Alexander Column. Pillar of Alexandria - history, construction, legends

Pillar... pillar... pillar...
(C) people

BUT Alexandrian pillar (Alexandrovsky, Alexandrinsky) - a monument to Alexander I, the winner of Napoleon
in the war of 1812-1814. The column, designed by Auguste Montferrand, was installed on August 30, 1834. It is crowned with the figure of an Angel, made by the sculptor Boris Ivanovich Orlovsky.

The Alexandrian Pillar is not only an architectural masterpiece in the Empire style, but also outstanding achievement engineering. The tallest column in the world, made of solid granite. Its weight is 704 tons. The height of the monument is 47.5 meters, the granite monolith is 25.88 meters. It is higher than Pompey's column in Alexandria, in Rome and, which is especially pleasant, the Vendome column in Paris - a monument to Napoleon (it exists)

I'll start with brief history its creation

The idea of ​​building the monument was given by the famous architect Carl Rossi. When planning the space of Palace Square, he believed that a monument should be placed in the center of the square. The installation point of the column from the side looks like the exact center of the Palace Square. But in fact, it is located 100 meters from Winter Palace and almost 140 meters from the arch of the General Staff building.

The construction of the monument was entrusted to Montferrand. He himself saw it a little differently, with an equestrian group below and with many architectural details, but he was corrected)))

For the granite monolith - the main part of the column - a rock was used, which the sculptor outlined during his previous trips to Finland. Mining and preliminary processing were carried out in 1830-1832 in the Pyuterlak quarry, which was located in the Vyborg province (the modern city of Pyuterlahti, Finland).

These works were carried out according to the method of S. K. Sukhanov, the production was supervised by masters S. V. Kolodkin and V. A. Yakovlev. It took half a year to trim the monolith. 250 people worked on this daily. The stone master Eugene Pascal was appointed the head of the Montferrand work.

After the masons, having examined the rock, confirmed the suitability of the material, a prism was cut off from it, much larger than the future column. Giant devices were used: huge levers and gates in order to move the block from its place and overturn it on a soft and elastic bedding of spruce branches.

After separating the blank, huge stones were cut from the same rock for the foundation of the monument, the largest of which weighed about 25 thousand pounds (more than 400 tons). Their delivery to St. Petersburg was carried out by water, for this a special design barge was involved.

The monolith was duped on the spot and prepared for transportation. Ship engineer Colonel K.A. dealt with transportation issues. Glazyrin, who designed and built a special boat, named "Saint Nicholas", with a carrying capacity of up to 65 thousand pounds (almost 1065 tons).

An accident occurred during loading - the weight of the column could not withstand the bars along which it was supposed to roll onto the ship, and it almost collapsed into the water. The monolith was loaded by 600 soldiers, who made a march 36 miles long from a neighboring fortress in four hours.

To perform loading operations, a special pier was built. Loading was carried out from a wooden platform at its end, coinciding in height with the ship's side.

Having overcome all difficulties, the column was loaded on board, and the monolith set off for Kronstadt on a barge towed by two steamers, in order to go from there to the Palace Embankment of St. Petersburg.

The arrival of the central part of the column in St. Petersburg took place on July 1, 1832. The contractor, the merchant's son V.A. Yakovlev, was responsible for all the above works.

Since 1829, on Palace Square in St. Petersburg, work began on the preparation and construction of the foundation and pedestal of the column. O. Montferrand supervised the work.

First, a geological survey of the area was carried out, as a result of which a suitable sandy continent was found near the center of the area at a depth of 17 feet (5.2 m).

The contract for the construction of the foundation was given to the merchant Vasily Yakovlev. Until the end of 1829, the workers managed to dig a foundation pit. When strengthening the foundation for the Alexander Column, the workers stumbled upon piles, which had been used to strengthen the soil back in the 1760s. It turned out that Montferrand repeated, following Rastrelli, the decision about the place for the monument, landing at the same point!

In December 1829, the place for the column was approved, and 1250 six-meter pine piles were driven under the foundation. Then the piles were cut to the level, forming a platform for the foundation, according to the original method: the bottom of the pit was filled with water, and the piles were cut at the level of the water table, which ensured the horizontality of the site. Earlier, using a similar technology, the foundation of St. Isaac's Cathedral was laid.

