The column that stands on the palace square. Alexander Column or Alexandria Pillar, Alexandria Lighthouse - Seven Wonders of the World
Artifacts of another story. Alexander Column
It is no longer a secret to anyone that something is wrong with our modern science called “History”. Many have heard about artifacts hidden and open, hushed up, stored in special storage facilities and in personal collections. Let's talk today about the most prominent artifact in St. Petersburg, the Alexander Column. Official historians are telling us a fairly logical tale.
Nicholas I decided to put on Palace Square column in honor of the victory over Napoleon. They entrusted the implementation of this idea in 1829 to the Frenchman Auguste Montferrand. To begin with, let’s imagine that Stalin, after the victory in the Great Patriotic War, finds a former Nazi architect and instructs him in Russia to build an unrivaled monument to the victory of the Soviet people over fascism. As they say today: it’s cool, isn’t it? So I looked at it, so it’s ours Frenchman V Pyuterlak quarry near Vyborg a pebble, or rather a piece of rock.
Judging by the drawing given to us by official sources, a pebble supposedly weighing 1600 tons was not only sawed out of the rock with something, but they also managed to break it off, resulting in approximately the same megalith as lies in Baalbek and has surprised the entire scientific community for hundreds of years.
Here, for general development, we need to remember that today is a miracle of modern technology, the most powerful self-propelled crane in the world, at its smallest reach, the miracle arrow only slightly lifts 1200 tons. So our guys, who are so proud, dug it out of the rock by hand and made it out of a granite block with the help of water, sand and rags perfectly smooth polished cylinder lower diameter 3.5 meters upper diameter 3.15 meters, height 25.6 meters and weight 600 tons.
Then, using their hands, they loaded the pole onto a supposedly special barge. What is the specialty of this barge, why did it not capsize during loading, how did the deck withstand such weight, and where are the drawings of this masterpiece? Question? They only say that it was used to transport 210 km column to St. Petersburg. There she is too on hands unloaded ashore. True, the embarrassment occurred during unloading, original. The boards are broken, but the bulk is ours hung in the air and waited until new boards were placed under it. Such a flexible column turned out to be. Then, with the help of ropes, logs and something else intangible, they rolled it along a specially built ramp to the installation site. Like this.
Proton-M, which is close to her in starting weight, modern guys roll on special cars on special rails, but our serfs, led by Auguste Montferand so dashingly on ropes the hemp ones did it. Here it should also be mentioned that these drawings showing and proving were taken from two albums published in France, and still the same Auguste Montferand.
The “old” album was published in 1832, the “new” one in 1836. So, “reliable” sources appeared. What happens next is even more interesting. What’s more interesting is that, according to some sources, 1,250 pine pillars were driven into the base of the column. According to other sources, while digging a pit on Palace Square for a foundation for a column, we were very happy to stumble upon the ones already driven in in the 1760s piles. So it’s not clear what kind of piles there are, we only know that they were leveled by pouring water.
Imagine, we drove 1250 6-meter piles into the pit one to one, and then poured the required level of water, and took I don't know what tool exactly 1250 in terms of water level and trimmed. Then, again, according to one version, granite slabs were laid on them, according to another, a huge monolith was brought from the same quarries. This monolith, weighing 400 tons, was made on site and sent to St. Petersburg by sea on a small boat.
Upon arrival, as usual, the peasants, using ropes and wooden rollers, dragged this block into place, and safely, having poured sand and poured vodka into the solution on Auguste’s advice, they placed it on the piles. There is not much left to do, namely to put the column in place.
True, it is not explained here that probably in order to deliver the foundation monolith it was necessary to first build one wooden ramp for the entire Palace Square, and then dismantle it completely another one, this time for transporting the column. Well, they also draw us some inconceivable structure, with the help of which the column was supposedly placed in a vertical position 2400 soldiers in less than 2 hours.
The wooden structure very convincingly shows that this is supposedly possible. However, the question of this possibility remains purely rhetorical, since there are no hunters trying to repeat it.
After the joyful installation of the column in its place, after two years of finalizing the masterpiece, September 11, 1834 The grand opening of the column and a grand parade took place.
In this dark story, something completely incomprehensible emerges, namely the artist’s watercolor Grigory Gagarin 1832-1833 “Alexander's Column in the woods” . This watercolor by a completely realistic artist depicts Palace Square with some kind of structure being dismantled, from which a column sticks out in the scaffolding.
This somehow doesn’t fit into the official version. If we remember here that the upper part of the monument is not granite, but brick, then it becomes clear why in the watercolor of Prince Gagarin there are forests nothing like a lifting mechanism. Rather they are for restoration works, or construction of the upper part on an already standing column. After all, if Montferan could manufacture, deliver and install a granite column 600 tons, what it cost him to make the top part out of granite.
It is also important to mention that the column was allegedly installed in 1832, and inaugurated in 1834 on the same day: August 30 according to the old style, September 11 according to the new style. For our contemporaries, this is not just a day, but after the terrorist attacks in New York, a day designated as the beginning of a new era in the history of our civilization. Appointed by whom?: you ask. We can only guess how long all these events 11 September associated with beheading John the Baptist the ruler of Galilee and by whom this unjust death of a holy man is celebrated, and for whom this is a day of mourning and why. Let's leave this information for thought.
To complete the picture, it should be noted that modern stone processors boast as their greatest achievement the production of granite columns for cities of military glory by decree of President Putin. These columns do not exceed 6 meters and weigh no more than 16 tons. And almost 200 years ago, without electricity, modern cranes, modern diamond stone-cutting tools and other technologies, they could make and transport columns weighing 600 tons. Seems like a very impressive comparison. Is not it?
There are many ways to control a person's consciousness and manipulate society. But one of the most effective is history. Juggling and rearranging, inventing historical facts, constructing myths and legends is one of the most powerful tools for managing people. According to the law of time, we live when the global source of information the Internet gives a person the opportunity to build on many issues not a kaleidoscopic idea of the events of the past, but mosaic.
This circumstance significantly reduces the possibility of manipulating us. The main thing is that we finally wanted not to be deceived, we have ceased to be masses and individuals who can easily be led where we do not want to go. A person must become aware, must create a community of creation, and for this today everything is there.
Distortion of history. Part 4. Alexandria Column
More details and a variety of information about events taking place in Russia, Ukraine and other countries of our beautiful planet can be obtained at Internet Conferences, constantly held on the website “Keys of Knowledge”. All Conferences are open and completely free. We invite everyone who wakes up and is interested...
