St. Petersburg is one of the ten most beautiful cities in the Old World, where there are a huge number of attractions. Thousands of tourists visit the city on the Neva every year, dreaming of visiting the Russian Museum and the Hermitage, sitting on a bench in the Summer Garden, taking a tour of the St. Petersburg canals, seeing how bridges are drawn, going up to the observation deck of St. Isaac's Cathedral or just taking a walk along the streets of the historic center.
The latest sights of St. Petersburg
Although the pride of St. Petersburg is its historical and architectural sights, which are not one hundred years old, today monuments are being created here and museums are opening that are no less interesting and also deserve the attention of tourists. At the same time, the latest sights of St. Petersburg - Chizhik-Pyzhik, the building of the Langenzipen business center, the Mumu monument, the Viktor Tsoi museum at the Kotelnaya club, the Schweik monument, the dream museum and others - have not only managed to win the love of local residents , but also gave impetus to the emergence of new urban traditions and are overgrown with various signs.
Where did Chizhik-Pyzhik come from in St. Petersburg
Surely not everyone knows that the name Chizhik-Pyzhik in St. Petersburg appeared in the 19th century. The fact is that in 1835, on the Fontanka embankment, the Prince of Oldenburg founded the Imperial School of Law. His students were required to wear uniform fawn hats and green uniforms with yellow cuffs and buttonholes, so with someone's light hand they were assigned the nickname Chizhiki-Pyzhiki.
In addition, there is a legend that students were very proud of their privileged status as future lawyers and puffed up when walking. As for the well-known song about how Chizhik-Pyzhik “drank vodka on the Fontanka” in St. Petersburg, eyewitnesses recalled that “Chizhiks” from the school of law often visited a nearby inn and wandered along the Fontanka while drunk.
Chizhik-Pyzhik in St. Petersburg: the history of the monument
Be that as it may, the law school lasted until 1918, and although from the beginning of the 20th century students no longer wore uniforms with bird color, they continued to be called Chizhik-Pyzhik.
In 1994, during one of the events within the framework of the famous Golden Ostap comedy festival, the native Petersburger - writer Andrei Bitov - voiced the idea to erect a monument on the Fontanka ... a bird that became a symbol of this region of St. Petersburg. Only a few months passed, and a bronze mini-monument adorned the embankment. According to the original plan, Chizhik had to drink water, but this could not be done. The fact is that the monument was mounted in the winter, and its installation at the water's edge was prevented by ice on the river. Perhaps this was for the best, since otherwise Chizhik-Pyzhik in St. Petersburg could have gone completely unnoticed: after all, the bird is very tiny!
The further history of Chizhik reminds a detective, since he was kidnapped 7 (!) Times, but was cast again the same number of times. What can you do, apparently, some vandal tourists wished to take away from St. Petersburg such an original and truly unique souvenir. And perhaps, it is still more commonplace, and the monument was interested in robbers as an ingot of expensive non-ferrous metal.
"Parents" Chizhik-Pyzhik
It will probably be unfair to talk about Chizhik-Pyzhik and not to mention his parents: Rezo Gabriadze and Slava Bukhayev.
Rezo Gabriadze is a famous Georgian director, sculptor, painter and puppeteer who is the author of scripts for such famous films as “Kin-dza-dza!” and Mimino.
No less famous is Vyacheslav Bukhayev, who, together with the sculptor M. Shemyakin, created several excellent monuments and sculptural compositions adorning many Russian cities.
By the way, Chizhik-Pyzhik in St. Petersburg is not the only attraction, the authorship of which belongs to the tandem of Gabriadze-Bukhayev. In particular, in St. Petersburg in 1995, an amazing monument “The nose of Major Kovalev” was erected.
St. Petersburg, Chizhik-pyzhik: address
Many travelers, having learned about an interesting monument, will want to see it. And quite naturally, from their point of view, it will ask where Chizhik-Pyzhik is located in St. Petersburg. Any local resident will tell you the address. In fact, such a question is very easy to answer. It is obvious that the bird couldn’t “fly away” far from the Fontanka. Indeed, the monument can be found near the promenade. And in more detail, the tiny sculpture is located opposite the house number 12/1, next to the bridge, at the place where the Moika River is separated from the Fontanka . Among the landmarks that will make it easy to find Chizhik can also be called the Mikhailovsky Palace.
Signs and traditions
Although Chizhik-Pyzhik appeared in St. Petersburg relatively recently, today various signs are already associated with him. So, every day hundreds of Petersburgers and city visitors throw small coins on a pedestal, since it is believed that if the money remains there and does not fall into the water, then the desired desire will certainly come true. In addition, recently St. Petersburg grooms have to go through a serious test called "Clink glasses with Chizhik." For this, many wedding processions drive up to the Fontanka embankment, tie a glass with vodka to the end of a long rope, and offer the newly-made husband to lower the glass through the railing so that it “clinks” with the beak of a bronze bird. In case of success, it is believed that the joint life of the young will be long and happy.