The foundation of the monument was built from stone granite blocks half a meter thick. It was brought out to the horizon of the square with a plank masonry. In its center was placed a bronze box with 0 105 coins minted in honor of the victory of 1812. There was also placed a platinum medal minted according to the Montferrand project with the image of the Alexander Column and the date "1830", as well as a mortgage board with the following text:

"" In the summer of the Nativity of Christ 1831, the construction of a monument erected to Emperor Alexander by grateful Russia began on a granite base laid on the 19th day of November 1830. In St. Petersburg, during the construction of this monument, Count Yu. Litta presided. The sittings were: Prince P. Volkonsky, A. Olenin, Count P. Kutaisov, I. Gladkov, L. Carbonier, A. Vasilchikov. The construction was carried out according to the design of the same architect Augustin de Montferand". ".

The work was completed in October 1830.

After laying the foundation, a huge four-hundred-ton monolith, brought from the Pyuterlak quarry, was hoisted onto it, which serves as the base of the pedestal.

The engineering problem of installing such a large monolith was solved by O. Montferrand as follows: the monolith was rolled on rollers through an inclined plane onto a platform built near the foundation. And the stone was piled on a heap of sand, previously poured next to the platform.

"At the same time, the earth trembled so much that the eyewitnesses - passers-by who were on the square at that moment, felt, as it were, an underground shock.". Then he was moved on the skating rinks.

Later, O. Montferrand recalled; "Since the work was carried out in winter, I ordered to mix cement with vodka and add a tenth of soap. Due to the fact that the stone initially sat incorrectly, it had to be moved several times, which was done with the help of only two capstans and with particular ease, of course , thanks to the soap that I ordered mixed into the solution ... "

Album with drawings by Montferrand.

By July 1832, the column monolith was on the way, and the pedestal had already been completed. It's time to start the most difficult task - placing the column on the pedestal.

On the basis of the developments of Lieutenant General A. A. Betancourt for the installation of the columns of St. Isaac's Cathedral in December 1830, an original lifting system was designed. It included: scaffolding 22 fathoms (47 meters) high, 60 capstans and a system of blocks.

On August 30, 1832, masses of people gathered to watch this event: they occupied the entire square, and besides this window and the roof of the General Staff Building were occupied by spectators. The sovereign and the entire imperial family came to the raising.

To bring the column to a vertical position on Palace Square, it was necessary to attract the forces of 2,000 soldiers and 400 workers, who installed the monolith in 1 hour and 45 minutes.

After installation, the people shouted "Hurrah!" And the admiring emperor said: "Montferrand, you immortalized yourself!"

The granite pillar and the bronze angel standing on it are supported solely by their own weight. If you get very close to the column and, with your head up, look up, it takes your breath away - the column sways.

After the installation of the column, it remained to fix the bas-relief plates and decorative elements on the pedestal, as well as to complete the final processing and polishing of the column.

The column was topped with a Doric bronze capital with a rectangular masonry abacus with bronze facing. A bronze cylindrical pedestal with a hemispherical top was installed on it.

In parallel with the construction of the column, in September 1830, O. Montferrand worked on a statue that was supposed to be placed above it and, according to the wishes of Nicholas I, facing the Winter Palace. In the original project, the column was completed by a cross wrapped around with a snake to decorate the fasteners. In addition, the sculptors of the Academy of Arts proposed several options for the compositions of the figures of angels and virtues with a cross. There was an option with the installation of the figure of the holy prince Alexander Nevsky, but the first option that was approved was a cross on a ball without an angel, in this form the column is even present on some old engravings ..

But in the end, the figure of an angel with a cross was accepted for execution, made by the sculptor B. I. Orlovsky with expressive and understandable symbolism for everyone - “You will conquer this!”.

Orlovsky had to redo the sculpture of the Angel several times before Nicholas I liked it. The emperor wished that the face of the Angel was given a resemblance to Alexander I, and the snout of the snake trampled on by the cross of the Angel must certainly resemble the face of Napoleon. If it does, it's far away.

