Alexander Column (Alexandrian Pillar). Alexandria Column

If we talk about the sights of St. Petersburg, the Alexander Column cannot be ignored. This is a unique architectural masterpiece that was erected in 1834. Where is the Alexander Column located in St. Petersburg? On Palace Square. In 1828, Emperor Nicholas I issued a decree on the construction of this majestic monument, designed to glorify the victory of his predecessor on the throne and elder brother Alexander I, won in the war with Napoleon Bonaparte. Information about the Alexander Column in St. Petersburg is presented to your attention in this article.

Birth of a plan

The idea of ​​constructing the Alexander Column in St. Petersburg belonged to the architect Carl Rossi. He was faced with the task of planning the entire architectural complex Palace Square and the buildings located on it. Initially, the idea of ​​a construction in front of the Winter Palace was discussed equestrian statue Peter I. She would have become second after the famous Bronze Horseman, located nearby on Senate Square, erected during the reign of Catherine II. However, Carl Rossi eventually abandoned this idea.

Two versions of the Montferrand project

In order to decide what will be installed in the center of Palace Square and who will manage this project, an open competition was organized in 1829. The winner was another St. Petersburg architect - the Frenchman Auguste Montferrand, who became famous for the fact that he had the opportunity to supervise the construction of St. Isaac's Cathedral. Moreover, the initial version of the project proposed by Montferrand was rejected by the competition commission. And he had to develop a second option.

Montferrand, like Rossi, already in the first version of his project abandoned the construction of a sculptural monument. Since Palace Square is quite large in size, both architects reasonably feared that any sculpture, unless it was absolutely gigantic in size, would be visually lost in its architectural ensemble. A sketch of the first version of the Montferrand project has been preserved, but exact date its manufacture is unknown. Montferrand was going to build an obelisk similar to those installed in Ancient Egypt. On its surface it was planned to place bas-reliefs illustrating the events of the Napoleonic invasion, as well as an image of Alexander I on a horse in the costume of an ancient Roman warrior, accompanied by the Goddess of Victory. Rejecting this option, the commission pointed out the need to erect the structure in the form of a column. Taking this requirement into account, Montferrand developed a second option, which was subsequently implemented.

The height of the Alexander Column in St. Petersburg

According to the architect's plan, the height of the Alexander Column surpassed the Vendôme Column in the capital of France, which glorified the military triumphs of Napoleon. It generally became the tallest in history of all similar columns made of a stone monolith. From the base of the pedestal to the tip of the cross, which the angel holds in his hands, is 47.5 meters. The construction of such a grandiose architectural structure was not a simple engineering task and took many steps.

Material for construction

Construction took 5 years, from 1829 to 1834. The same commission that supervised the construction of the Cathedral of St. Isaac was involved in this work. The material for the column was made from a monolithic rock chosen by Montferrand in Finland. The extraction methods and methods of transporting the material were the same as during the construction of the cathedral. A huge monolith in the shape of a parallelepiped was cut out of the rock. Using a system of huge levers, it was laid on a previously prepared surface, which was densely covered with spruce branches. This ensured softness and elasticity during the fall of the monolith.

The same rock was also used to cut granite blocks from it, intended for the foundation of the entire designed structure, as well as to create a sculpture of an angel, which was to crown its top. The heaviest of these blocks weighed about 400 tons. To transport all these granite blanks to Palace Square, a ship specially built for this task was used.

Laying the foundation

After examining the site where the column was to be installed, laying the foundation of the structure began. 1,250 pine piles were driven under its foundation. After this, the site was filled with water. This made it possible to create a strictly horizontal surface when cutting off the top of the piles. By old custom A bronze box filled with coins was placed at the base of the foundation. All of them were minted in 1812.

Construction of a granite monolith

In the work to implement the Montferrand project, a unique engineering lifting system developed by Major General A. A. Betancourt was used. It was equipped with dozens of capstans (winches) and blocks.

