Monument to Nicholas I at St. Isaac's Square in St. Petersburg

The monument to Nicholas I is one of the most significantsculptural structures of St. Petersburg. It is located on one of the main squares of the northern capital and serves as its magnificent decoration. Recalling the externally famous "Bronze Horseman", he nevertheless has his own original features, primarily from the engineering and technical point of view, and also differs from him in appearance.

general characteristics

The monument to Nicholas I was erected on the initiative ofHis successor and son Alexander II. The author was O. Montferrand, or rather, the latter designed the composition and created a pedestal, and the figure of the emperor was invented and molded by P. Klodt. Casting and creation lasted three years, and the opening took place in 1859. At its construction valuable materials, for example the Italian marble were used. Originally, the sculptor planned to make the figure of the ruler on a calmly standing horse, but this project was rejected by Montferrand, who wanted to join the two parts of the square in the composition, which were solved in different architectural styles. As a result, the monument to Nicholas I acquired the species that exists now. The emperor sits on a horse in motion, which is contrasted with the calm figure of the rider.

Location:

Sculptural composition is located on the squarebetween St. Isaac's Cathedral and the Mariinsky Theater. It is on the same axis with the famous "Bronze Horseman", which is a kind of allegory: it is known that the Emperor during his lifetime sought to imitate Peter I, and this arrangement, obviously, should emphasize this continuity in politics. However, it should also take into account the fact that the creators sought to turn the area into a single cultural and archaeological ensemble, and for this they decided to put the monument in this place. For the final design of the space in the indicated place, a monument to Nicholas I on the Isaakievskaya Square was erected. St. Petersburg, thus, was decorated with another sculptural composition dedicated to one of the emperors.

Appearance

At first glance, the new composition is veryrecalls the famous statue of Peter I, whom Nikolai Pavlovitch really wanted to emulate during his reign. That is why the composition has explicit references to this monument, but at the same time it differs from it. First of all, this refers to the rider's pose. On the first composition the king is depicted in dynamics: he sits with his outstretched hand, his body is directed forward, and the turn of the head symbolizes the aspiration to the future. The monument to Nicholas I, on the other hand, represents it calm and majestic, which is especially emphasized by the parade pedestal on which the figure is located. The king himself is represented in the uniform of the Horse Regiment, which also emphasizes the official character of the sculpture, while the "Bronze Horseman" was more symbolic. It was carried out in the spirit of enlightenment ideals and was supposed to signify the victory of reason and the progressive nature of Peter's reforms. But the monument to Nicholas I on St. Isaac's Square personified the power and grandeur of the imperial power. This fully corresponded to the spirit of the government of this king, who cared about the strengthening of absolutism.

Decoration

Separately, it should be said about the allegoricalimages located on the pedestal of the monument. First of all, these are four female figures that symbolize strength, wisdom, justice and faith. Their faces are portraits of the empress and daughters of this king. Their author is R. Zaleman. Between the two figures is the coat of arms. We should also mention the bas-reliefs, which depict the most significant events of the Nicholas reign: the Decembrist uprising, the cholera riot, the awarding of Speransky for the publication of the code of laws and the opening of the railway bridge by the emperor. Three bas-reliefs were executed by Romazanov, one - Zaleman. At first the monument to Nicholas I on St. Isaac's Square in St. Petersburg did not have a fence, but later it was added.

Technical advantages

Sculpture is unique with an engineering pointview. The fact is that the statue stands on the pedestal, relying only on two points - these are the hind legs of the horse. It was the only structure of its kind in Europe. A similar design was applied only in the US when erecting the sculpture of E. Jackson. Initially, it was assumed that the monument to Nicholas I in St. Petersburg is stable due to the fact that a stone was placed in the horse statue in order to weight the fulcrum. However, during the restoration work in the Soviet era, nothing like this was found. It turned out that the construction is stable due to the special heavy metal bars that were ordered by the sculptor at one of the best factories.

Further destiny

In Soviet times the question arose thatto demolish a monument to Nicholas I on St. Isaac's Square in St. Petersburg. Instead, it was planned to put a sculpture of one leader of the Red Army: Frunze or Budyonny. However, when discussing the issue, it is important that the design is unique from a technical point of view and that it will be very difficult to dismantle it, and in this connection they decided to leave the structure. Subsequently, they also rejected the project to replace it with another structure. Only the fence was removed, which, however, was restored after a while.

Value

The monument, executed in neo-baroque style, becamereally a link in the whole area. The fact is that on it are several buildings made in different styles, and the project was called to create some harmony and unity in this space. This composition is distinguished simultaneously by its lightness, dynamism and at the same time it is characterized by monumentality, grandeur, and tranquility. Such a successful combination of several different architectural features allowed the composition to become the final element on the square. In addition, a clear resemblance to the "Bronze Horseman" is a kind of reference to the previous buildings, which should have linked the entire cultural space of the place to a single whole. This task was completely solved by the creators of the new project.

Monument to St. Nicholas I in St. Petersburg, addresswhich - the St. Isaac's Square (from the station "Admiralteyskaya", along Morskaya Street), has become a very successful architectural decision of its author to complete the overall appearance of not only this place, but the whole city as a whole. It is known that it is one of the most visited attractions due to the composition, so because of the beautiful lanterns around it.