Initially, the Alexander Column was framed by a temporary wooden fence with lamps in the form of antique tripods and plaster lion masks. The carpenter's work from the manufacture of the fence was carried out by the "carved master" Vasily Zakharov. Instead of a temporary fence at the end of 1834, it was decided to put a permanent metal one "with three-headed eagles under the lanterns", the project of which Montferrand had drawn up in advance.

Parade at the opening of the Alexander Column in 1834. From a painting by Ladurner.

To accommodate honored guests, Montferrand built a special tribune in front of the Winter Palace in the form of a three-span arch. It was decorated in such a way as to connect architecturally with the Winter Palace.

A parade of troops passed in front of the podium and column.

I must say that the monument, which now seems perfect, sometimes caused criticism from contemporaries. Montferrand, for example, was reproached for allegedly spending the marble intended for the column on the construction of his own house, and for the monument he used cheap granite. The figure of the Angel reminded the Petersburgers of a sentry and inspired the poet to the following mocking lines:

"In Russia, everything breathes military craft:
And the Angel makes a cross on guard.

But the rumor did not spare the emperor himself. Imitating her grandmother, Catherine II, who inscribed on a pedestal Bronze Horseman"To Peter I - Catherine II", Nikolai Pavlovich in official papers called the new monument "Pillar of Nicholas I to Alexander I", which immediately gave life to a pun: "Pillar Pillar Pillar".

In honor of this event, a commemorative coin was minted with a face value of 1 ruble and a ruble and a half

The grandiose building inspired admiration and awe in Petersburgers from the moment of its foundation, but our ancestors were seriously afraid that the Alexander Column would collapse, and tried to bypass it.

In order to dispel philistine fears, the architect Auguste Montferrand, who lived nearby, on the Moika, began to exercise daily around his offspring, demonstrating complete confidence in his own safety and the correctness of calculations. Years have passed, wars and revolutions, the column is standing, the architect was not mistaken.

On December 15, 1889, almost mystical story- Foreign Minister Lamsdorf said in his diary that at nightfall, when the lanterns are lit, a luminous letter "N" appears on the monument.

Rumors began to spread around St. Petersburg that this was an omen of a new reign in the new year, but the next day the count figured out the reasons for the phenomenon. The name of their manufacturer was etched on the glass of the lamps: "Siemens". When the lamps were working from the side of St. Isaac's Cathedral, this letter was reflected on the column.

Many tales and legends are associated with it))) there were even

In 1925, it was decided that the presence of an angel figure on the main square of Leningrad was inappropriate. An attempt was made to cover him with a cap, which gathered a fairly large number of passers-by on Palace Square. A balloon hung over the column. However, when he flew up to her at the required distance, the wind immediately blew and drove the ball away. By evening, attempts to hide the angel stopped.

There is a legend that at that time, instead of an angel, they seriously planned to erect a monument to Lenin. It would look something like this))) Lenin was not installed, because they could not decide in which direction Ilyich should extend his hand ...

The column is beautiful both in winter and summer. And it fits perfectly into the Palace Square.

There is another interesting legend. It happened on April 12, 1961, after the solemn announcement of TASS about the launch of the first manned spaceship. There is general jubilation on the streets, real euphoria on a national scale!

The very next day after the flight, at the feet of the angel crowning the Pillar of Alexandria, a laconic inscription appeared: "Yuri Gagarin! Hurrah!"

What kind of vandal was able to express his admiration for the first cosmonaut in such a way and how he managed to climb to such a dizzying height will remain a mystery.

In the evening and at night, the column is no less beautiful.

The basis of information (C) Wiki, walkspb.ru and other Internet. Old photos and engravings (C) albums of Montferrand (State public library) and the Internet. Modern photos are partly mine, partly from the Internet.

In the 19th century, building technology in Europe did not differ much from that of ancient Egypt. Thousand-ton blocks were lifted manually.

Original taken from ikuv in the Raising of the Alexander Column in 1832

Leafing through an old magazine, I found an article about how our ancestors, who lived 200 years ago, without any Komatsu, Hitachi, Ivanovtsev and other caterpillars, successfully solved a difficult and today's engineering problem - they delivered the workpiece of the Alexander Column to St. Petersburg, processed it, lifted and placed vertically. And it still stands. vertically.