Those who have normal logic will fully understand me that out of a desire not to answer the same questions in the comments every time, I post this understandable material by another author from another site. In a word - copy-paste, ladies and gentlemen: o)
“The Alexander Column is another monument in St. Petersburg that makes delusionalists who don’t know the hardware quietly faint at the number of “distortions” of the history of the monument.
And the backstory is this: when extracting columns for St. Isaac's Cathedral in the Putterlak quarry, Montferrand discovered a suitable piece of rock without cracks, measuring up to 35 meters in length and 7 meters in thickness, leaving this area untouched, and when the question arose about the delivery of a monument to Alexander I in honor of the victory above Napoleon, he, having this particular stone in mind, drew up a design for a monument in the form of a column made of a single piece of granite, which to this day is the largest monolithic granite column in the world.
Work in the quarry to extract a workpiece weighing 4000 tons from the rock and processing it roughly lasted about two years, after which the Column, like the Thunder Stone, was loaded onto a boat specially built for this purpose and sent by water to St. Petersburg to Palace Square, where The lifting and finishing work of the Column took place.
As a rule, the “alarm bell of distrust” in the history of the creation of the monument sounds in the heads of paranoids, firmly convinced that they are “brilliant technicians” and certainly smarter than the despicable historians-“humanities” (smiley)
Below are the main questions and claims of the so-called “alternative historians” regarding the history of the Thunder Stone and the answers to them.
Alternatives insist:
1. The entire history of the creation of the Alexander Column (AK) is the invention of historians. For example, the official version says that to separate the AK blank from the rock, workers drilled holes. What kind of drills are these that can be used to manually drill 7 meters of granite?! And how can you hit such a crowbar with a sledgehammer from above?! Jump or climb on a stepladder?!
View of the Pyuterlak quarry
The conspiracy mongers have no idea, but in this kind of work a set of drills of various lengths was always used - from 0.7 to 9.5 meters with hard steel tips welded on the end. As the hole deepened, the drill was changed, and a longer one was inserted instead. Drilling was carried out manually: one worker held the drill, the other hit it with a heavy hammer. After each blow is applied, the drill (jammer) is rotated around its axis. Drilling debris, the so-called “sludge”, rock crushed by drilling, was removed from the hole with a special cleaner, a spoon.
Shown on the right is a hard rock drill.
A started hole in the same quarry
Dartmoor, 1930. Worker using the so-called. The “punch” makes holes in the granite for the wedges.
2. It’s not at all clear why the back edge of the workpiece is already flat? Before the block was moved away from the rock! Moreover, not only the back edge of the monolith is smooth, but also the corresponding part of the remaining rock. If the block was chopped off with crowbars and sledgehammers, and not with a giant circular saw, then the chipped edge will be crooked. This is why the block is moved away in order to level the back edge. And she’s already smooth!
Amateurish kaschenism. This is why the holes (holes) were drilled at a distance of 25-30 cm from each other in order to break off the workpiece evenly. With such a small distance between the holes, the crack runs in a straight line along all the numerous holes, which ensures the evenness of the separated face of the monolith and, accordingly, the same evenness of the “reciprocal” part of the rock.
Tipping the workpiece
3. When loading the column onto the ship (Kungurov calls this moment the other way around - “unloading”) the logs (beams) broke, the column “hung in the air” and was kept from sinking for 2 days by the forces of 300 people! Lies!!! How can this be?!!
Ordinary tales of illiterate pseudo-historians. In fact, after the logs broke, the ship tilted, but did not capsize, as it rested against the bottom of the port and the wall of the pier; the stone slid towards the lowered side, but lingered at the wall of the pier, after which, 4 hours later, a military team of 600 people arrived to help the workers, and after 48 hours of continuous work without rest or sleep, the ship was straightened, the monolith on it was firmly strengthened, and On July 1, two steamships delivered him to Palace Embankment.
Column loading failure
4. There is no mention of the column during the years of its manufacture and installation, although the event was grandiose!
There are plenty of references. For example, excerpts from the St. Petersburg press of that time, which covered the process of production and opening of the column. For example, in the newspaper “Northern Bee”.
"Northern Bee", issue No. 149, 1832
"Northern Bee", issue No. 151, 1832
5. The column was made by the “Otlantes”, and it stood on Dvortsovaya long before Montferrand, hidden inside a certain temple - Prince Gagarin depicted the dismantling of this building and the “opening” of the column in his drawing!
There was no temple in the center of Palace Square, as evidenced by a bunch of drawings and engravings before 1832. And Gagarin depicted a column with a platform around it that had already been almost completely dismantled, in the center of which, as expected, the brickwork remained, reinforcing the structure of the scaffolding and surrounding the site of the column’s construction on 3 sides.
Montferrand drawing: brick supports under a wooden platform
(and I’ll add “five kopecks” :o) the structure also served as a greenhouse for work in the winter, because the work on constructing the foundation and pedestal until the installation of the column itself required a lot of time. This structure can be seen in the figure below)
6. Montferrand did not create the AK, because there is an engraving from 1820 in which the column already stands on Palace Square!
And again an epic fail! The engraving clearly shows the “Chariot of Glory” - a copper composition above the arch of the General Staff, which was installed only in 1828, which means the dating of the engraving is nothing more than a banal stupid bullshit. In addition, this engraving is essentially a sketch of one of the variants of the AK project - this is evidenced by the top of the column in the form of a cross: this version of the top was also considered, but in the end the Angel with the Cross “won the tender”.
View of the General Staff Arch from a similar angle
First approved AK variant
More options for AK pommel
7. In Montferrand's drawings, some details do not match the details in his other drawings! Probably, by doing this he is giving us a “sign” that he is being forced to falsify history!
It is important to understand that a lithograph, and even more so a miniature, is not a photograph, and therefore there may be inaccuracies in them. And in general, the artist is a creative person and not burdened by rules. In addition, in addition to personal drawings and drawings, the “graphic heritage of Montferrand” contains many sheets signed by him, but executed by his students and assistants: Sadovnikov, Sabat, Kolman, Richter, Moldavsky, Chernetsov and other artists who performed work for the architect. This fact easily explains the “discrepancies” that are so disturbing to patients.
