On the monument "The Bronze Horseman" who is depicted? The history of the creation of the monument

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Monuments are the most interesting and spectacular way to pay tribute and pay tribute to the historical past. They are admired by admirers of art, creativity and history. There are monuments that have a sonorous name, but many people do not know who is on the pedestal. For example, the monument "The Bronze Horseman" - who is depicted on it?

The monument to the Bronze Horseman is an excellent example of the personification of the spirit of history in life. Need a bit of history!

"The Bronze Horseman" - who is depicted on a horse?

Many people, even by occupation not related to history, must have heard of the Bronze Horseman. But who is depicted on the Bronze Horseman monument remains an open question for most.

This question fills many forum and blog topics on the Internet. Who is depicted on the monument "The Bronze Horseman"? Questions about this do not stop.

We will not torment you for a long time. On the monument "The Bronze Horseman" in St. Petersburg, Peter the Great himself is depicted. The author of the Falcone monument sought to recreate the figure of Peter in motion, so that he was seen not only as a great commander andleader of the Russian people, but also a true legislator and creator of life.

Peter has a wreath on his head. It is he who emphasizes that Peter is the winner and commander. The historical monument is unique in that it has three pillars on which it rests.

Now the question of who is depicted on the monument "The Bronze Horseman" can be safely answered - Tsar Peter the Great!

Why in St. Petersburg?

The monument to the Bronze Horseman is an important element for the culture and architecture of Russia. You can often come across the question of who is depicted on the monument "The Bronze Horseman" in Moscow? But there is no such monument in Moscow.

So, where is the monument "The Bronze Horseman", who is depicted on it, we figured it out. And it is located not in Moscow, but in St. Petersburg. It was erected by Catherine II in honor of Peter the Great. On the pedestal you can find the inscription: “To Peter the Great From Catherine the Second in the summer of 1782.”

The one who is depicted on the monument "The Bronze Horseman" in St. Petersburg is an outstanding personality for the city. Catherine thought so and therefore decided to capture the creator of the city forever. Thus, the empress decided to pay tribute not only to the city of St. Petersburg, but also to its immediate founder, Peter I. By the way, that is why the "Bronze Horseman" was made in St. Petersburg in honor of the founder of the city. It weighs eight tons and is five meters high.

History is the beginning

The initiative to create a monument entirelybelongs to Catherine II. By order of the Empress, Golitsyn Alexander Mikhailovich turned to Voltaire and Diderot for help and advice in building and designing such a significant object for Russia. Catherine trusted Voltaire and Diderot very much, because their opinion was considered significant.

Etienne-Maurice Falcone - this is the person they recommended to Catherine for the design and construction of the facility. And Falcone, in turn, has always dreamed of creating a huge monument that will pass through the centuries and be revered by descendants. The proposal of the Russian court delighted and inspired him. The master comes to Russia with Marie-Anne Collot. This is his 17-year-old design assistant.

The sculptor was contracted for 200,000 livres. This is a small amount. The Russian court turned to other noble masters of their craft, but they asked for a much larger sum.

Later, Felten, a professional architect, was appointed Falcone's assistant, who was only supposed to speed up the construction of the pedestal.

Who is depicted on the monument "The Bronze Horseman", the photo perfectly demonstrates.

"Thunder Stone" is what you need

The question arose of finding a suitable stone on which the huge monument of Peter the Great would be placed. They decided to look for the stone through advertisements, and a corresponding message was posted in the newspaper "Sankt-Peterburgskiye Vedomosti".

Grigory Vishnyakov will kindly provide a suitable stone for the monument to Peter. It was a huge block that he wanted to use for his own needs, but he did not even find a tool with which he could split it.

Then the question arose about the transportation of stone to St. Petersburg, which weighed 2500 tons. It was delivered in winter, when the soil is stronger and could withstand such a mass.

On March 27, 1770, the stone was delivered to the coast of the Gulf of Finland, and the operation was completed. During transportation, there were many problems that threatened to derail the entire project. However, everything went well.

Transportation of this stone even today is completely unique. It was the largest stone ever moved by man!

Preparation of the monument

In 1769, a plaster monument was demonstrated to the public. Now the figure of Peter the Great was waiting to be completely cast.

However, the famous master and designer of the Falcone monument refused to do this work himself. He had never encountered the casting of such a huge monument. Falcone was waiting for the arrival of Ersman, who was an expert in this matter.

However, the sculptor's high hopes for Ersman did not come true. He turned out to be a poor specialist and could not cope with the task assigned to him. Falcone independently took up the casting of the monument.

The very first casting took place in 1775. Further castings were repeated in 1776-1777. Catherine II personally followed the results of the work.

The second casting was more successful thanfirst. Then, after the completion of Falcone, in the inner part of the cloak of Peter the Great, he wrote "Sculpted and cast by Etienne Falcone, a Parisian." Thus, work on this magnificent monument was completed.

Monument installation

"The Bronze Horseman" in St. Petersburg was ready to appear before the people. All that remained was the question of erecting a monument on Senate Square so that it would become a public property and people could be proud of it.

"Thunder Stone" was delivered to St. Petersburg long ago. The height of the block at 11 meters was exactly what was needed to place the monument.

However, the relationship between Falcone and Catherine II had completely deteriorated by this moment. Falcone had no choice but to leave Petersburg for Paris.

The final installation of the monument was already done by Fedor Gordeev. This did not cause him great difficulties, and on August 7, 1782, the opening of the monument to Peter the Great took place. Falcone was never invited to the opening of his Russian brainchild. The opening was attended by Catherine II herself, who gave the order to open the monument on that very day!