Prof. N. N. Luknatssky (Leningrad), magazine "Construction industry" No. 13 (September) 1936, pp. 31-34

The Alexander Column, standing on Uritsky Square (former Dvortsovaya) in Leningrad, with a total height of 47 m (154 ft) from the top of the foundation to the top point, consists of a pedestal (2.8 m) and a column rod (25.6 m).
The pedestal, as well as the core of the column, is made of red coarse-grained granite, mined in the Pitterlack quarry (Finland).
Pitterlack granite, especially polished, is very beautiful; however, due to its coarse grain, it is easily subjected to destruction under the influence of atmospheric influences.
The gray Serdobolsky fine-grained granite is more durable. Arch. Montferand wanted to make a pedestal out of this granite, but, despite intensive searches, he did not find a stone without cracks of the required dimensions.
When mining columns for St. Isaac's Cathedral in the Pitterlak quarry, Montferand found a piece of rock without cracks, up to 35 m in length and up to 7 m thick, and left it untouched just in case, and when the question arose about the supply of a monument to Alexander the first, he, having in mind, it was this stone that drafted the monument in the form of a column from a single piece of granite. The extraction of stones for the pedestal and the core of the column was entrusted to the contractor Yakovlev, who already had experience in the extraction and delivery of columns for St. Isaac's Cathedral.

1. Career work

The method of extraction of both stones was approximately the same; first of all, the rock was cleaned from above from the covering layer to make sure that there were no cracks in it; then the front part of the granite mass was leveled to the required height and cuts were made at the ends of the granite mass; they were made by drilling in a row of such numerous holes that they almost connected with each other.

Pitterlax Quarry (Pyuterlaxe)

While one group of workers was working on the cuts in the ends of the massif, others were busy carving the stone below to prepare its fall; on the upper part of the massif, a furrow 12 cm wide and 30 cm deep was punched in its entire length, after which, from its bottom, holes were drilled by hand throughout the entire thickness of the massif at a distance of 25–30 cm from each other; then iron wedges, 45 cm long, were laid in the furrow, entirely along the entire length, and between them and the edge of the stone, iron sheets for better advancement of the wedges and to protect the edge of the stone from breakage. The workers were placed so that there were two to three wedges in front of each of them; on a signal, all the workers simultaneously hit them and soon cracks became visible at the ends of the massif, which gradually, slowly increasing, separated the stone from the general rock mass; these cracks did not deviate from the direction indicated by numerous wells.
The stone was finally separated and overturned with levers and capstans on a prepared bed of branches thrown over an inclined log grillage with a layer of 3.6 m.

Overturning the array for the column bar in a quarry

In total, 10 birch levers with a length of 10.5 m and 2 iron, shorter ones were installed; ropes were fixed at their ends, for which workers pulled; in addition, 9 capstans with chain hoists were installed, the blocks of which were firmly fixed to iron pins embedded in the upper surface of the array. The stone was turned over in 7 minutes, while work on its extraction and preparation for separation from the general rock mass lasted almost two years; the weight of the stone is about 4000 tons.

2. Pedestal for the column

First, a stone for the pedestal weighing about 400 tons (24,960 pounds) was delivered; besides him, several more stones were loaded onto the ship, and the total weight of the entire loading was about 670 tons (40,181 pounds); under this weight, the ship bent somewhat, but it was decided to install it between two steamers and tow it to its destination: despite the stormy autumn weather, it arrived safely on November 3, 1831.

Delivery of blocks for the pedestal of the Alexander Column

Two hours later, the stone was already unloaded ashore with the help of 10 capstans, of which 9 were installed on the embankment, and the tenth was fixed on the stone itself and worked through a reverse block fixed on the embankment.

Movement of the block for the pedestal of the Alexander Column from the embankment

The stone under the pedestal was placed 75 m from the foundations of the column, covered with a canopy, and until January 1832, 40 stone cutters cut it from five sides.