Lulz, intrigue and just interesting facts:
The preliminary project for installing the monument in St. Petersburg was developed by Montferrand back in 1814. The idea to install the monument specifically on Palace Square belongs to K. Rossi, who already in 1819, on the design plan for the construction of the second building of the General Staff Building, outlined the base of the monument.
When installing the pedestal, natural vodka was mixed with cement instead of water to better set the solution. The workers wept as they watched the precious
the product is used in such a graceless way.
The finishing and polishing of the column took place after its installation and lasted for two whole years. Manually, of course.
5 days before the opening of the monument, A.S. Pushkin quickly pulled out of St. Petersburg, which he wrote about in his diary:
“I didn’t write anything down for three months. I was away - I left St. Petersburg 5 days before the opening of the Alexander Column, so as not to be present at the ceremony along with the chamber cadets - my comrades - I was in Moscow for several hours ..." http://rvb.ru/pushkin/01text/08history/03memoires/1160.htm
The residents of St. Petersburg knew that the gigantic column was installed without any additional fortifications and was supported only by its own weight, so the new monument aroused wariness and even fear among the townspeople for quite a long time - people trembled to walk past the column, fearing that it might fall. Then Montferrand made it a habit to walk around the column every morning with his dog. Over time, his walks had an effect, and St. Petersburg residents stopped being afraid of the monument’s fall.
Montferrand accomplished the lifting of the AK not with zero experience and skill in such a matter, but having thoroughly improved his skill in lifting weights on the construction of 114-ton columns of St. Isaac's Cathedral, four years earlier.
At that time, explosives were used in granite breaking, but the monoliths for the Alexander Column and for the Isaac Columns were mined manually, without the use of gunpowder, for fear of damaging the stone, because “bang-bang!!!” does not have a positive effect on the quality of the stone. “It’s better to be safe than sorry” - this is probably what the contractor V.A. Yakovlev also thought, since in the event of any failure, he was contractually obligated to obtain another blank, but at his own expense. In addition, at his own expense, Yakovlev had to build a pier and a berth located opposite it, and also, having built a raft, deepen the fairway by more than half a meter with iron buckets, since there was a danger that, having accepted such a load, the ship would land on the ground.
Nicholas I ordered “to use the gates of the guards soldiers for action”: this contained a deep symbolic meaning - the soldiers of the guards regiments, ... (beeped by me) the descendants of D'Artagnan and his friends who won the Patriotic War and Foreign campaigns, had to erect themselves monument in honor of the victorious emperor.
And failure was close: despite the successful rehearsal of raising the column to test the strength of the scaffolding and mechanisms, as well as to practice the coordinated actions of hundreds of people, which went off without a hitch, literally two days later, during the “official” raising of the column a dangerous situation arose:.. "
Go to "I Cried" there is more for you :o)
Alexander Column - (often mistakenly called the Alexandria Pillar, after A. S. Pushkin’s poem “Monument”, where the poet talks about the famous Alexandria Lighthouse) is one of the most famous monuments in St. Petersburg.
Erected in the Empire style in 1834 in the center of Palace Square by the architect Auguste Montferrand by order of Emperor Nicholas I in memory of the victory of his elder brother Alexander I over Napoleon.
Monument to Alexander I (Alexander Column). 1834. Architect O.R. Montferand
History of creation
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 idea of building the monument was proposed by 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.
1. General view of the building structure
2. Foundation
3. Pedestal
4. Ramp and platform
5. Lifting the column
6. Ensemble of Palace Square
An open competition 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 challenge with a project to erect 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 of the Institute of Railway Engineers. Montferrand proposed installing a huge granite obelisk 25.6 meters (84 feet or 12 fathoms) high on a granite plinth 8.22 meters (27 feet). The front side of the obelisk was supposed to be decorated with bas-reliefs depicting the events of the War of 1812 in photographs from the famous medallions by medalist Count F. P. Tolstoy.
On the pedestal it was planned to carry the inscription “To the Blessed One - Grateful Russia.” On the pedestal, the architect saw a rider on a horse trampling a snake 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 monoliths known in the world in its height (secretly highlighting the obelisk installed by D. Fontana in front of St. Peter's Cathedral). The artistic part of the project is excellently executed using watercolor techniques and testifies to Montferrand’s high skill in various areas of fine art.
Trying to defend his project, the architect acted within the limits of subordination, dedicating his essay “Plans et details du monument consacr è à la mémoire de l'Empereur Alexandre” to Nicholas I, but the idea was still rejected and Montferrand was clearly pointed to the column as the desired one the shape of the monument.
Final project
The second project, which was subsequently implemented, was to install a column higher than that of Vendôme (erected in honor of Napoleon's victories). Montferrand was offered Trajan's Column in Rome as a source of inspiration.
Trajan's Column in Rome
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. The artist expressed his individuality by refusing to use additional decorations, like the bas-reliefs spiraling around the core of the ancient Trajan's Column. Montferrand showed the beauty of a giant polished pink granite monolith 25.6 meters (12 fathoms) high.
Vendôme Column in Paris - a monument to Napoleon
In addition, Montferrand made his monument taller than all existing ones. In this new form, on September 24, 1829, the project without sculptural completion was approved by the sovereign.
Construction took place 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 responsible for the installation of the column
Preparatory work
For the granite monolith - the main part of the column - the rock that the sculptor outlined during his previous trips to Finland was used. Mining and preliminary processing were carried out in 1830-1832 in the Pyuterlak quarry, which was located between Vyborg and Friedrichsham. 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.
View of the Puterlax quarry during work
From the book by O. Montferrand "Plan and details of the memorial monument dedicated to Emperor Alexander I", Paris, 1836
After the stonemasons examined the rock and confirmed the suitability of the material, a prism was cut off from it, which was significantly larger in size than the future column. Giant devices were used: huge levers and gates to move the block from its place and tip it onto a soft and elastic bedding of spruce branches.
After separating the workpiece, huge stones were cut from the same rock for the foundation of the monument, the largest of which weighed about 25,000 poods (more than 400 tons). Their delivery to St. Petersburg was carried out by water, for this purpose a barge of a special design was used.
The monolith was duped on site and prepared for transportation. Transportation issues were dealt with by naval engineer Colonel Glasin, who designed and built a special boat, named “St. Nicholas,” with a carrying capacity of up to 65,000 poods (1,100 tons). To carry out loading operations, a special pier was built. Loading was carried out from a wooden platform at its end, which coincided in height with the side of the ship.
