The Alexander Column is one of the most famous monuments of St.
Petersburg. It is often erroneously called the Pillar of Alexandria,
after Pushkin's poem "Monument". Erected in 1834 by order of Emperor
Nicholas I in honor of the victory of his elder brother, Emperor
Alexander I over Napoleon. Style - Empire. Installed in the center of
Palace Square, in front of the Winter Palace. The architect was Auguste
Montferrand.
The monument is made of solid red granite. Its total
height is 47.5 m. The top of the column is decorated with the figure of
an angel of peace, cast in bronze. It stands on a hemisphere, also made
of bronze. In the left hand of the angel is a cross with which he
tramples the snake, he stretches his right hand to the sky. In the face
of an angel, the features of Emperor Alexander I slip through. The
height of the angel is 4.2 m, the height of the cross is 6.3 m. The
column is mounted on a granite pedestal. It is noteworthy that it stands
without additional supports, only under the influence of its own
gravity. The pedestal is decorated with bronze bas-reliefs. On the side
that faces the palace, there is an inscription: "Alexander I. Grateful
Russia."
Under these words, one can see ancient Russian weapons
and figures symbolizing Peace and Victory, Mercy and Justice, Abundance
and Wisdom. On the sides there are 2 allegorical figures: Vistula - in
the form of a young girl and Neman - in the form of an old Aquarius. At
the corners of the pedestal there are double-headed eagles, with laurel
branches clamped in their claws. In the middle, in an oak wreath, the
All-Seeing Eye is depicted.
The stone for the column was taken
from the Piterlak quarry in Finland. This is one of the world's largest
granite monoliths. It weights more than 600 tons.
The work was
fraught with enormous difficulties. First of all, it was necessary to
very carefully separate a solid granite piece of the required size from
the rock. Then, right there on the spot, this mass was trimmed, giving
it the shape of a column. Transportation was carried out by water on a
specially built vessel.
At the same time, in St. Petersburg, on
Palace Square, the foundation was being created. 1250 pine piles were
driven to a depth of 36 m, and on them, to equalize the area, hewn
blocks of granite were laid. Then the largest block was placed as the
basis for the pedestal. This task was carried out at the cost of
enormous effort and a large number of mechanical devices. When the
foundation was laid, there was a hard frost, and for better setting,
vodka was added to the cement mortar. In the middle of the foundation
was placed a bronze box with coins that were minted in honor of the
victory of 1812.
It seems that the column represents the exact
center of the Palace Square. However, this is not the case: it is
installed 140 meters from the arch of the General Staff Building and 100
meters from the Winter Palace. It was extremely difficult to set up the
column itself. Scaffolding up to 22 sazhens high was built on 2 sides of
the pedestal. On an inclined plane, the column was rolled onto a special
platform and wrapped with rope rings, to which blocks were attached.
Appropriate blocks were also installed at the top of the scaffolding.
On August 30, 1832, the column was raised. Emperor Nicholas I and
his family arrived at Palace Square. Many people came to watch this
action. The people crowded into the square, at the windows and on the
roof of the General Staff Building. 2000 soldiers grabbed the ropes.
Slowly, the column rose and hung in the air, after which the ropes were
given away, and the granite block quietly and accurately sank onto the
pedestal. A loud “Hurray!” swept across the square, and the sovereign,
inspired by success, said to the architect: “Montferrand, you have
immortalized yourself!”
After 2 years, the last decoration of the
column was completed, and in the presence of the emperor and the
100,000th army, a consecration ceremony was performed.
The idea of creating a monument to Alexander I, crowned with the
figure of an angel (Alexander's family nickname is known: "our Angel")
was first proposed by Friedrich Wilhelm IV during his stay in St.
Petersburg. The famous architect Carl Rossi, who erected the General
Staff building and completed the Palace Square ensemble, also proposed
to place a monument in the center of the square (however, he did not
reject the idea of installing another equestrian statue of Peter I).
An open competition for the creation of the monument was officially
announced on behalf of Emperor Nicholas I in 1829 with the wording in
memory of the "unforgettable brother". Auguste Montferrand responded to
this competition with a project to erect a grandiose granite obelisk.
Taking into account the size of the square, Montferrand did not consider
options for a sculptural monument, realizing that, not having a colossal
size, he would simply be lost in her ensemble.