Future pedestal under a canopy

Of interest are the measures taken by the builders to trim the surface of the sixth lower face of the stone and install it on the prepared foundation. In order to turn the stone over with its lower, unhewn face upwards, they arranged a long inclined wooden plane, the end of which, forming a vertical ledge, rose 4 m above ground level; under it, on the ground, they poured a layer of sand, on which the stone was supposed to lie when it fell from the end of the inclined plane; On February 3, 1832, the stone was pulled by nine capstans to the end of the inclined plane, and here, having oscillated for a few seconds in balance, fell with one edge to the sand, and then was easily turned over. After trimming the sixth face, the stone had to be laid on rollers and pulled onto the foundation, and then the rollers were removed; for this, 24 posts, about 60 cm high, were brought under the stone, then the sand was removed from under it, after which 24 carpenters, working in a very coordinated manner, simultaneously hewed the posts to a small height at the lowest surface of the stone, gradually thinning them; when the thickness of the posts reached about 1/4 of the normal thickness, then a strong crack began, and the carpenters stepped aside; the remaining uncut part of the racks broke under the weight of the stone, and it fell a few centimeters; this operation was repeated several times until the stone finally sat on the rollers. To install the stone on the foundation, a wooden inclined plane was again arranged, along which it was raised with nine capstans to a height of 90 cm, first lifting it with eight large levers (vagami) and pulling the rollers out from under it; the space formed under it made it possible to lay a layer of mortar; since the work was carried out in winter, with frost from -12 ° to -18 °, Montferand mixed cement with vodka, adding one twelfth of soap; the cement formed a thin and flowing dough, and it was easy to turn the stone on it with two capstans, slightly lifting it with eight large wagons, in order to set it quite horizontally on the upper plane of the foundation; work on the precise installation of the stone lasted two hours.

Installing the pedestal on the foundation

The foundation was erected in advance. The base for it consisted of 1250 wooden piles driven from a mark 5.1 m below the level of the square and to a depth of 11.4 m; on each square meter 2 piles driven; they were hammered with a mechanical pile driver, made according to the project of the famous engineer Betancourt; Baba copra weighed 5/6 tons (50 pounds) and was lifted by a horse-drawn collar.
The heads of all the piles were cut to the same level, which was determined by the fact that before it the water was pumped out of the pit and marks were immediately made on all the piles; between the tops of the piles exposed by 60 cm, a layer of gravel was laid and compacted, and on the site leveled in this way, a foundation was erected 5 m high from 16 rows of granite stones.

3. Delivery of a monolithic column rod

At the beginning of the summer of 1832, the loading and delivery of the column monolith began; loading this monolith, which had a huge weight (670 tons), onto a barge was a more difficult operation than loading a stone for a pedestal; to transport it, a special vessel was built 45 m long, 12 m wide along the midship beam, 4 m high and with a carrying capacity of about 1100 tons (65 thousand pounds).
At the beginning of June 1832, the ship arrived at the Pitterlax quarry, and the contractor Yakovlev, with 400 workers, immediately began loading the stone; near the shore of the quarry, a pier 32 m long and 24 m wide was made in advance on piles from log cabins filled with stone, and in front of it in the sea a wooden avanmol of the same length and design as the pier; a passage (port) 13 m wide was formed between the pier and the pier; the log boxes of the pier and the pier were interconnected by long logs sheathed on top with boards that formed the bottom of the port. The road from the place of breaking the stone to the pier was cleared, and the protruding parts of the rock were blown up, then logs were laid close to each other along the entire length (about 90 m); the movement of the column was carried out by eight capstans, of which 6 dragged the stone forward, and 2 located behind, held the column during its oblique movement due to the difference in the diameters of its extremities; to align the direction of movement of the column, iron wedges were placed at a distance of 3.6 m from the lower base; after 15 days of work, the column was at the pier.
28 logs were laid on the pier and the ship, each 10.5 m long and 60 cm thick; along them it was necessary to drag the column onto the ship with ten capstans located on the avanmol; in addition to workers on capstans, 60 people were also placed in front and behind the columns. to observe the ropes going to the capstans, and those with which the ship was strengthened to the pier. At 4 o'clock in the morning on June 19, Montferand gave the signal for loading: the column moved easily along the beds and was almost already loaded, as an incident occurred that almost caused a catastrophe; due to a slight slope of the side closest to the pier, all 28 logs rose and immediately broke under the weight of the stone; the ship tilted, but did not capsize, as it rested on the bottom of the port and the wall of the pier; the stone slid down to the lowered side, but lingered against the wall of the pier.