Arrival of ships with stone blocks in St. Petersburg
Having overcome all difficulties, the column was loaded on board, and the monolith went to Kronstadt on a barge towed by two steamships, from there to go to the Palace Embankment of St. Petersburg.
The arrival of the central part of the column in St. Petersburg took place on July 1, 1832. The contractor, merchant 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 management were noted by Montferrand. Most likely, he acted independently, “at his own peril and expense” - taking upon himself 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 you have as much success as he did
— Nicholas I, to Auguste Montferrand regarding the prospects after unloading the column in St. Petersburg
Works in St. Petersburg
Construction of granite pedestal and scaffolding with stone base for column installation
Since 1829, work began on the preparation and construction of the foundation and pedestal of the column on Palace Square in St. Petersburg. The work was supervised by O. Montferrand.
Model of the rise of the Alexander Column
First, a geological survey of the area was carried out, which resulted in the discovery of a suitable sandy continent near the center of the area at a depth of 17 feet (5.2 m). In December 1829, the location for the column was approved, and 1,250 six-meter pine piles were driven under the base. Then the piles were cut to fit 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 to the level of the water table, which ensured that the site was horizontal.
Denisov Alexander Gavrilovich. The rise of the Alexander Column. 1832
This method was proposed by Lieutenant General A. A. Betancourt, an architect and engineer, organizer of construction and transport in the Russian Empire. Previously, using a similar technology, the foundation of St. Isaac's Cathedral was laid.
The foundation of the monument was built from stone granite blocks half a meter thick. It was extended to the horizon of the square using planked masonry. In its center was placed a bronze box with coins minted in honor of the victory of 1812.
The work was completed in October 1830.
Construction of the pedestal
After laying the foundation, a huge four-hundred-ton monolith, brought from the Pyuterlak quarry, was erected on it, which serves as the base of the pedestal.
General view of building structures
The engineering problem of installing such a large monolith was solved by O. Montferrand as follows:
1. Installation of the monolith on the foundation
* The monolith was rolled on rollers through an inclined plane onto a platform built close to the foundation.
* The stone was dumped on a pile of sand, previously poured next to the platform.
“At the same time, the earth shook so much that eyewitnesses - passers-by who were in the square at that moment, felt something like an underground shock.”
* Supports were placed, then workers scooped out the sand and placed rollers.
* The supports were cut down and the block was lowered onto the rollers.
* The stone was rolled onto the foundation.
2. Precise installation of the monolith
* Ropes thrown over blocks were pulled with nine capstans, and the stone was raised to a height of about one meter.
* They took out the rollers and added a layer of slippery solution, very unique in its composition, on which they planted the monolith.
Since the work was carried out in winter, I ordered cement and vodka to be mixed and a tenth of soap added. 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 that I ordered to be mixed into the solution
— O. Montferrand
Setting up the upper parts of the pedestal was a much simpler task - despite the greater height of the rise, subsequent steps consisted of stones of much smaller sizes than the previous ones, and besides, the workers gradually gained experience.
Column installation
By July 1832, the monolith of the column was on its way, and the pedestal had already been completed. It's time to begin the most difficult task - installing the column on the pedestal.
Bishebois, L. P. -A. Bayo A. J. -B. - Raising of the Alexander Column
Based on the developments of Lieutenant General A. A. Betancourt for the installation of 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, and he took advantage of all this in the following way:
Column lifting
* The column was rolled along an inclined plane onto a special platform located at the foot of the scaffolding and wrapped in many rings of ropes to which blocks were attached;
* Another block system was located on top of the scaffolding;
* A large number of ropes encircling the stone went around the upper and lower blocks and the free ends were wound on capstans placed in the square.
After all the preparations were completed, the day of the ceremonial ascent was set.
On August 30, 1832, masses of people gathered to watch this event: they occupied the entire square, and besides this, the windows and roof of the General Staff Building were occupied by spectators. The sovereign and the entire imperial family came to the raising.
To bring the column into a vertical position on Palace Square, engineer A. A. Betancourt needed to attract the forces of 2000 soldiers and 400 workers, who installed the monolith in 1 hour 45 minutes.
The block of stone rose obliquely, slowly crawled, then lifted off the ground and was brought to a position above the pedestal. On command, the ropes were released, the column smoothly lowered and fell into place. The people shouted loudly “Hurray!” The sovereign himself was very pleased with the successful completion of the matter.
Montferrand, you have immortalized yourself!
Original text (French)
Montferrand, vous vous êtes immortalise!
— Nicholas I to Auguste Montferrand regarding the completed work
Grigory Gagarin. Alexandria Column in the woods. 1832-1833
After installing the column, all that remained was to attach the bas-relief slabs and decorative elements to the pedestal, as well as to complete the final processing and polishing of the column. The column was surmounted by a bronze capital of the Doric order with a rectangular abacus made of brickwork with bronze facing. A bronze cylindrical pedestal with a hemispherical top was installed on it.
In parallel with the construction of the column, in September 1830, O. Montferrand worked on a statue intended to be placed above it and, according to the wishes of Nicholas I, facing the Winter Palace. In the original design, the column was completed with a cross entwined with a snake to decorate the fasteners. In addition, the sculptors of the Academy of Arts proposed several options for compositions of figures of angels and virtues with a cross. There was an option to install the figure of Saint Prince Alexander Nevsky.
Sketches of figures and groups crowning the column. Projects
From the book by O. Montferrand
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 - “By this victory!” These words are connected with the story of the acquisition of the life-giving cross:
The Roman Emperor (274-337) Constantine the Great, entrusting Mother Helen with a trip to Jerusalem, said:
“During three battles, I saw a cross in the sky, and on it the inscription “By this victory.” Find him!
“I’ll find it,” she answered.
The finishing and polishing of the monument lasted two years.
St. Petersburg. Alexandria Column.
"Guildburg mid-19th century.
Mid-19th century Steel engraving.
Opening of the monument
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 thousand Russian troops and representatives of the Russian army. It was carried out in a distinctly Orthodox setting and was accompanied by a solemn service at the foot of the column, in which kneeling troops and the emperor himself took part.
Bishebois, L. P. -A. Bayo A. J. -B. - Grand opening of the Alexander Column
This open-air service drew a parallel with the historical prayer service of Russian troops in Paris on the day of Orthodox Easter on March 29 (April 10), 1814.
