There are architectural monuments that do not need a detailed introduction. One of them is the Alexander Column of St. Petersburg. However, what do we know about her?
Tsar Nicholas I said to the creator of the Alexander Column, the architect Auguste Montferrand: "You have immortalized yourself!", And this is absolutely true, because he created a real masterpiece. The amazing clarity of the lines, the beauty of the silhouette and the laconicism of the form are still admired by connoisseurs of architecture.
The Alexander Column is a landmark of the Palace Square in St. Petersburg, a monumental structure worthy of every attention. We can say that this is a monument to creative thought and ingenuity, because it was very difficult to build something like that in those days.
There is no longer a taller monument of solid granite in the world, and its size is second only to the French Column of the Great Army and the English Column of Nelson. It consists of the tallest and heaviest monolith ever erected in the world in the form of an obelisk.
It was created by the architect Auguste Montferrand, at the top of the column is the figure of an angel by the Russian sculptor Boris Orlovsky. The pedestal of the column is a bronze casting, which was made at the factory of Charles Byrd, a Russian breeder of Scottish descent. The casting was made according to Montferrand's drawings, and it depicts scenes from battles glorifying the Russian army, starting with Prince Oleg and ending with the Russian Tsar Alexander I.
The history of the creation of the Alexander Column
The idea for the construction of the column was submitted by the architect Carl Rossi - he believed that the Palace Square should be decorated with some kind of monument. Emperor Nicholas I announced a competition in memory of the war of 1812 and in honor of the elder brother of Alexander I, the winner of Napoleon. The work of the French architect Auguste Montferrand was presented to the competition, among others, and it became the winner.
In 1829 the project was approved and the construction of the column began. Montferrand found near Vyborg material suitable for the construction of such a huge monument, and with great difficulty the granite block was delivered to St. Petersburg. One has only to imagine the size of this stone, even if the base for the column weighed 400 tons! To bring a huge block of granite to the square, a special barge was built, and a lot of various devices to load and unload it from it.
The history of the construction of the column is a whole epic, during which hundreds of tricks had to be invented. Moreover, the work was supervised by the emperor himself. The Alexander Column was opened on September 11, 1834, in the presence of a huge number of people. Eyewitnesses wrote that it was impossible without tears to look at the 100 thousand soldiers who knelt in front of the monument to Alexander, and at Nicholas I, who also knelt and prayed for his brother's soul.
Excursions around the Palace Square
If you want to take a look at the Alexander Column, you can simply walk along the Palace Square. For this, there are also numerous excursions that can be booked on many sites. Individual offers are also interesting:
- Groups of friends from 2 people
- Couples with children
- Couples without children
- Excursions for one tourist
- Gift tours for friends and family
The time of visiting the square, the schedule of excursions, the price and duration - everything is discussed individually. The best hours for such walks are in the morning, when there are few people on the square, and you can see everything without haste and fuss. The address, as you might have guessed: St. Petersburg, Palace Square.