Exactly how this lifting system was used to install the granite monolith in a vertical position is clearly illustrated on the model on display at the St. Petersburg Museum, which is located in the house of the commandant of the Peter and Paul Fortress. The erection of the monument in the designated place took place on August 30, 1832. This involved the labor of 400 workers and 2,000 soldiers. The ascent process took 1 hour 45 minutes.

A great crowd of people came to the square to observe this unique event. Not only Palace Square was filled with people, but also the roof of the building General Staff. When the work was successfully completed and the column stood in its intended place, a unanimous “Hurray!” was heard. According to eyewitnesses and the sovereign, the emperor, who was present at the same time, was also very pleased and warmly congratulated the author of the project on its success, telling him: “Montferrand! You have immortalized yourself!”

After successful installation of the column, it was necessary to install slabs with bas-reliefs and decorative elements. In addition, it was necessary to grind and polish the surface of the monolithic column itself. Completion of all this work took another two years.

Guardian angel

Simultaneously with the construction of the Alexander Column on Palace Square in St. Petersburg, since the autumn of 1830, work was underway on the sculpture that, according to Montferrand’s plan, was to be installed at the top of the structure. Nicholas I wanted this statue to be placed facing Winter Palace. But what its appearance would be was not immediately determined. Considered quite a lot different options. There was also an option, according to which the Alexander Column would be crowned with only one cross with a snake entwined around it. It would decorate the fastening elements. According to another option, it was planned to install a statue depicting Prince Alexander Nevsky on the column.

In the end, the option with a sculpture of a winged angel was approved. In his hands is the Latin Cross. The symbolism of this image is quite clear: it means that Russia crushed the power of Napoleon and thereby established peace and prosperity for all European countries. The work on this sculpture was carried out by B.I. Orlovsky. Its height is 6.4 meters.

The opening ceremony

The official opening of the monument was scheduled for the symbolic date of August 30 (September 11). In 1724, on this day, the relics of Alexander Nevsky were transferred to the Alesandro-Nevsky Lavra, who has since been considered the protector and heavenly patron of the city on the Neva. The angel crowning the Alexander Column is also treated as the guardian angel of the city. The opening of the Alexander Column completed the final design of the entire architectural ensemble of Palace Square. The celebrations marking the official opening of the Alexander Column were attended by the entire imperial family, headed by Nicholas I, army units numbering up to 100 thousand and foreign diplomats. Was committed church service. The soldiers, officers and emperor knelt. A similar service involving the army was held in Paris at Easter in 1814.

This event is immortalized in numismatics. In 1834, 15 thousand memorial coins with a face value of 1 ruble were minted.

Description of the Alexander Column in St. Petersburg

The model for Montferrand's creations was the columns erected in the era of Antiquity. But the Alexander Column surpassed all its predecessors in both height and massiveness. The material for its manufacture was pink granite. In its lower part there is a bas-relief depicting two figures of women with wings. In their hands is a board with the inscription: “Russia is grateful to Alexander I.” Below is an image of armor, to the left of it is a young woman, and to the right is an old man. These two figures symbolize two rivers located in the territory of military operations. The woman represents the Vistula, the old man represents the Neman.

Fence and surroundings of the monument

Around the Alexander Column in St. Petersburg, short description which is presented to your attention above, a one and a half meter fence was built. Double-headed eagles were placed on it. Their total number is 136. It is decorated with spears and flag poles. Along the fence there are military trophies - 12 French cannons. There was also a guard box near the fence, in which a disabled soldier was on duty around the clock.

Legends, rumors and beliefs

When the construction of the Alexander Column was underway, persistent rumors spread among St. Petersburg residents, clearly untrue, that a huge granite blank for its construction was obtained by chance during the manufacture of columns for St. Isaac's Cathedral. This monolith allegedly by mistake turned out to be larger in size than required. And then, so that it would not disappear, the idea supposedly arose - to use it to build a column on Palace Square.