It was impossible to look without deep emotional tenderness 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 everyone.<…>How striking was at that moment the contrast between the greatness of life, magnificent, but fleeting, with the greatness of death, gloomy, but unchangeable; and how eloquent was this angel in view of both, who, unrelated to everything that surrounded him, stood between earth and heaven, belonging to the 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 from V. A. Zhukovsky “to Emperor Alexander”, revealing the symbolism of this act and giving an interpretation of the new prayer service
Chernetsov Grigory and Nikanor Grigorievich. Parade to mark the opening of the monument to Alexander I in St. Petersburg. August 30, 1834. 1834
Parade at the opening of the Alexandria Column in 1834. From a painting by Ladurneur
Then a military parade was held on the square. Regiments that distinguished themselves in the Patriotic War of 1812 took part in it; In total, about one hundred thousand people took part in the parade:
... no pen can describe the greatness of that moment when, following three cannon shots, suddenly from all the streets, as if born from the earth, in slender bulks, with the thunder of drums, to the sounds of the Paris March, columns of the Russian army began to march... For two hours this magnificent, unique in world spectacle... In the evening, noisy crowds wandered through the streets of the illuminated city for a long time, finally the lighting went out, the streets were empty, and in a deserted square the majestic colossus was left alone with its sentry
— From the memoirs of the poet V. A. Zhukovsky
Ruble with a portrait of Alexander I in honor of the opening of the Alexandria Pillar in 1834.
In honor of this event, a memorial ruble was issued in the same year with a circulation of 15,000.
Description of the monument
The Alexander Column is reminiscent of examples of triumphal buildings of antiquity; the monument has amazing clarity of proportions, laconism of form, and beauty of silhouette.
Text on the monument plaque:
Grateful Russia to Alexander I
It is the tallest monument in the world, made of solid granite, and the third tallest after the Column of the Grand Army in Boulogne-sur-Mer and Trafalgar (Nelson's Column) in London. It is taller than similar monuments in the world: the Vendôme Column in Paris, Trajan's Column in Rome and Pompey's Column in Alexandria.
Comparison of Alexander's Column, Trajan's Column, Napoleon's Column, Marcus Aurelius' Column, and the so-called "Pompey's Column"
Characteristics
* The total height of the structure is 47.5 m.
o The height of the trunk (monolithic part) of the column is 25.6 m (12 fathoms).
o Pedestal height 2.85 m (4 arshins),
o The height of the angel figure is 4.26 m,
o The height of the cross is 6.4 m (3 fathoms).
* The lower diameter of the column is 3.5 m (12 ft), the upper diameter 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.
o The weight of the stone column shaft is about 600 tons.
o 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.
The pedestal of the column, decorated on four sides with bronze bas-reliefs, was cast at the C. Byrd factory in 1833-1834.
Column pedestal, front side (facing the Winter Palace).
At the top is the All-Seeing Eye, in the circle of the oak wreath is the inscription of 1812, below it are laurel garlands, which are held in the paws of double-headed eagles.
On the bas-relief there are two winged female figures holding a board with the inscription Grateful Russia to Alexander I, under them are the armor of Russian knights, on both sides of the armor are figures personifying the Vistula and Neman rivers
A large team of authors worked on the decoration of the pedestal: sketch drawings were made by O. Montferrand, based on them on cardboard the artists J.B. Scotti, V. Solovyov, Tverskoy, F. Brullo, Markov painted life-size bas-reliefs. Sculptors P.V. Svintsov and I. Leppe sculpted bas-reliefs for casting. Models of double-headed eagles were made by sculptor I. Leppe, models of the base, garlands and other decorations were made by sculptor-ornamentalist E. Balin.
The bas-reliefs on the pedestal of the column in an 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 stored in the Armory Chamber 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 completely doubtful, the shield Oleg of the 10th 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 famous lover of Russian antiquities A. N. Olenin.
In addition to armor and allegories, allegorical figures are depicted on the pedestal on the northern (front) side: winged female figures hold a rectangular board with the inscription in civil script: “Grateful Russia to Alexander the First.” Below the board is an exact copy of armor samples from the armory.
Symmetrically located figures on the sides of the weapons (on the left - a beautiful young woman leaning on an urn from which water is pouring out and on the right - an old Aquarius man) represent the Vistula and Neman rivers, which were crossed by the Russian army during the persecution of Napoleon.
Other bas-reliefs depict Victory and Glory, recording the dates of memorable battles, and, in addition, on the pedestal are depicted the allegories “Victory and Peace” (the years 1812, 1813 and 1814 are inscribed on the Victory shield), “Justice and Mercy”, “Wisdom and Abundance” "
At the upper corners of the pedestal there are double-headed eagles; they hold in their paws oak garlands 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 by an oak wreath, is the All-Seeing Eye with the signature “1812”.
All bas-reliefs depict weapons of a classical nature as decorative elements, which
...does not belong to modern Europe and cannot hurt the pride of any people.
— O. Montferrand
Sculpture of an angel on a cylindrical pedestal
Column and angel sculpture
The stone column is a solid polished element made of pink granite. The column trunk has a conical shape.
The top of the column is crowned with a bronze capital of the Doric order. Its upper part, a rectangular abacus, is made of brickwork with bronze cladding. A bronze cylindrical pedestal with a hemispherical top is installed on it, inside which is enclosed the main supporting mass, consisting of multi-layer masonry: granite, brick and two more layers of granite at the base.
The monument is crowned with a figure of an angel by Boris Orlovsky. In his left hand the angel holds a four-pointed Latin cross, and raises his right hand to heaven. The angel's head 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 rod, which was later removed, and during the restoration in 2002-2003 it turned out that the angel was supported by its own bronze mass.
Alexander Column top
Not only is the column itself taller than the Vendôme Column, but the figure of the angel surpasses in height the figure of Napoleon I on the Vendôme Column. In addition, an angel tramples a serpent with a cross, which symbolizes the peace and tranquility that Russia brought to Europe, having won the victory over Napoleonic troops.
The sculptor gave the angel's facial features 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 Elisaveta Kulman.
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.
19th century color photolithograph, view from the east, showing a guard's box, fence and lantern candelabra
Fence and surroundings of the monument
The Alexander Column was surrounded by a decorative bronze fence designed by Auguste Montferrand. The height of the fence is about 1.5 meters. The fence was decorated with 136 double-headed eagles and 12 captured cannons (4 in the corners and 2 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 banner poles, topped with guards' double-headed eagles. There were locks on the gates of the fence in accordance with the author's plan.