A sketch of that
project has been preserved and is in the library of the Institute of
Railway Engineers, it has no date, according to Nikitin, the project
dates back to the first half of 1829. Montferrand proposed to install a
granite obelisk similar to the ancient Egyptian obelisks on a granite
plinth. The total height of the monument was 33.78 meters. The front
face was supposed to be decorated with bas-reliefs depicting the events
of the war of 1812 in photographs from the famous medallions made by the
medalist Count F. P. Tolstoy.
On the pedestal, it was planned to
carry out the inscription "Blessed - grateful Russia." On the pedestal,
the architect placed bas-reliefs (the author of which was the same
Tolstoy) depicting Alexander in the form of a Roman soldier on a horse
trampling a snake under his feet; a double-headed eagle flies ahead 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 the world with its height. The artistic part of
the project is excellently done in watercolor technique and testifies to
the high skill of Montferrand in various areas of fine art. The project
itself was also made "with great skill."
Trying to defend his
project, the architect acted within the chain of command, dedicating his
essay “Plans et details du monument consacré à la mémoire de l'Empereur
Alexandre” to Nicholas I, but the idea was still rejected and
Montferrand was unequivocally pointed to the column as the desired form
monument.
The second project, which was subsequently implemented, was to
install a column higher than the Vendôme column (erected in Paris in
honor of Napoleon's victories). As sources for his project, Montferrand
used the columns of Trajan and Antoninus in Rome, Pompey in Alexandria,
and also the Vendôme.
The narrow scope of the project did not
allow the architect to escape the influence of world-famous examples,
and his new work was only a slight modification of the ideas of his
predecessors. Montferrand abandoned the use of additional decorations,
such as bas-reliefs spirally wrapping around the rod of the ancient
Trajan column, since, according to him, contemporary artists could not
compete with the ancient masters, and settled on a version of the column
with a smooth rod made of a giant polished pink granite monolith 25.6
meters high (12 sazhens). The bottom diameter of the column is 3.66 m
(12 ft) and the top diameter is 3.19 m (10 ft 6 in). He copied the
pedestal and base almost unchanged from Trajan's column.
Together
with the pedestal and crowning sculpture, the height of the monument was
47.5 m - higher than all existing monolithic columns. In a new form, on
September 24, 1829, the project without sculptural completion was
approved by the emperor. A few days later, Montferrand was appointed
builder of the column.
Construction was carried out from 1829 to
1834. Since 1831, Count Yu. P. Litta was appointed chairman of the
"Commission for the construction of St. Isaac's Cathedral", which was
also responsible for the installation of the column.
For the granite monolith - the main part of the column - a rock was
used, which the sculptor outlined during his previous trips to Finland.
Mining and preliminary processing were carried out in 1830-1832 in the
Pyuterlak quarry, which was located in the Vyborg province (modern
village of Pyuterlahti (Virolahti community), Finland). These works were
carried out according to the method of S. K. Sukhanov, the production
was supervised by masters S. V. Kolodkin and V. A. Yakovlev.
After the masons, having examined the rock, confirmed the suitability of
the material, a prism was cut off from it, much larger than the future
column. Huge levers and gates were used to move the block from its place
and overturn it on a soft and elastic bedding of spruce branches 4
meters thick. Since the construction of the monument was carried out by
the commission for the construction of St. Isaac's Cathedral, the
methods of extraction and delivery of material for the column were the
same as for the columns of the cathedral, but the weight of the blanks
was much greater: the final weight of the main part of the column was
613 tons against 114 tons of the column of St. Isaac's Cathedral.
After separating the blank of the column, stones for the foundation
of the monument and a large stone under the pedestal of the column
weighing about 25 thousand pounds (more than 400 tons) were cut out of
the same rock. Their delivery to St. Petersburg was carried out by
water, for this a special design barge was involved.
The monolith
(the main part of the column) was duped on site and prepared for
transportation. Ship engineer Colonel K. A. Glazyrin, who designed and
built a special boat - a barge for the delivery of the column, named
"Saint Nicholas", with a carrying capacity of up to 65 thousand pounds
(~ 1100 tons), was engaged in transportation issues. To perform loading
operations, a pier and a pier were built (its dimensions are 50 × 40 m).