After the Alexander Column in St. Petersburg (everyone who is interested in the history of the city knows briefly about it) was erected, in the first years many noble persons who were not accustomed to such a spectacle feared that it would collapse. They did not believe in the reliability of its design. In particular, Countess Tolstaya strictly ordered her coachman not to approach the column. M. Yu. Lermontov’s grandmother was also afraid to be near her. And Montferrand, trying to dispel these fears, often took long walks near the column at the end of the day.

Baron P. de Bourgoin, who served as French envoy to Russia in 1828-1832, testified that Montferrand allegedly proposed to Nicholas I to create a spiral spiral staircase inside the column, which would allow one to climb to its top. This required cutting out a cavity inside the column. Moreover, Montferrand allegedly claimed that to implement such a plan, one master, armed with a chisel and a hammer, and an apprentice boy with a basket in which he would carry out fragments of granite would be enough. The two of them would have done the work, according to the calculations of the author of the Alexander Column in St. Petersburg, Montferrand, in 10 years. But Nicholas I, fearing that such work could damage the surface of the structure, did not want to implement this plan.

In our times, a wedding ritual has arisen in which the groom carries his chosen one in his arms around a column. It is believed that the number of circles he walks, the number of children there will be in their family.

According to rumors Soviet authorities allegedly hatched plans to dismantle the statue of the Guardian Angel on the Alexander Column. And instead it was supposedly supposed to place a sculpture of Lenin or Stalin. There is no documentary evidence of this, but the fact that in the pre-war years on the holidays of November 7 and May 1 the angel was hidden from human eyes - historical fact. Moreover, two methods were used to hide it. Either it was covered with a cloth that was lowered from the airship, or it was covered with balloons filled with helium and rising from the surface of the earth.

"Wounding" of an angel during the Leningrad siege

During the Great Patriotic War, unlike many other architectural masterpieces, the Alexander Column in St. Petersburg, Interesting Facts which we have collected in this article was not completely disguised. And during the shelling and bombing, she received numerous hits from shell fragments. The guardian angel himself had his wing pierced by a shrapnel.

In 2002-2003, the largest restoration work since the creation of the Alexander Column was carried out, during which about fifty fragments that had remained there since the war were removed from it.

Central monument of Palace Square; monument in, erected in honor of the victory over Napoleon. The total height of this column is 47.5 meters. The Empire style gives the monument special charm. It is included in the version of our website.

Palace Square all year round visited by tourists from different countries and visitors from other cities of Russia. The first thing that catches your eye is, of course, the Alexander Column. It organically complements architectural ensemble Hermitage. It is noteworthy that this monument is the tallest free-standing triumphal column in the world.

In my own way appearance Alexandria pillar, (as it is also called after A. S. Pushkin’s poem “Monument”) resembles triumphal structures of antiquity, in particular Trajan’s Column in Rome. The author of the project was Auguste Montferrand, an architect of French origin who designed St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg. Construction of the column lasted 5 years, starting in 1829.

It was originally planned that the column would be crowned by a horseman surrounded by allegorical figures. Then a statue of an angel with a cross raised into the sky was chosen. One of the main differences between the Alexander Column and the Trajan Column was the solid granite monolith of the column. Surface natural stone left smooth to emphasize its power and beauty.

The ceremonial raising of the column took place at the end of the summer of 1834. More than 2,000 soldiers and 400 workers were involved. The royal family was present at the opening of the triumphal monument.

The Alexander Column is located a few minutes walk from the Admiralteyskaya metro station.

Photo attraction: Alexander Column

View of the Alexander Column from the General Staff Arch

Alexander Column (Russia) - description, history, location. Exact address, phone number, website. Tourist reviews, photos and videos.

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I erected a monument to myself, not made by hands,
The people's path to him will not be overgrown,
He ascended higher with his rebellious head
Alexandrian Pillar.