Baturin's story

It was the year 1812. It was the time when the Russian army was at war with Napoleon's army. There was a high probability that French troops would break into St. Petersburg and Moscow and destroy all the cultural heritage that is in Russia.

Possessed by these thoughts, Emperor Alexander the First ordered the entire cultural heritage of the city to be taken out of St. Petersburg. Alexander's list also included the Bronze Horseman monument on Senate Square.

At this timea certain Baturin is announced, who was then in the rank of a simple major. He secured a personal meeting with Prince Golitsyn in order to tell him a dream that had haunted him for the past few days. In a dream, the major is on Senate Square. The monument of Peter the Great turns its head towards him and says that in no case should he be taken out of his native Petersburg. Petersburg is safe only with him, and no one will touch him.

Surprised by Baturin's dream, Golitsyn immediately goes to Alexander and tells him about the vision. Alexander was "killed on the spot", but still canceled the order to take the "Bronze Horseman" out of St. Petersburg.

Paul's thoughts

A common story is that it is connected with Peter the Great and the future Emperor Paul the First.

Pavel was walking in the evening through the streets of St. Petersburg, when it seemed to him that someone was walking next to him. At first, he took it as a play of imagination, but after that he began to really feel the presence of another person.

"Paul, I'm the one who takes part in you!" the figure next to him told him. Paul was amazed. He clearly saw the figure of Peter the Great in a cloak and hat.

This meeting took place on Senate Square. As Peter left, he said that someday Paul would see him here again.

Over time it happened. Pavel received an invitation to the opening of the monument in St. Petersburg. Who is depicted on the monument "The Bronze Horseman"? Paul knew the answer to this question.for sure.

The Bronze Horseman in Culture

Bright monuments and monuments are often reflected in the stories of writers, in the poems of poets and in the drawings of famous artists. The description of the "Bronze Horseman" in St. Petersburg on Senate Square was no exception.

The monument made an impression on prominent figures of literature and art of various times, who then displayed it in their work.

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky in the novel "The Teenager" repeatedly mentions "The Bronze Horseman". In his works, he worried about the future of the glorious Petersburg, but did not predict its death, because the city was strongly guarded by the spirit of the famous and great Peter the Founder.

Mystic Danil Andreev in his "Rose of the World" also recalls the "Bronze Horseman". However, he imagines Peter sitting on a dragon.

Mentioned in their works "The Bronze Horseman" and other writers. There are many paintings written and dedicated to this monument. Peter the Great, immortalized on horseback, made a great impression on artists.

The Bronze Horseman by Pushkin

Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin is a man who sincerely admired Russian culture and its heritage. The monument of the Bronze Horseman in St. Petersburg could not leave him indifferent. The writer wrote the work "The Bronze Horseman".

The work says how in 1824 Eugene lost his beloved during a flood. Hegrieving this grief. In order to somehow escape from the accident, he wanders around St. Petersburg.

Evgeny approaches the monument "The Bronze Horseman" and freezes for a moment. He recalls that it was Peter the Great who founded the city in the place where troubles and floods can occur. He begins to blame Peter for his troubles and for the fact that the construction was wrong, as well as the choice of the site for the construction of St. Petersburg.

Eugene starts threatening the monument. At this time, the "Bronze Horseman" jumps off the pedestal and begins to run after the accuser. In reality, this happens with Eugene or in a vision, he himself cannot understand.

Coin minting

The "Bronze Horseman" is reflected not only in culture, art and literature, but also on state coins of the USSR period.

The idea to mint coins with Peter was the first to belong to the Bank of the USSR during the reign of Mikhail Gorbachev in 1988.

So, in 1988, the Bank of the USSR begins to mint coins. The denomination of 5 rubles was awarded to the monument to Peter the Great in St. Petersburg on Senate Square. The coin was heavy - 20 grams. Its circulation was 2 million 300 thousand copies.

This is the only known case of coinage involving the Bronze Horseman monument.

Legends, myths and interesting facts

There are interesting myths and interesting facts related to the monument in St. Petersburg. Let's start with the myths.

• There is a rumor that once Peter the Great wanted to jump over the Neva. When he said three times, "All is God's and mine," he jumped over the Neva withoutproblems. When he changed the phrase and said "All mine and God's", he instantly froze in place and turned to stone. Since then, there has been a monument on Senate Square.
• Once Peter the Great was lying in his bed and it seemed to him that the Swedes were advancing on Petersburg. He jumped up, jumped on his horse and galloped towards them. However, on the way, a snake turned around and stopped him on the Senate Square. She prevented him from jumping into the water and saved Peter.
• There are myths in which Peter says that only he can truly protect the city from harm. So it was during the war of 1812-1814. Indeed, the city was not touched by the French.

Fun facts:

• During the transportation of the stone under the pedestal, there were difficulties and contradictions between the workers. There were frequent emergencies. The whole of Europe followed the transportation of the stone.
• Falconet originally wanted his "Bronze Horseman" to be without a fence. But it was installed anyway. At present, this fence does not exist, and many leave their inscriptions on the monument, spoiling it. There is a possibility that the fence will still be installed.

"The Bronze Horseman" is a symbol of the northern capital of Russia. Petersburg is worth a trip and see this monument with your own eyes. Now, when you are in the city on the Neva, you will no longer have a question about who is depicted on the monument "The Bronze Horseman" in St. Petersburg.