The loading of the column onto the boat was carried out from a wooden
platform at the end of the pier, coinciding in height with the ship's
side.
Having overcome all the difficulties, the column was loaded
on board, and the monolith went to Kronstadt on a barge towed by two
steamers, in order to go from there to the Palace Embankment of St.
Petersburg.
The arrival of the main part of the column in St.
Petersburg took place on July 1, 1832. The contractor, the merchant's
son V.A. Yakovlev, was responsible for all the listed works, further
work was carried out on the spot under the guidance of O. Montferrand.
The rise of the column to the pedestal took place on August 30, 1832 -
on the name day of Alexander I.
Since 1829, on Palace Square in St. Petersburg, work began on the
preparation and construction of the foundation and pedestal of the
column. O. Montferrand supervised the work.
First, a geological
survey of the area was carried out, as a result of which, near the
center of the area, at a depth of 17 feet (5.2 m), a suitable sandy
"mainland" (subsoil, non-fill, non-alluvial earth) was found. In
December 1829, the place for the column was approved and a pit measuring
14 × 14 fathoms and a depth of 2 fathoms (1 fathom is approximately
equal to 2.13 meters) was dug out under the foundation of granite
blocks. The work was carried out in November and December 1829. Water
continuously entered the pit, which was pumped out. According to
archival data, 1,102 pointed new piles were driven in, 6.36 m long, at
least 26 cm thick, and 4.26 m deep, and also used 99 old ones found when
digging a foundation pit (a total of 1,250 pine piles were driven). The
pile driving was carried out by the Betancourt pile driver, the driving
work was completed on March 15, 1830. Then the bottom of the pit was
filled with water and the piles were cut off, counting the height from
the water level. This method was proposed by Betancourt. Earlier, when
laying the foundation of St. Isaac's Cathedral, the water was left to
freeze.
The foundation of the monument was built from stone
granite blocks half a meter thick. It was brought out to the horizon of
the square with a plank masonry. In its center was laid a bronze box
with coins minted in honor of the victory of 1812.
The work was
completed in October 1830.
After laying the foundation, a huge four-hundred-ton monolith was
hoisted onto it, hewn and taken out of the Letzarma area, which is five
miles from Pyuterlax, which serves as the base of the pedestal. To
install the monolith on the foundation, a platform was built, on which
it was pumped using rollers along an inclined plane. The stone was
dumped on a heap of sand, which had previously been poured next to the
platform.
“At the same time, the earth trembled so much that the
eyewitnesses - passers-by who were on the square at that moment, felt,
as it were, an underground shock.”
After the supports were placed
under the monolith, the workers removed the sand and placed rollers. The
props were cut, and the block sank onto the rollers. The stone was
rolled onto the foundation and accurately installed. The ropes, thrown
over the blocks, were pulled by nine capstans and raised the stone to a
height of about one meter. They took out the rollers and added a layer
of slippery solution, very peculiar in its composition, on which they
planted a monolith.
Since the work was carried out in winter, I
ordered to mix cement with vodka and add a tenth of soap. Due to the
fact that the stone initially sat 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
greater height of the rise, the subsequent steps consisted of stones of
much smaller sizes than the previous ones, moreover, the workers
gradually gained experience. The remaining parts of the pedestal (hewn
granite blocks) were installed on the plinth with mortar and fastened
with steel brackets.
By July 1832, the column monolith was on the way, and the pedestal
had already been completed. It's time to start the most difficult task -
placing the column on the pedestal.
On the basis of the
developments of Lieutenant General A. A. Betancourt for the installation
of the columns of St. Isaac's Cathedral in December 1830, an original
lifting system was designed. It included: scaffolding 22 fathoms (47
meters) high, 60 capstans and a system of blocks. At the finished brick
pedestal, a temporary array was laid out to the mark of the base of the
column (10 m from ground level) for the installation of scaffolding. The
system of scaffolding differed from that of St. Isaac only in that the
bushes collected from the racks were of different heights and larger
sections (maximum - 45 x 45 cm).
On an inclined plane, the column
was rolled up to a special platform located at the foot of the
scaffolding and wrapped around with many rings of ropes to which blocks
were attached;
Another system of blocks was at the top of the
scaffolding;
A large number of ropes, encircling the stone, went
around the upper and lower blocks and were wound with free ends on
capstans placed on the square.