A. S. Pushkin

One of famous monuments Petersburg, the Alexander Column is familiar to each of us literally from school. With the light hand of the beloved poet, everyone began to call the monument the Alexander Column, although, in fact, this is a poetic delight, and the monument has been called the Alexander Column for almost 200 years.

Alexandria Column was erected on Palace Square under Nicholas I in 1834 by the architect Auguste Montferrand.

And the 47.5 m high monument was supposed to remind of Russia’s victory over France in 1812. The idea arose to erect a monument in the center of Palace Square near Karl Rossi, and as a result open competition The project that we now have the pleasure of seeing was selected.

The Alexander Column is the tallest column in the world made of solid stone.

The name of the Alexander Column, on the one hand, is associated with Emperor Alexander I, who defeated Napoleon, and on the other, with the Faros (Alexandria) lighthouse, which is one of the seven wonders of the world, personifying the ultimate level of human achievement. Alexander's column was supposed to surpass all existing columns in the world. Indeed, to this day the Alexander Column is the tallest column in the world made of solid stone. And to lift this grandiose monolith onto a pedestal, the architects of St. Petersburg created a special lifting system.

At the top of the monument, the work of B. Orlovsky is an angel, whose face the sculptor gave the features of Alexander I. The angel trampling on a snake on the top of the column symbolizes the peace and tranquility that Russia brought to Europe after defeating Napoleon. The bas-reliefs on the pedestal of the Alexander Column in allegorical form represent the glory of Russian weapons and symbolize courage Russian army: They depict Victory and Glory, recording the dates of memorable battles, Peace and Justice, Wisdom and Prosperity.

Figures and facts

The Alexander Column is made of red granite, processed not in St. Petersburg, but in the Pyuterlak quarry near Vyborg, and the figure of the angel is made of polished pink granite. In order to deliver the convoy to St. Petersburg, a special vessel was needed, which was towed by two steamships. 1250 piles, each 6 meters long, were driven under the base of the pedestal of the Alexander Column. The column was installed using scaffolding and capstans specially constructed in St. Petersburg.

It is curious that the installation took only 1 hour and 45 minutes, and 2,000 soldiers and 400 workers took part in lifting the column onto the pedestal.

The column itself weighs 600 tons. It is not dug into the ground or fixed to a foundation, but is supported solely by precise calculations and its own weight.

The sculptor gave the face of the angel on top of the monument the facial features of Alexander I.

The height of the angel crowning the Alexander Column is 4.26 m, in his hands he holds a cross 6.4 m high. The height of the pedestal on which the Alexander Column rises is 2.85 m. And the weight of the entire structure is 704 tons. Such is the greatness of Russian weapons, a monument to the victory not only of the Russian army, but also of the entire people, victory over what was impossible for others to defeat.

How to get there

The Alexander Column rises in the center of Palace Square in St. Petersburg. To get to the square and the monument, you need to use underground transport and get to the Nevsky Prospekt station, then move to the beginning of Nevsky Prospekt, focusing on the Admiralty spire. From the intersection of Nevsky and Admiralteysky Prospekts there is a view of Palace Square with the Alexander Column in the center. This is what you were looking for.

St. Petersburg, Palace Square, metro: Nevsky Prospekt, Gostiny Dvor.

The Alexandria Pillar was erected on August 30, 1834 in the center of Palace Square in St. Petersburg by the architect Auguste Richard Montfern by order of Emperor Nicholas I in memory of the victory of his elder brother, Emperor Alexander I, over Napoleon.

Montferand's original project to create a granite obelisk was rejected by Nicholas, and, as a result, Montferand created the monument, which is a huge column of pink granite standing on a square pedestal.

The column is crowned with a sculpture by Orlovsky, depicting a gilded angel with the facial features of Emperor Alexander I. The angel holds a cross in his left hand, and raises his right hand to the sky.