Loading a column rod onto a barge

People managed to run away, and there were no misfortunes; the contractor Yakovlev did not lose his head and immediately organized the straightening of the vessel and the lifting of the stone. A military team of 600 people was called to help the workers; having passed a forced march of 38 km, the soldiers arrived at the quarry after 4 hours; after 48 hours. continuous work without rest and sleep, the ship was straightened, the monolith was firmly strengthened on it, and by July 1, 2 steamers delivered it to the b. Palace embankment.

Portrait of the workers who delivered the column

In order to avoid a similar failure, which took place when loading the stone, Montferand paid special attention to the arrangement of devices for unloading. The bottom of the river was cleared of piles remaining from the cofferdam after the construction of the embankment wall; using a very strong wooden structure, they leveled the inclined granite wall to a vertical plane so that the ship with the column could approach the embankment quite close, without any gap; the connection of the cargo barge with the embankment was made of 35 thick logs laid close to each other; 11 of them passed under the column and rested on the deck of another heavily loaded vessel, located on the river side of the barge and serving as a counterweight; in addition, at the ends of the barge, 6 more thicker logs were laid and strengthened, the ends of which on one side were firmly connected to the auxiliary vessel, and the opposite ones extended 2 m to the embankment; the barge was firmly pulled to the embankment with the help of 12 ropes covering it. To lower the monolith ashore, 20 capstans worked, of which 14 pulled the stone, and 6 held the barge; The descent went very well for 10 minutes.
In order to further move and raise the monolith, a solid wooden scaffold was arranged, consisting of an inclined plane, a flyover going to it at a right angle and a vast platform that occupied almost the entire area surrounding the installation site and towering 10.5 m above its level.
In the center of the platform, on a stone mass of sandstone, scaffolding was built, 47 m high, consisting of 30 four-bar racks, reinforced with 28 struts and horizontal braces; 10 central pillars were higher than others and at the top, in pairs, connected by trusses, on which lay 5 double oak beams, with pulley blocks suspended from them; Montferand made a model of scaffolding in 1/12 life size and subjected it to the examination of the most knowledgeable people: this model greatly facilitated the work of carpenters.
The lifting of the monolith on an inclined plane was carried out in the same way as moving it in a quarry, along completely laid beams with capstans.

Movement of the finished column: from the embankment to the overpass

At the start of the overpass

At the end of the overpass

On the overpass

On the overpass

Upstairs, on the overpass, he was dragged onto a special wooden cart that moved along the skating rinks. Montferand did not use cast-iron rollers, fearing that they would be pressed into the floor boards of the platform, and he also refused balls - the method used by Count Carbury to move the stone under the monument to Peter the Great, believing that preparing them and other devices would take a long time. The cart, divided into two parts with a width of 3.45 m and a length of 25 m, consisted of 9 longitudinal bars laid close to each other and reinforced with clamps and bolts with thirteen transverse bars, on which the monolith was laid. It was installed and strengthened on a flyover near an inclined plane and the array was dragged in by the same capstans that pulled it up along this plane.