At the end of all preparations,
the day of the solemn rise was appointed.
On August 30, 1832,
masses of people gathered to watch this event: they occupied the entire
square, the windows and roof of the General Staff Building were also
occupied by spectators. The sovereign and the entire imperial family
came to the raising.
To bring the column to a vertical position
on Palace Square, it was necessary to attract the forces of 2,000
soldiers and 400 workers[16], who installed the monolith in 1 hour and
45 minutes.
The block of stone rose obliquely, slowly crawled,
then broke away from the ground and was brought to a position above the
pedestal. On command, the ropes were released, the column smoothly
lowered and took its place. The people shouted loudly "Hurrah!" The
sovereign himself was very pleased with the successful completion of the
case.
After the installation of the column, it remained to fix the
bas-relief plates and decorative elements on the pedestal, as well as to
complete the final processing and polishing of the column. The column
was crowned with a Roman-Doric bronze capital of commensurate
proportions and with clearly traced details with a rectangular abacus
lined with brick and lined with bronze. A bronze cylindrical pedestal
with a hemispherical top was installed on it. Models for the
architectural decoration of capitals, bases, garlands, profiles were
made by the sculptor Balin.
In parallel with the construction of
the column, in September 1830, O. Montferrand worked on a statue that
was supposed to be placed above it and, according to the wishes of
Nicholas I, facing the Winter Palace. In the original project, the
column was completed by a cross wrapped around with a snake to decorate
the fasteners. In addition, the sculptors of the Academy of Arts
proposed several options for the compositions of the figures of angels
and virtues with a cross. There was a variant with the installation of
the figure of the Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky.
As a result, the
figure of an angel with a cross was accepted for execution, made by the
sculptor B. I. Orlovsky with expressive and understandable symbolism for
everyone - “You will conquer this!”.
The height of the sculpture,
together with the cross, is 6.4 m, its proportions in relation to the
column, according to Nikitin, are more successful than the proportions
of the sculptural completions of the columns that served as a model for
Montferrand.
Finishing and polishing of the monument lasted two
years.
The opening of the monument took place on August 30 (September 11),
1834 and marked the completion of work on the design of Palace Square.
The ceremony was attended by the sovereign, the royal family, the
diplomatic corps, a hundred thousandth Russian army and representatives
of the Russian army. It 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), 1814.
It was impossible to
look without deep spiritual tenderness at the sovereign, humbly kneeling
in front of this numerous army, moved by his word to the foot of the
colossus he built. He prayed for his brother, and everything at that
moment spoke of the earthly glory of this sovereign brother: the
monument that bears his name, and the kneeling Russian army, and the
people in the midst of whom he lived, complacent, accessible to everyone
<...> How amazing was this this moment is the opposite of worldly
grandeur, magnificent, but fleeting, with the grandeur of death, gloomy,
but unchanged; and how eloquent was this angel in the mind of both, who,
not involved in everything that surrounded him, stood between earth and
heaven, belonging to one with his monumental granite, depicting what no
longer exists, and to the other with his radiant cross, a symbol of what
always and forever
- Message of V. A. Zhukovsky to "Emperor
Alexander", revealing the symbolism of this act and giving an
interpretation to the new prayer service
Then a military parade
was held on the square. It was attended by regiments that distinguished
themselves in the Patriotic War of 1812; in total, about a hundred
thousand people took part in the parade:
... no pen can describe the
greatness of that moment when, through three cannon shots, suddenly from
all the streets, as if born from the earth, in slender bulks, with drum
thunder, to the sounds of the Paris March, the columns of the Russian
army went ... For two hours this magnificent, the only one in in the
evening, noisy crowds roamed the streets of the illuminated city for a
long time;
- From the memoirs of the poet V. A. Zhukovsky
In
honor of this event, in the same year, a memorial ruble was issued with
a circulation of 15,000.
This monument complemented the composition of the Arch of the General
Staff, which was dedicated to the victory in the Patriotic War of 1812.
The Alexander Column resembles samples of the triumphal structures of
antiquity, the monument has an amazing clarity of proportions, laconic
form, and beauty of the silhouette.