The height of the Pillar together with the statue is 47.5 m (it is taller than all similar monuments in the world: the Vendome Column in Paris, Trajan's Column in Rome and Pompey's Column in Alexandria). The diameter of the Pillar is 3.66 m.

The pedestal of the column is decorated on four sides with bronze bas-reliefs with ornaments of military armor, as well as allegorical images of the victories of Russian weapons. Individual bas-reliefs depict ancient Russian chain mail, cones and shields, stored in the Armory Chamber in Moscow, as well as the helmets of Alexander Nevsky and Ermak.

The granite monolith, which served as the basis for the creation of the column, was mined in one of the quarries near Vyborg and transported in 1832 on a barge specially designed for this purpose to St. Petersburg, where it was further processed.

To install the column vertically in the square, 2,000 soldiers and 400 workers were recruited. They installed it on the pedestal in just 1 hour and 45 minutes. 1,250 pine piles were driven under the base of the column.

The Pillar of Alexandria is a marvel of engineering - for more than 150 years it has stood unsecured, held upright solely by its own weight of 600 tons.

In the first years after its construction, St. Petersburg residents experienced some fears - what if the column would one day fall. In order to dissuade them, Montferand made himself the habit of starting every day with a walk under the column, and did it almost until his death.

The column is clearly visible through the arch of the General Staff building from Herzen Street and from the embankment of the Moika River.

In 1841, cracks appeared on the column. By 1861 they had become so prominent that Alexander II established a committee to study them. The committee concluded that the cracks in the granite were present initially, but were sealed with mastic. In 1862, the cracks were repaired with Portland cement.

In 1925, it was decided that the presence of an angel figure on the main square of Leningrad was inappropriate. An attempt was made to cover it with a cap, which attracted enough attention to Palace Square. a large number of passers-by Hanging over the column balloon, however, when he flew up to her at the required distance, the wind immediately blew and drove the ball away. By evening, attempts to hide the angel stopped. A little later, a plan emerged to replace the angel with the figure of V.I. Lenin. However, this was not implemented either.

On Palace Square in St. Petersburg there is a unique monument - a column topped with a sculptural image of an angel with a cross, and at the base framed with relief allegories of victory in Patriotic War 1812.

Dedicated to the military genius of Alexander I, the monument is called the Alexander Column, and with light hand Pushkin is called the “Pillar of Alexandria”.

The construction of the monument took place in the late 20s - early 30s of the 19th century. The process was documented, and therefore there should be no secrets in the appearance of the Alexander Column. But if there are no secrets, you really want to invent them, don’t you?

What is the Alexander Column made of?

The alternative opinion is even more radical. The Alexander Column is not monolithic at all! It is made up of separate blocks, stacked on top of each other like children's blocks, and the outside is lined with plaster with big amount granite chips.

There are even fantastic versions that can compete with the notes from Ward No. 6. However, in reality the situation is not so complicated, and most importantly, the entire process of manufacturing, transportation and installation of the Alexander Column is documented. The history of the emergence of the main monument of Palace Square is described almost minute by minute.

Choosing a stone for the Alexander Column

Monoliths of this kind are very rare and great value. So there is nothing surprising in the thriftiness of the architect, who noticed but did not put into use a huge granite slab.

Soon the emperor had the idea of ​​a monument to Alexander I, and Montferrand drew a sketch of the column, keeping in mind the availability of suitable material. The project was approved. The extraction and delivery of stone for the Alexander Column was entrusted to the same contractor who provided the material for the construction of Isaac.

Skillful mining of granite in a quarry

First of all, the workers cleared the granite monolith of soft soil and any mineral debris, and Montferrand carefully examined the surface of the stone for cracks and defects. No flaws were found.

Using hammers and forged chisels, workers roughly leveled the top of the mass and made slotted recesses for attaching the rigging, after which it was time to separate the fragment from the natural monolith.