4. Raising the column

The column was raised by sixty capstans, installed on scaffolds in a circle in two rows in a checkerboard pattern and reinforced with ropes to piles driven into the ground; each capstan consisted of two cast-iron drums mounted in a wooden frame and driven by four horizontal handles through a vertical shaft and horizontal gears (Fig. 4); ropes went from the capstans through the guide blocks, firmly fixed at the bottom of the scaffolding, to the chain hoists, the upper blocks of which were suspended from the double oak rungs mentioned above, and the lower ones were attached to the column rod with slings and solid rope straps (Fig. 3); the ropes consisted of 522 spools of the best hemp, which withstood a load of 75 kg each during the test, and the entire rope - 38.5 tons; the total weight of the monolith with all the devices was 757 tons, which, with 60 ropes, gave about 13 tons of load for each, i.e., their safety margin was taken three times.
The raising of the stone was appointed for August 30; to work on capstans, teams from all guards units were dressed up in the amount of 1700 privates with 75 non-commissioned officers; very responsible work on raising the stone was organized very thoughtfully, the workers were placed in the following strict order.
At each capstan, under the command of a non-commissioned officer, 16 people worked. and, in addition, 8 pers. was in reserve to change the tired; the senior in the team watched that the workers walked with an even step, slowing down or speeding it up depending on the tension of the rope; for every 6 capstans, 1 foreman is dressed up, located between the first row of capstans and the central forests; he monitored the tension of the ropes and passed orders to the seniors in the team; each 15 capstans made up one of 4 squads, led by four assistants of Montferand, who stood at each of the four corners of high scaffolding, on which there were 100 sailors who watched the blocks and ropes and straightened them; 60 dexterous and strong workers stood on the column itself between the ropes and held the blocks of polyopasts in the correct position; 50 carpenters were in different places in the forests just in case; 60 stonecutters stood at the bottom of the scaffolding at the guide blocks with the order not to let anyone near them; 30 other workers directed the rollers and removed them from under the cart as the column was raised; 10 masons were at the pedestal to pour cement mortar on the top row of granite, on which the column will stand; 1 foreman stood at the front of the scaffolding, at a height of 6 m, to give a signal with a bell to start lifting; 1 boatswain was on the very high point scaffolding at the pole to raise the flag as soon as the column is in place; 1 surgeon was downstairs at the first aid platform and, in addition, there was a team of workers in reserve with tools and materials.
Montferand himself was in charge of all operations, who had previously made a test of raising the monolith to a height of 6 m in two days, and before starting to lift, he personally verified the strength of the piles holding the capstans, and also examined the direction of the ropes and scaffolding.
The raising of the stone, on the signal given by Montferand, began exactly at 2 o'clock in the afternoon and went quite successfully.

The start of the column

The column moved along with the cart horizontally and at the same time gradually rose upwards; at the moment of its separation from the cart, 3 capstans, almost simultaneously, due to the confusion of several blocks, stopped; at this critical moment, one of the upper blocks burst and fell from the height of the scaffolding into the middle of a group of people standing below, which caused some confusion among the workers surrounding Montferand; fortunately, the teams working on the nearby capstans continued to walk at an even pace - this quickly brought calm, and everyone fell into place.
Soon the column hung in the air above the pedestal, stopping its upward movement and aligning it strictly vertically and axially with the help of several capstans, they gave a new signal: everyone working on the capstans made a 180 ° turn and began to rotate their handles in the opposite direction, lowering the ropes and slowly lowering the column exactly into place.

The raising of the column lasted 40 minutes; the next day, Menferand checked the correctness of its installation, after which he ordered to remove the scaffolding. Work on finishing the column and setting decorations continued for another two years, and it was finally completed in 1834.

Bichebois, L. P. -A. Baio A. J.-B. Grand opening of the Alexander Column (August 30, 1834)

All operations for the extraction, delivery and installation of the column must be recognized as very well organized; however, one cannot fail to note some shortcomings when compared with the organization of work on moving the stone for the monument to Peter the Great, performed under the leadership of Count Carbury 70 years earlier; these shortcomings are:
1. When loading the stone, Caburie flooded the barge, and it stood on the solid bottom of the river, so there was no danger of capsizing it; meanwhile, when loading the monolith for the Alexander column, this was not done, and the barge tilted, and the whole operation almost ended in complete failure.
2. Carbury used screw jacks to raise and lower, while Montferand lowered the stone in a rather primitive and somewhat dangerous way for workers, cutting off the racks on which he lay.
3. Carbury, by using an ingenious method of moving the stone on brass balls, greatly reduced friction and managed with a small number of capstans and workers; Monferand's statement that he did not use this method due to lack of time is incomprehensible, since the extraction of the stone lasted almost two years and during this time all the necessary adaptations could be made.
4. The number of workers when raising the stone was with a large margin; however, it must be taken into account that the operation did not last very long and that the workers were mostly ordinary military units, dressed up to rise, as if to a solemn parade.
Despite these shortcomings, the entire operation to raise the column is an instructive example of a well-thought-out organization with a strict and clear establishment of the work schedule, the placement of workers and the definition of each acting person his duties.