Text on the plaque:
ALEXANDER I
Grateful Russia
This is the highest monument in
the world, made of solid granite and the third tallest of all monumental
columns - after the Grand Army Column in Boulogne-sur-Mer and Trafalgar
(Nelson's Column) in London; The Alexander Column is taller than the
Vendôme Column in Paris, Trajan's Column in Rome, and Pompey's Column in
Alexandria.
The column shaft is the tallest and heaviest monolith
ever erected as a column or obelisk vertically, and one of the largest
(fifth in history and second after the Thunder Stone in modern times)
monoliths displaced by man.
The total height of the structure is 47.5 m
the height of the
figure of an angel is 4.26 m (2 sazhens)
the height of the cross is
6.4 m (3 fathoms)
height of the top of the column with a cross ~12 m
stem height (monolithic part of the column) - 25.6 m (12 sazhens)
bottom column diameter 3.66 m (12 ft), top diameter 3.15 m (10 ft 6 in)
the height of the pedestal of the column of 8 granite blocks laid in
three rows is 4.25 m
dimensions of the bas-reliefs - 5.24 × 3.1 m
the height of the plinth made of monolithic granite is 3.9 m
horizontal dimensions of the plinth - 6.3 × 6.3 m
column height to
the shaft ~10 m
Plinth and pedestal weight - 704 tons
Weight of
granite column shaft 612 tons
Mass of the top of the column 37 tons
Fence dimensions (length x width x height) 16.5 × 16.5 × 1.5 m
The
trunk of the column stands on a granite base without additional
supports, only under the action of gravity.
The pedestal of the column is decorated on four sides with bronze
bas-reliefs cast at C. Byrd's factory in 1833-1834.
A large team
of authors worked on the decoration of the pedestal: sketch drawings
were made by O. Montferrand, who proved himself an excellent draftsman
here. His drawings for bas-reliefs and bronze jewelry are noted for
their "clearness, certainty of line, and meticulous detail."
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 ancient Russian chain mail,
cones and shields kept in the Armory in Moscow, including helmets
attributed to Alexander Nevsky and Yermak, as well as the armor of the
17th century of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, and that, despite
Montferrand's claims, it is completely doubtful that the shield Oleg of
the X century, nailed by him to the gates of Constantinople.
Based on Montferrand's drawings, the artists J. B. Scotty, V. Solovyov,
Tverskoy, F. Brullo, Markov made life-size cardboard for 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
ornamental sculptor E. Balin.
These 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. However, the style of depicting military fittings most likely
dates back to the Renaissance.
North
The base of the column is
framed by a laurel wreath.
At the top of the pedestal is the
All-Seeing Eye, in the circle of an oak wreath there is an inscription
of 1812, below it are oak garlands, they are held in their paws by
double-headed eagles.
Allegorical winged female figures hold a
rectangular board, on which is the inscription in civil type: "Grateful
Russia to Alexander the First."
Under the board is an exact copy
of armor samples from the Armory.
Symmetrically located figures
on the sides of the armament (on the left - a beautiful young woman
leaning on an urn from which water flows out and on the right - an old
Aquarius man) personify the Vistula and Neman rivers, which were forced
by the Russian army during the persecution of Napoleon.
West
"Justice and Mercy"
South
At the top of the pedestal is the
All-Seeing Eye.
Below: "Victory and Glory", recording the dates of
memorable battles (the years 1812, 1813 and 1814 are inscribed on the
Victory shield)
East
"Wisdom and Abundance"
Two-headed
eagles are located on the upper corners of the pedestal; 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, weapons of a classical
nature are depicted as decorative elements, which
... does not belong
to modern Europe and cannot hurt the pride of any people.
— O.
Montferrand
The stone column is a single piece of polished pink granite. The
trunk of the column has a conical shape with entasis from bottom to top.
The top of the column is crowned with a bronze Doric capital. Its
base - a rectangular abacus - is made of brickwork with bronze lining. A
bronze cylindrical pedestal with a hemispherical top is installed on it,
inside of which is enclosed the main support array, consisting of
multi-layered masonry: granite, brick and two more layers of granite.
The monument is crowned with the figure of an angel by Boris
Orlovsky. In his left hand, the angel holds a four-pointed Latin cross,
and raises it to heaven with his right hand. The head of the angel is
tilted, his gaze is fixed on the ground.
According to the
original design of Auguste Montferrand, the figure at the top of the
column rested on a steel bar, which was later removed, and during the
restoration of 2002-2003, it turned out that the angel is kept due to
its own weight.