A horizontal ledge was carved along the lower edge of the blank for the column along the entire length of the stone. On the upper plane, stepping back a sufficient distance from the edge, a furrow a foot deep and half a foot wide was cut along the workpiece. In the same furrow, holes were drilled by hand, using forged bolts and heavy hammers, at a distance of a foot from each other.

Steel wedges were placed in the finished wells. In order for the wedges to work synchronously and create an even crack in the granite monolith, a special spacer was used - an iron bar laid in a furrow and leveling the wedges into an even palisade.

At the command of the elder, the hammermen, placed one person at a time in two or three wedges, got to work. The crack ran exactly along the line of the wells!

Using levers and capstans (winches with a vertical shaft), the stone was tipped onto an inclined bed of logs and spruce branches.

The granite monolith for the column pedestal was also mined using the same method. But if the blank for the column initially weighed about 1000 tons, the stone for the pedestal was cut off two and a half times smaller - “only” 400 tons in weight.

Lasted quarry work two years.

Transportation of blanks for the Alexander Column

The unloading was carried out using the synchronized operation of ten dragging winches and took only two hours.

Transportation of larger pieces was postponed until the summer next year. Meanwhile, a team of stonemasons chipped off excess granite from it, giving the workpiece a rounded column shape.

To transport the column, a ship with a carrying capacity of up to 1,100 tons was built. The workpiece was sheathed with board in several layers. On the shore, for ease of loading, a pier was built from log cabins ballasted with wild stones. The pier flooring area was 864 square meters.

A log and stone pier was built in the sea in front of the pier. The road to the pier was widened and cleared of vegetation and stone outcrops. Particularly strong remains had to be blown up. From many logs they made a kind of pavement for unhindered rolling of the workpiece.

Moving the prepared stone to the pier took two weeks and required the efforts of more than 400 workers.

Loading the workpiece onto the ship was not without troubles. The logs, laid out in a row with one end on the pier and the other on board the ship, could not withstand the load and broke. The stone, however, did not sink to the bottom: the ship, propped between the pier and the pier, prevented it from sinking.

The contractor had enough people and lifting equipment to correct the situation. However, to be sure, the authorities called soldiers from a nearby military unit. The help of several hundred hands came in handy: in two days the monolith was lifted on board, strengthened and sent to St. Petersburg.

No one was injured during the incident.

Preparatory work

Further movement of the column was carried out along inclined floorings with ultimate goal in the form of a high wooden platform with a special cart on top. The trolley, moved on supporting rollers, was intended for longitudinal movement of the workpiece.

The stone cut for the pedestal of the monument was delivered to the installation site of the column in the fall, covered with a canopy and given to the disposal of forty stonemasons. Having trimmed the monolith from above and from all four sides, the workers turned the stone over onto a sand pile in order to prevent the block from splitting.

After processing all six planes of the pedestal, the granite block was placed on the foundation. The foundation for the pedestal rested on 1,250 piles driven into the bottom of the pit to an eleven-meter depth, sawn to level and embedded in the masonry. A cement mortar with soap and alcohol was laid on top of the four-meter masonry that filled the pit. The flexibility of the mortar pad made it possible to position the pedestal monolith with high precision.

Over the course of several months, the stonework and cement pad of the pedestal set and gained the required strength. By the time the column was delivered to Palace Square, the pedestal was ready.

Column installation

The design strength of the rigging and auxiliary structures was threefold. The workers and soldiers involved in raising the column acted with great enthusiasm, notes Montferrand. Proper placement of people, impeccable management and ingenious scaffolding design made it possible to lift, level and install the column in less than an hour. It took another two days to straighten the verticality of the monument.

Finishing the surface, as well as installing the architectural details of the capital and the angel sculpture took another two years.

It is worth noting that there are no fastening elements between the base of the column and the pedestal. The monument rests solely due to its gigantic size and the absence of any noticeable earthquakes in St. Petersburg.

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