In addition, the project included the installation of candelabra 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 north-eastern corner of the fence there was a guard box, in which there was a disabled person dressed in a full guards uniform, who guarded the monument day and night and kept order in the square.
The entire space of Palace Square was paved with ends.
Saint Petersburg. Palace Square, Alexander Column.
Stories and legends associated with the Alexander Column
* It is noteworthy that the installation of the column on the pedestal and the opening of the monument took place on August 30 (September 11, new style). This is not a coincidence: 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 protector of the city, so the angel looking from the top of the Alexander Column has always been perceived primarily as a protector and guardian.
* To hold a parade of troops on Palace Square, the Yellow (now Pevchesky) Bridge was built according to the design of O. Montferrand.
* After the opening of the column, the residents of St. Petersburg were very afraid that it would fall and tried not to get close to 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 the power structures of the top - the abacus, on which the figure of the angel is installed, were originally conceived in granite ; but at the last moment it had to be replaced with brickwork with a lime-based bonding mortar.
In order to dispel the fears of the townspeople, 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.
Sadovnikov, Vasily. View of the Palace Square and the General Staff building in St. Petersburg
Sadovnikov, Vasily. View of the Palace Square and Winter Palace in St. Petersburg
* During 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 a message that in 1952 the figure of an angel was going to be replaced with a bust of Stalin.
"Alexander's Column and General Staff". Lithograph by L. J. Arnoux. 1840s
* 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.
* The French envoy to 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 cutting, transportation and installation, namely: he suggested that the emperor drill a spiral staircase inside this column and demanded for this only two workers: 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 it out; 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 up a little) would have finished their spiral staircase; but the emperor, justifiably proud of the construction of this one-of-a-kind monument, feared, and perhaps with good reason, that this drilling would not pierce the outer sides of the column, and therefore refused this proposal.
- Baron P. de Bourgoin, French envoy from 1828 to 1832
* After the restoration began in 2002-2003, unauthorized newspaper publications began to spread information that the column was not solid, but consisted of a certain number of “pancakes” so skillfully adjusted to each other that the seams between them were practically invisible.
* The newlyweds come to the Alexander Column, and the groom carries the bride in his arms around the pillar. According to legend, the number of times the groom walks around the column with the bride in his arms, the number of children they will have.
Alexander Column in St. Petersburg
Engraving by G. Jorden from the original by A. G. Vickers. 1835. Etching on steel, hand coloring. 14x10 cm
Addition and restoration work
Two years after the installation of the monument, in 1836, under the bronze top of the granite column, white-gray spots began to appear on the polished surface of the stone, spoiling the appearance of the monument.
In 1841, Nicholas I ordered an inspection of the defects then noticed on the column, but the conclusion of the examination stated that even during the processing process, 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, originally characteristic of the monolith, but fear was expressed that an increase in the number and size of them “could lead to the collapse of the column.”
There have been discussions about the materials that should be used to seal these caverns. The Russian “grandfather of chemistry” A. A. Voskresensky proposed a composition “which was supposed to impart a 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 attached to the abacus of the capital - 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 large height of the column.
The decorative lanterns near the column were made 40 years after the opening - in 1876 by the architect K. K. Rachau.
During the entire period 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 on holidays the angel was covered with a red tarpaulin cap or camouflaged with balloons lowered from a hovering airship.
The fence was dismantled and melted down for cartridge casings in the 1930s.
During the siege of Leningrad, the monument was covered only 2/3 of its height. Unlike Klodt's horses or the sculptures of the Summer Garden, the sculpture remained in its place and the angel was injured: a deep fragmentation mark remained on one of the wings, in addition to this, the monument suffered more than a hundred minor damage from shell fragments. One of the fragments got stuck in a bas-relief image of the helmet of Alexander Nevsky, from where it was removed in 2003.
Arch of the General Staff and Alexandrian Column
The restoration was carried out in 1963 (foreman N.N. Reshetov, the head of the work was restorer I.G. Black).
In 1977, restoration work was carried out on Palace Square: historical lanterns were restored around the column, the asphalt surface was replaced with granite and diabase paving stones.
Raev Vasily Egorovich. Alexander Column during a thunderstorm. 1834.
V. S. Sadovnikov. Around 1830
St. Petersburg and suburbs
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 the most famous monuments of St. 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.
The 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 of an open competition, exactly 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 represent in allegorical form the glory of Russian weapons and symbolize the courage of the 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.
It’s high time to tell tales about how the peasants of Peter and the masters of Alexander, the hierophants of pre-civilizations, the Atlanto-Pleiadians of the Tartarians and other Anunakhs from the Nebira, carved, sharpened, dragged, and erected the Alexandrian Column against the laws of nature.
The history of the creation of the solid Alexandrian Column was falsified from the very beginning.The column is an ordinary composite one. 10 parts are quite visible if you look at distant photos with filters, and without any filters at close ones.
This is an ordinary composite column in granite cladding, made complete with other “antiquity” as part of a global project to endow sapiens with history, around the same time and in the same way (there are actual copies, for example, in Baalbek), simultaneously with the pyramids, but not taken away by historians into the darkness of centuries and the sands of time.
You can quote Montferrand as much as you like, but one stage of the “evidence of contemporaries,” the initial, cutting-out stage, is very shy for both “officials” and “alternativeists” of all stripes.
The “stone,” according to contemporaries, was cut down with “calculated explosions.”
I especially like this text. I thought that only the current guild of history creators suffers from cretinism. It turns out not. It's happened before.
“When all the leading masses in front of the column were removed, Kolodkin began to clear the base of the mountain under the mass of the column itself, and when this was completed with skillfully calculated explosions directed in all directions of the stone, so that the entire mass, which had more than 100 thousand pounds of weight, almost hanging in the air - he placed supports under the mass and on the front side. These supports along the entire front or outer side entered the mass with their upper ends through slots hollowed out in this latter, and the lower part of these buttresses was placed on logs and buried in the ground. The length of these logs was from 4 to 5 fathoms. Thus, people had the opportunity to work under the mass without any danger, for it was necessary to expand the cuts or grooves from below at the base by means of explosions, for the most convenient and unhindered fall of the bulk from the sides. When all this was brought to After the end, Kolodkin, in the presence of Mr. Yakovlev himself, began to give orders for the dumping of the column mass..."