The column itself is taller than the Vendôme one,
and the figure of an angel surpasses in height the figure of Napoleon I
on the last one. 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 features
of the angel's face a resemblance to the face of Alexander I. According
to other sources, the figure of the angel is a sculptural portrait of
the St. Petersburg poetess Elizaveta Kulman.
The light figure of
an angel, the falling folds of clothing, the clearly expressed vertical
of the cross, continuing the vertical of the monument, emphasize the
harmony of the column.
Montferrand transferred the pedestal and
base of Trajan's column, as well as the lower diameter of the rod, equal
to 12 feet (3.66 m), to his project without changes. The height of the
stem of the Alexander Column was taken to be 3 feet less than Trajan's
Column: 84 feet (25.58 m), and the top diameter was 10 feet and 6 inches
(3.19 m). The height of the column, as in the Roman Doric order, was
eight of its upper diameters. The architect developed his own system for
thinning the column core, an important element that affects the overall
perception of the monument. Contrary to the classical thinning system,
Montferrand began it not from a height equal to one third of the rod,
but immediately from the base, drawing a thinning curve using divisions
of tangent lines drawn to segments of the base section arc. In addition,
he used more divisions than usual: twelve. As Nikitin notes, the
thinning system of the Alexander Column is an undoubted success of
Montferrand.
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 captured cannons (4 in
the corners and 2 are framed by double-leaf gates on four sides of the
fence), which were crowned with three-headed eagles.
Between them
were placed alternating spears and staffs of banners, topped with guards
double-headed eagles.
Locks were hung on the gates of the fence
in accordance with the author's intention.
In addition, the
project included the installation of a chandelier with copper lanterns
and gas lighting.
The fence in its original form was installed in
1834, all the elements were completely installed in 1836-1837. Recreated
at the beginning of the XXI century. In the northeastern corner of the
fence there was a guardhouse, in which there was a disabled person who
was on duty and dressed in full dress uniform of the Guards, guarding
the monument day and night and keeping order in the square.
The
end pavement was laid out throughout the Palace Square.
Many researchers put forward various hypotheses in connection with the unusual history of creation and iconography of the sculptural details of the Alexander Column. In particular, the collection of the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg contains three mortgage medals intended "to be placed at the base" of the column. The first medal (1828) depicts a column in the center of the square topped with an Orthodox cross (with an oblique crossbar and without the figure of an angel). In the second version, the Orthodox cross, by decision of the emperor, was replaced by a "general Christian" (four-pointed) one. The third medal shows a variant. close to being done. There are also drawings by the architect Montferrand representing the top of a column with a four-pointed cross and three angels at its base. In the implemented version, the angel supports the common Christian cross with his left hand, which is unacceptable for canonical iconography. This was done so that the cross would stand exactly along the middle axis of the column, and with the finger of the right hand the angel with the face of the Blessed Alexander would point to the sky. These materials were published by V. K. Shuisky in the capital monograph “Auguste Montferrand. History of Life and Creativity”, as well as in a doctoral thesis on the work of Montferrand, accepted for defense at St. Petersburg University (the defense did not take place due to the sudden death of Shuisky in 2008). Discussions were also caused by the interpretation of the allegorical figures of the Neman and the Vistula on the pedestal of the column in connection with the events of the Polish uprising of 1830-1831. On one of the projects in 1829, the corners of the pedestal were crowned with heraldic crowned eagles. On the project of 1832, at the insistence of Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich, the crowns were removed, as were the shields with the image of St. George the Victorious on the chest of the eagles. The oak garland and the motto (elements of the personal coat of arms of Alexander I), as well as metamorphoses with heraldry, according to the Hermitage employee A. Khripankov, testify to the secret of the rank and departure from the burden of power (abdication) of Emperor Alexander in 1825 in Taganrog. Khripankov, on the basis of archival documents, restored the chronicle of these events by days and hours until the Decembrist uprising. Emperor Nicholas, according to the researcher, paid tribute to his older brother by encrypting this secret in the decoration of the column, which was known at that time only to a few close associates: his wife Elizaveta Alekseevna, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, Adjutant General, Count I. I. von Dibich. “If it were not for the ordination of Alexander the First,” he wrote, “there could not have been such a monument… Instead of an ordinary pillar, originally approved, a monument is being created that looks like a hymn to the human spirit, expressed in the language of plasticity in a way that it would be impossible to do with words.”
