been perceived primarily as a protector.

The memory of this event of the poet Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky is preserved: “No pen can describe the greatness of that minute when three cannon shots suddenly from all the streets, as if from the ground, in slender masses, with drumming thunder, to the sounds of the Paris march went the columns of the Russian army ... This splendor, the only spectacle in the world, lasted for two hours. In the evening, noisy crowds roamed the streets of the illuminated city for a long time, finally, the lights went out, the streets were empty, a majestic colossus with its sentry remained on the deserted square.

By the way, even then a legend arose that this very sentry - an angel crowning the column - bears a portrait resemblance to the Emperor Alexander I. And it did not arise by chance. The sculptor Orlovsky had to redo the sculpture of an angel several times before Nicholas I liked it. According to Orlovsky, the emperor wanted the face of the angel to resemble Alexander I, and the head of the snake, trampled by the cross of the angel, must certainly resemble the face of Napoleon.

Imitating his grandmother, Catherine II, who inscribed on the pedestal of the Bronze Horseman "Peter I - Catherine II", and his father, who wrote "Great-grandfather - great-grandson" on the monument to Peter I near the Mikhailovsky Castle, Nikolai Pavlovich in official papers called the new monument "Pillar of Nicholas I - to Alexander I. " By the way, it was the monument to Peter I at the Mikhailovsky Castle, made during the reign of Elizaveta Petrovna, that was once planned to be installed in the center of Palace Square.

According to legend, after the opening of the column, Petersburgers were very afraid that it would fall and tried not to approach it. And, they say, then the architect Montferrand made it a rule to walk every morning with his beloved dog right under the pillar, which he did almost until his death.

Nevertheless, the townspeople fell in love with the monument. And, naturally, around the pillar, as one of the symbols of the city, its own mythology began to take shape. And, of course, the monument began to be perceived as a natural dominant of the main square of the city and a symbol of the entire Russian Empire.

And the angel crowning the Alexander Column was primarily a protector and guardian for the townspeople. The angel seemed to be guarding and blessing the city and its inhabitants.

But it was the angel, the guardian angel, who became the reason for the more than amazing events that unfolded around the Alexander Column. These are little-known pages. So, only chance saved the monument in 1917. Here, on Palace Square, they wanted to establish the country's main churchyard. To knock down the column, as a monument to tsarism, and arrange a number of memorial graves along the Winter Palace.

But it turned out that it was not so easy to fold the 600-ton column. The government moved to Moscow in the spring of 1918 to save from further projects of transforming the main square of the city and the empire into a cemetery. The idea of ​​creating a churchyard in the center of the capital, which did not take place in Petrograd, was implemented on Red Square, the first throne, near the Kremlin wall.

But the most incredible events unfolded in 1924 after the death of Lenin.

On November 11, 1924, the Leningrad authorities made a decision “On the reconstruction of the so-called Alexander Column, erected by the architect Montferrand and standing in the middle of Uritsky Square, and erecting on it, instead of the now standing figure of an angel with a cross, a statue of the Great Leader of the proletariat, Comrade Lenin ... ". Uritsky Square is the renamed Palace Square. Only the People's Commissar for Education A.V. Lunacharsky managed to convincingly prove to the city authorities the absurdity of the idea of ​​placing Lenin on the Alexander Column.

The angel remained standing on the world's largest (among this kind of monuments) "Pillar of Alexandria", as A.S. Pushkin. The last time he was attempted in 1952. There was a series of massive Stalinist renaming: the Stalin district appeared in the city, Moskovsky Prospekt became Stalinsky. On this wave, the idea arose to install a bust of Joseph Stalin in our column. But - did not have time.

6. Egyptian obelisk, serpent column, Gothic column, knightly statue of Emperor Justinian, the name of Moscow Let's return to the Egyptian veneer of Thutmes III, which we described above. It can be seen even today in Istanbul, not far from the Hagia Sophia, on the square where once