In general, the Alexandria Column was not broken out of a granite monolith with wedges and not hollowed out with hammers, as one might have decided by looking at drawings of other objects, but was obtained by controlled (calculated) explosions (!!!), in a granite monolith (!!), hanging (!!!), and then they laid down logs, spruce branches and brushwood to drop it. Read more about this in the following links.
Enchanting! We are delighted.
Sema Pegov's great-grandfather knew a lot about his craft.
True, I knew nothing about explosions, and it’s unlikely that I’ve ever seen at least one explosion in my life, but is this an obstacle to an honest report?
*
A formality for those in the tank: according to the laws of nature, monoliths split apart during an explosion.
The column was made, as I have said more than once, from standard components (limestone or similar material), like all “columns of antiquity,” covered with artificial granite poured into formwork. It appears to have been placed on a natural rock base; It is risky to place such a fragile colossus on an artificial foundation.
The formwork is composite, from a set of metal pipes or half-pipes, used in turn as parts of the core are attached. Each segment is narrowed upward, by centimeters.
The plaster of artificial granite is filigree, but not flawless.
The joints of the column parts are still caved in here and there, and they cannot be repaired until they are perfectly level.
The joint between parts 1 and 2 (counting from the bottom).
Formwork pipes or interlocking half-pipes were placed over the uncured mass of granite. There are traces of joints, although it is difficult to see with the eye (I did not see it when I looked at it live). But sometimes it’s more useful to watch good footage. The Alexandrian Column is just such a case.
Track. When drying, liquid granite at the junction of the core parts slightly flowed around the parts, forming characteristic folds.
The original photos with this fold are , .
I’ll repeat it once again to the concrete blockheads: not a single antique was poured right away. Only in layers. The reaction and hardening take more than one day. The wet granite mass sets while still wet, so it does not form seams. Although, with large volumes and repeated fillings, they cannot be avoided. As in the Aswan sub-obelisk with a cut - .
Two more folds at the joints
In the middle is the 8th part, below it is the 7th, above it is the 9th.
Defects in the shape of the core; the granite mass, when completely dry, flowed slightly.
But to the finish line - when the pipe is removed - there can only be manual work.
This is not a spatula, these petals were generally leveled with your fingers.
A dent from the finger in the groove between the 9th and 10th parts was imprinted.
At the bottom of the column, at the very base, there was a slight underfill with obvious drips.
A couple more dent marks.
One of these dents has an obvious foreign object in a spiral shape. It's a pity that I didn't fully get into the frame. This is a surprise for me. It turns out that the shell of artificial granite was laid not just with a mesh frame, but with a mesh of spirals... Well, that’s reasonable. This achieves the maximum possible adhesion and, accordingly, the strength of the product.
I agree with my opponents that the formwork pipe could not have been solid. It has a seam, or is folded from two halves. The imprint of a seam or joint on the column is also visible.
Most likely there was no sanding, and if there was, it was minimal. Surface granite columns are a very precise work with a very smooth formwork, a hollow tube of minimally porous, ground metal.
The formwork pipe is a grinding machine in itself. When carefully lifted with many soft blows from below, the semi-hardened granite is perfectly polished.
It can also be seen that the column, when sequentially poured with pipe formwork, noticeably moved to the side.
Without entasis - the upward narrowing of each component of the formwork, it is in principle impossible to remove the formwork pipe section without damaging the surface.
Montferrand writes that on September 19, 1831, “the rock, shaking at its base, slowly and silently fell onto the bed prepared for it.” In the fall, transporting the monolith was very dangerous. Therefore, right on the spot, we first began to dull the monolith, and then to trim it according to special templates. The work was carried out over six months by 250 masons.
The drawing of the column shows templates for trimming. The column is divided into 12 parts, each part had its own template. The drawing shows templates No. 7 and No. 12: 
The lower diameter of the column is 3.66 m (12 ft) and the upper diameter is 3.19 m (10 ft 6 in). The upper diameter of the column fits eight times its height. The calculation of the entasis (curvature of the side surface) of the column was carried out by the mathematician, mechanic and engineer Gavrilo Frantsevich (Gabriel) Lame (1795-1870), who was teaching at that time in St. Petersburg together with Betancourt at the newly formed Institute of Railways
It is not entirely clear what your template means, it seems to be about entasis, therefore about a gradual narrowing of the column in diameter, but this is not visible from the drawing.
21 Pieds are measured below, probably we are talking about the old French unit of measurement of length and distance (Parisian version): 1 pied = 32.48 cm. That means 21 pieds = 6.82 m. There is also a length scale in fathoms, approximately 3 fathoms, which means those the same is approximately 6.5 m.
And what is this multilayer “shell”?
If you remove the “shell”, you get approximately the diameter of the Alexander Column at the base of 3.7 m.
*
Addition about Montferrand's obvious falsification of other stages of the production process, which do not stand up to criticism from the standpoint of simple logic; from the discussion there.
The drawings of “mining the monolith” are fake even at this stage.
According to Montferrand, explosions were not used to separate the column blank; for this purpose, they hollowed out a groove for the logs, then broke off the blank using a dozen logs as a lever.
How was a groove cut the width of the log, two heights deep, between the workpiece and the rock?
The authors say: "incredibly hard work." They allegedly attracted from 300 to 400 people.
These hundreds are of no use, because only one person can work in this groove, and his movements are very limited. With a hand tool for chiselling, one worker will have a job for years, if not decades...
Have any scientists, seeing fantastic drawings and reading fantastic descriptions, ever thought about the fantastic nature of these drawings and descriptions? This cannot happen. Still, I think that any historian studying the column is secretly obliged to believe the authors of the drawings and descriptions.
"Cutting templates" are most similar to the component halves of prefabricated pipe formwork for a column shell.
The rise is known to contemporaries mainly from Montferrand’s drawings. Three paintings by other artists are known.
Five days after the installation, Alexander Denisov presented the painting “The Rising of the Alexander Column”.
Grigory Gagarin inscribed the watercolor "Alexandria Column in the Forests. 1832-1833" as follows. "D" aperes nature p. le P-le Grigoire Gagarine. Priutino, ce 4 juine 1833" - "From life by Prince Grigory Gagarin. Added to Priyutino. This June 4, 1833"
Next, I transfer several comments from the discussion of the topic of the column, this is an account of the magazine “Science and Religion”; the editors of which undertook to establish a discussion between representatives of academic history and the rest.
