Walking along the streets of small and large cities, you can notice on the houses of original art monuments, which are plates with inscriptions and images. After reading the text on them, you can learn a lot about the history of the city and the life of prominent people. Such boards are usually called memorial. What are they and why are they needed?
What is a plaque?
The memorial plate is an architectural and sculptural work, perpetuating the memory of historical events and prominent personalities. It is intended for installation on building facades and is made of durable materials (metal, stone, bronze or cast iron alloy). The artistic reflection of the event is carried out in the form of a textual locomotive inscription. The composition of the plaque can also be supplemented with a sculptural portrait image or other decorative elements.
The history of the appearance of plaques
Graffiti inscriptions on cave walls , tombstones or stones were the “progenitors” of the plaques. Some of them have survived to this day and reflect the formation of the worldview of society. The first memorial plaques on the houses appeared in the XVIII century, after the victory in the war of 1812. At first they served to indicate the water level during floods. Later, the name of A.P. Voronikhin was immortalized on the walls of the Kazan Cathedral, and at the end of May 1880, a plaque in memory of Pushkin was installed on 12 Moika Street. Only in June 1890, at a meeting of the City Duma, it was decided to start the installation of other memorial plaques. Thus began their widespread distribution.
Criteria for installing a plaque
Each plaque is not just set wherever it wants. To begin with, a special commission determines the significance of the event in honor of which the unveiling of the monument takes place. If it highlights the merits of an individual, then all achievements must be officially recognized and confirmed by archival and / or award documents.
The installation of the memorial plaque takes place no earlier than a decade after the death of an honored person or an accomplished event. Restrictions on installation time are removed if persons awarded the titles Hero of Socialist Labor, Hero of the Soviet Union, Honorary Citizen of the city, etc. are immortalized. Sometimes, by decision of the commission, the terms can be reduced. However, the minimum period is still two years.
Usually, within the boundaries of one city, one memorial plaque is installed, reflecting the memory of a person. This can be a place of work, place of residence or other iconic places that are associated with the life and work of a person. There are times when the memory of a person has already been immortalized in the name of the street or square, a monument or a bust has been erected, then the board should not be installed. Again, by decision of the commission, exceptions are made subject to the importance of merit and events.
You should know that the memorial plaque cannot be on buildings of spectacular mass purpose (museum, theater, gallery, concert hall, House of Culture). Control over the safety of boards and care for them is carried out by the territorial housing and communal services and the law enforcement inspector. There is a strict counting of plaques, even those that are lost over time or require restoration.
What can the inscription on the plaque say?
Commemorative plaques can highlight some places in a certain city or testify to events that happened in the past. They are not only perpetuating any facts or achievements of people. There are special types of plaques on which generalized statements are made, for example, “A WWII veteran lived in this house. Honor and glory to him! ”
There are still boards installed on a "special occasion". Usually they arise on the initiative of local authorities and often do not carry a semantic load at all, for example: “Nicholas II passed here in 1904”.
A special tradition is the opening of the memorial plaque. with the image of the family coat of arms or the coat of arms of the city. Such commemorative relics began to be created in the Middle Ages, when people worshiped knightly and noble dynasties. In modern society, such a plaque is a rarity.
Grand Opening of Plaques
Each plaque is considered a monumental painting monument, so the process of opening it, as a rule, is solemn and symbolic. Usually, it is customary to invite to such events not only members of the bureaucracy, but also artists and people associated with the event, which is perpetuated. Present people pay a peculiar tribute to memory, join history and pass on their traditions to the future generation. The moments of the opening of the monument are often covered by the press.