And the installation of the column on the pedestal and the opening of
the monument took place on August 30. This is the day of the transfer of
the relics of the holy noble prince Alexander Nevsky to St. Petersburg,
the main day of the celebration of St. Alexander Nevsky. Alexander
Nevsky is the heavenly defender of the city, therefore the angel,
looking from the top of the Alexander Column, has always been perceived
primarily as a protector and guardian.
For the parade of troops on
Palace Square, the Yellow (now Pevchesky) Bridge was built according to
the project of O. Montferrand.
After the opening of the column, the
Petersburgers were very afraid that it would fall, and tried not to
approach it. These fears were based both on the fact that the column was
not fixed, and on the fact that Montferrand was forced to make changes
to the project at the last moment: the blocks of power structures of the
top - the abacus, on which the figure of an angel is mounted, was
originally conceived in granite ; but at the last moment it had to be
replaced with brickwork with a lime-based binder.
In perestroika,
magazines wrote that there was a project to install a huge statue of
V.I. Lenin on the pillar, and in 2002 the media spread the message that
in 1952 they were going to replace the figure of an angel with a bust of
Stalin.
During the construction of the Alexander Column, there were rumors
that this monolith 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.
Petersburgers were very afraid that a huge granite pillar weighing 600
tons, held solely by its own gravity, would still fall due to an error
in Montferrand's calculations. Countess Tolstoy forbade her coachman to
take her past the column. Probably, in order to relieve fear from the
Petersburgers, Montferrand, until his death, took long walks around the
column with his dog in the evenings.
The French envoy at the St.
Petersburg court reports interesting information about this monument:
With regard to 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 setting, 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 fragments of granite as he
drilled; finally, two lanterns to illuminate the workers in their hard
work. In 10 years, he argued, the worker and the boy (the latter would
grow a little, of course) would have completed their spiral staircase;
but the emperor, rightly proud of the erection of this one of a kind
monument, feared, and perhaps with good reason, that this drill would
not penetrate the outer sides of the column, and therefore refused this
proposal.
- Baron P. de Burgoin, French envoy from 1828 to 1832
After the restoration began in 2002-2003, non-authoritative
newspaper publications began to spread information that the column was
not solid, but consisted of a certain number of "pancakes" so skillfully
fitted to each other that the seams between them were practically
invisible.
Newlyweds come to the Alexander Column, and the groom
carries the bride in his arms around her. According to legend, the
number of times the bridegroom with the bride in his arms goes around
the column, so many children will be born to them.
Grandmother
Lermontov was very afraid that the column would fall, so she did not go
around Palace Square.
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 top of the granite column, spoiling the appearance of the
monument.
In 1841, Nicholas I ordered an inspection of the flaws
that were then noticed on the column, but the conclusion of the survey
stated that even during processing, the granite crystals partially
crumbled in the form of small depressions, which are perceived as
cracks.
In 1861, Alexander II established the "Committee for the
study 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, there were cracks on
the column that were originally characteristic of the monolith, but it
was feared that an increase in the number and size of them "may give
rise to the collapse of the column."
There were discussions 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 closing 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.
Decorative
lanterns near the column were made 42 years after its opening - in 1876
by the architect K. K. Rakhau.
For all the time from the moment
of its discovery until the end of the 20th century, the column was
subjected to restoration work five times, which was more of a cosmetic
nature.
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 descended from a hovering
airship. In 1925, the city authorities discussed the issue of remaking
the figure of an angel into the figure of a worker. In the 1930s, the
fence was dismantled and melted down for cartridge cases.
During
the blockade of Leningrad, the monument was covered only by 3/4 of the
height. Unlike the horses of Klodt or the sculptures of the Summer
Garden, the column remained in its place and the angel was injured: a
deep fragmentation mark remained on one of the wings, in addition, more
than a hundred minor damages were caused to the monument by fragments of
shells. One of the fragments was stuck in the bas-relief image of the
helmet of Alexander Nevsky, from where it was removed in 2003.
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.
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 start of work was the study of the
column. They were forced to be produced on the recommendation of
specialists from the Museum of Urban Sculpture. The alarm of specialists
was caused 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 “landing party” on top
of the column using a special Magirus Deutz fire hydrant.