*
I think that this is the creativity of the witnesses of the rise of the Alexandria Column, etc. Louis Pierre-Alphonse Adam Bichebois and Adolphe Jean Baptiste De Baillot, even the most irreconcilable academician will be forced to recognize as a fake, due to the complete obviousness of this fake.
Any professional artist knows that it is impossible, while observing the process of raising a column, to make a mistake in the sketch so much in its length - as many as two. There is only one conclusion here: the artists did not see the process with their own eyes.
Fulfilling the assigned task - to fabricate artistic evidence of the raising of the column, the artists performed a more realistic version, lifting it in parts. Fairly judging that it would be problematic to lift even half of it using this method... The second half could have been lifted using a similar lift from bulk soil, it is likely that the artists, together or separately, depicted the entire set of works, but the customer rejected the rest of the work.. .
It turns out that the first chroniclers had an order for a two-part composite column. Then they replayed it, and Montferrand came out with an edited version, where the column is intact.
This often happens on the shop floor.
In Denisov’s painting “The Rise of the Alexander Column” it looks very much like the column is also a bit short. With a whole column, there should be no gap in the forests where the artist painted it. So the final version is only from Montferrand.
The speed of Denisov’s painting also suggests that the order was given in advance and completed long ago.
By the way, the weather in Denisov and Bishebois-Bayo is radically different, and the sun shines from different directions... Although the weather in St. Petersburg changes often.
The weather, different times of day - things are tolerable. But two white tents in one painting and one in another indicate that at this time in this place there could not be the authors of these paintings.
And the most important difference. Denisov, like Montferand in many drawings and engravings, has a system of ramps and beams. Bishebois has a very obvious and much more realistic fill soil. This is still a draft version of the column installation, which was replaced by the current “classic” one.
These things can only be explained by editing the lift version. The early version of Bichebois-Baillot, in terms of the time of publication, was edited into the later version, in terms of the time of publication, of Montferrand-Denisov.
What was tortured by the creators of the legend about the ascent, of course, sticks out in the picture of Bishebois-Bayo.
The painting was also edited, as was the version of the ascent.
On top of the obvious soil with differences in elevation, lines of platform boards were laid where possible. I highlighted two areas in red.
It turned out to be a double absurdity. The platform supports not only the incredible weight of the column of 600 tons, but also the comparable weight of the soil.
Which, in principle, there is no need to pour onto the platform.
In the background, behind the cart, the thickness of the soil is approximately two-thirds the height of a person, and the soil is poured over a vast area on which stands a solid mass of people, lost in the background and visible from our perspective. This is a triple absurdity: the mass of people is another load on the platform.
I repeat: the artists depicted the entire rise in halves and bulk soil, but only this one picture was shown to the masses, and that was after editing.
But in reality, of course, they made up the core of the column from 10 parts, then lined it with artificial granite, a mixture that was prepared with it.
The only picture that reflects the real “rise” is this one. Grigory Gagarin. "Alexander's Column in the forests. 1832-1833."
The lower sectors are ready. The granite was pressed with the same “cutting templates” so that the folds would not be pushed out (it didn’t work out very well, the “templates” were not fixed firmly enough). Work is being carried out at the level of 7-8 sectors.
The building is an extremely functional barn, primitively built from blocks, a single-use production facility.
The parapet on the roof is not laid out solid, but with openings for lifting loads. The right wing is made lower, as a platform for the same purpose. Opposite it is a gate and a loaded cart, with material raised on it.
The logs for the scaffolding were dragged onto the wing farthest from us, and part of the wall fell apart. No one cared because all or most of the large lumber had already been lifted. Opposite the wing, smaller timber is stored.
Windows were made with arches everywhere before the era of reinforced concrete; the arch was not laid out for aesthetics, it supports the load of the roof, this is normal for an industrial premises.
It is unlikely that the far wall is missing, as in Montferrand’s drawing; rather, one of the internal rooms has become external. If it were possible to do without walls, then they would do... The pedestal does not require a production building. And the installed column does not require constant supply of materials; it is required only when continuing work on creating the body of the column, that is, when facing with artificial granite.
Most likely, sections of the inner core of the column were lifted from the collapsed side; or they were cast in a room that, after installing the column rod (and it was installed at this stage), became unnecessary. Of course, scaffolding of such dimensions was needed to lift the sections.
Before the era of electricity, windows were not so much for ventilation as for light.
Naturally, the production structure will interfere with Montferrand and his entire plot, which is 100% false.
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And one more detail that says a lot. The dump on the left wall is too big. The height is more than two riders. This is far from construction waste. There is nothing to be destroyed to create such a dump; the wall can only be filled with garbage on top. Apparently, sand was brought but not used.
Why did they bring so much extra?
I think that it could well have been brought under the column of the very first project, without granite. The same thickness, composite, subspecies of July or Marcus Aurelius. But during the preparation, the workshop decided to make the world’s tallest “monolithic granite” column. The material for which sand was needed was used for a rod of smaller diameter, it was lined with artificial granite, and excess material for the first project remained. That is, inside the column there is a composite rod, reinforced segments made of some kind of sand-lime composition.
It is not the custom for contractors to deliver and for customers to pay for construction materials in huge excess...
Let me remind you that there is no estimate for the column, except for a scribble that is not remotely working; The documentation, of course, was there, but it was confiscated.
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There is certainly a column in Gagarin’s painting, and it is in the process of being “clad” with artificial granite.
Moreover, there is already obviously a hemisphere on it - a pedestal for an angel, only the angel himself is not there yet.
To the right of the column, closer to the viewer, there are strange structures that look like sheets of giant corrugated foil.
I think that these are wooden or metal devices for grasping and pressing metal formwork along its entire length, preventing its deformation. The formwork is still composite, made of two leaves, and not a pipe, as I initially assumed. The flap halves of the prefabricated formwork are the same “templates for cutting” on the Montferrand diagrams.
What else is interesting: in the area where the work is being done, to the right of the column, closer to the viewer, two vessels or objects similar to vessels are visible, one of which is suspended, the other is suspended or standing.
Liquid components for the formation of granite mass. There's nothing else to be here.
Of course, to form the granite mass you need water, it uses quicklime. The second component, I’m sure, is liquid or dissolved organic matter. Which one exactly - science will not find out; science has been protecting the paradigm with “natural granite” for almost 200 years.
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And the answer to
