The unconditional architectural dominant of Palace Square in St. Petersburg is the famous Alexandria Column. Since childhood, her image has entered the minds of several generations of Russian people, even those who have never been to the banks of the Neva. But the textbook poems of Pushkin, where it is mentioned, are known to everyone. Moreover, not everyone will remember that the Alexandrian column was erected in honor of the commemoration of the victory of Russian weapons over Napoleon in the Patriotic War of 1812 . Often, it is perceived as nothing more than the axis of symmetry of the architectural ensemble and the center of the overall composition, combining the ingenious creations of Rossi and Rastrelli into a single whole. Of course, this is a simple convention, but it is considered to be the symbolic center of not only Palace Square, but of the whole of St. Petersburg.
History of creation
The Alexandrian column in the Palace Square was erected by the great architect Auguste Montferrand. There is some element of chance in its erection. Montferrand devoted forty years of his life to the construction of St. Isaac's Cathedral. Granite for the construction of its colonnades was mined in Karelian rocks. One of the monolithic blanks weighed a thousand tons, and its pink granite was of amazing quality. The length also greatly exceeded the necessary. Cutting such a gift from nature was just a pity. And it was decided to use the whole monolith. The Alexandrian column was made directly at the place of extraction of the monolithic billet. The work was performed by Russian stonecutters. For its delivery to the capital along the Neva, it was necessary to design and build a special barge. The action took place in 1832. After delivery to the destination and all the preparatory work, the final installation took only an hour and a half. The Alexandrian column was brought into a vertical position through a system of levers with the help of the physical efforts of two and a half thousand workers and soldiers of the capital's garrison. The construction was completed in 1834. A little later, the pedestal was decorated with ornaments and surrounded by a low fence.
Some technical details
The column on Palace Square to this day is the highest triumphal structure of this type in all of Europe. Its height is 47 and a half meters. It is carefully polished and has the same diameter along the entire length. The uniqueness of this monument is also in the fact that it is not fixed by anything and stands on a solid foundation solely under the influence of its own weight. Not so far is the bicentennial anniversary of this building. But during this time not even the slightest deviation from the vertical of the six-hundred-ton monolith was observed. There are no signs of subsidence of the foundation under it. Such was the accuracy of the engineering calculation of Auguste Richard Montferrand.
During the war, bombs and shells of long-range artillery were torn near the column. The Alexandrian convoy survived those who shot at it and, apparently, intends to stand firmly for a very long time. The metal angel at its top is also not fixed by anything, but it is not going to fly away.