Having
fixed at the top, the climbers took photos and videos of the sculpture.
It was concluded that the urgent need for restoration work.
The
restoration was financed by the Moscow association Hazer International
Rus. To carry out works worth 19.5 million rubles on the monument, the
company Intarsia was chosen; this choice was made due to the presence in
the organization of personnel with extensive experience in such critical
facilities. L. Kakabadze, K. Efimov, A. Poshekhonov, P. Portuguese were
engaged in the work at the facility. The work was supervised by the
restorer of the first category Sorin V.G.
By the autumn of 2002,
the scaffolding had been erected, and the conservators carried out
on-site surveys. Almost all the bronze elements of the pommel were in
disrepair: everything was covered with a “wild patina”, the so-called
“bronze disease” began to develop in fragments: the cylinder on which
the figure of an angel relied cracked and took on a barrel-shaped shape.
The internal cavities of the monument were examined using a flexible
three-meter endoscope. As a result, the restorers were also able to
establish what the general design of the monument looks like and
determine the differences between the original project and its actual
implementation.
One of the results of the study was the solution
of the emerging spots in the upper part of the column: they turned out
to be a product of the destruction of the brickwork, flowing out.
Years of rainy St. Petersburg weather led to 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 shell of the sculpture. This water,
seeping down into the pedestal and freezing in winter, ruptured the
cylinder, giving it a barrel shape.
The following tasks were set for
the restorers: to remove water from the cavities of the pommel, to
prevent the accumulation of water in the future, and to restore the
structure of the abacus support. The work was carried out mainly in
winter at high altitude 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 the cavities of the monument
were connected, and the cavity of the cross, about 15.5 meters high, was
used as an “exhaust pipe”. The created drainage system provides for the
removal of all moisture, including condensation.
The brick weight
of the finial in the abacus was replaced with granite, self-locking
constructions without binders. Thus, the original plan of Montferrand
was again realized. The bronze surfaces of the monument were protected
by patination.
In addition, more than 50 fragments left over from
the blockade of Leningrad were removed from the monument.
Scaffolding from the monument was removed in March 2003.
... "jewelry work" was carried out, and when recreating the fence,
"iconographic materials, old photographs were used." "Palace Square got
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 completed 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
discovery, part of the lattice was stolen as a result of two "raids" of
vandals - hunters for non-ferrous metals.
The theft could not be
prevented, despite the 24-hour surveillance cameras on Palace Square:
they did not record anything in the dark. To monitor the area at night,
it is necessary to use special expensive cameras. The leadership of the
Central Internal Affairs Directorate of St. Petersburg decided to
establish a round-the-clock police post near the Alexander 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
the loss of elements. It recorded:
53 places of deformation,
83
lost parts,
loss of 24 small eagles and one large eagle,
partial
loss of 31 details.
After the ice rink was closed, 54 decorative
elements were missing from the fence:
28 eagles
26 spades
The
loss did not receive an explanation from St. Petersburg officials and
was not commented on by the organizers of the rink.
The
organizers of the skating rink undertook obligations to the city
administration to restore the lost elements of the fence. Work was
supposed to start after the May holidays of 2008
According to art historians, the talented work of O. Montferrand has
clear proportions, laconism of form, beauty of lines and silhouette.
Both immediately after its creation and subsequently, this architectural
work has repeatedly inspired artists.
As an iconic element of the
urban landscape, it has been repeatedly depicted by landscape painters.
An indicative modern example is the video clip for the song "Love"
(director S. Debezhev, author - Y. Shevchuk) from the album of the same
name by the DDT group. In this clip, among other things, an analogy is
made between the column and the silhouette of a space rocket. The column
is also mentioned in the song itself: "The Pillar of Alexandria was
covered with foliage, like dreams." In addition to being used in the
video clip, a snapshot of the bas-relief of the pedestal was used to
design the album sleeve.
Also, the column is 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 A. S. Pushkin "Monument". Pushkin's
Alexandria Pillar 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
V. A. Zhukovsky out of fear of censorship for "Napoleons" (meaning the
Vendome column).
On September 25, 2009, the Bank of Russia issued a 25-ruble commemorative 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 weighs 169.00 grams