1. It is customary to write Montferand, however, the architect himself wrote his last name in Russian - Montferand.
2. "Construction industry" No. 4 1935.

Thanks to Sergey Gaev for providing the magazine for scanning.

Do you want to bring into the interior notes of sublimity, spirituality, aristocracy? Complete the interior decoration with columns. The result will surprise and delight you. Having applied columns at home once, you will never want to part with them again.
What functions does this interior element perform? What styles are used? What is it made from? Is it possible to use columns in small apartments? How can you "hide" a load-bearing column? An ambiguous design element raises many questions.
The attitude to the columns in the interior as to the elements of only the palace style is a thing of the past. Their use in the premises of home, office, public is becoming more widespread. And, not in vain. Columns in the interior are worthy to decorate our lives every day.

Support or decorative element

The ancient architects were extraordinarily skillful in the use of columns. They created magnificent grandiose colonnades of temples, public buildings, houses of the nobility, royal apartments.
Perhaps that is why for several millennia the history of architecture considered columns as interior and exterior elements of luxury and power.

Here lies not only the status rank, but also the meaning of self-awareness, self-esteem of the owner of the house. Try to stand next to some grandiose column, for example, the Winter Palace, or walk along the colonnade of the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg.

The classical column consists of three main parts - the base, the body and the capital. The base is the base of the column, when used as a support, the base carries a significant load. The body is a pillar that connects the top and bottom. The capital is the upper part, richly decorated in the classic version.

Richly decorated columns look best in rooms with a high ceiling height - from 290 cm and above.

With the advent of lightweight polyurethane foam products, the use of columns as decorative design details has become possible in high-rise buildings, small apartments. Any column, even standing alone, "crushes" the surrounding space. With compositions of two or three columns, it is convenient to delimit the room, highlighting individual parts, while maintaining a sense of integrity.

Colonnades with a large number of elements are almost never used by modern architects, unless the design of the entire building requires it. comfort, high level quality of life requires laying a large number of communications going through all floors of buildings. Hiding cables, pipes inside the column is an original, sometimes the only acceptable design solution.

Considering the columns as a decorative detail, it is worth including here the semi-columns. Semi-columns do not carry a support load. They are attached to the wall, performing decorating and zoning functions, while retaining all the aesthetic decorativeness inherent in entire columns.
Low columns from 80cm and above complement the interior in an original way. They are used as tables, stands for vases, sculptures, bowls.

Epoch? Style? Direction?

Noble classic

The classical interior with antique columns was based on Greek samples - Doric, Ionic, Corinthian styles. The decoration of the base, body, capitals not only has not changed, moreover, good taste requires exact adherence to Greek ideals.

mysterious east

Impressive colonnades connected by arches are an integral element of oriental architecture. In contrast to classical restraint, the body of the eastern column is richly decorated with mosaics, ornaments, and bright colors.

Modern interior trends

Minimalist style, hi-tech, loft - did not bypass the columns. These styles involve a large free space, a significant height. The columns here act as floor supports. Most often, these are simple poles, finished in accordance with the style of the room - metal (like silver, nickel, chrome, copper), clinker "like aged brick", concrete with traces of formwork.
The latest trend is the use of backlighting in glass columns with bubbles.

rustic styles

In the good old Provence, Russian country style, and other ethnic styles, wood and rough natural stone are preferred for finishing columns.
The columns can be completely wooden, and the “stone” finish on various bases (concrete, polyurethane foam, drywall, false column) is made with materials imitating stone.

Using semi-columns, columns, decorate them based on the style of the entire room, and any, even the simplest stand, will become a “highlight”.

Suitable ... materials for the manufacture of columns

Traditionally, the elements of the column were cut out of stone - marble, granite, travertine. Local stone was used, from nearby deposits, because heavy stone blocks are difficult to transport to long distances. The body of the column was assembled from several parts, the seams between them were tightly rubbed, the column looked monolithic.

How to hide a column that is not needed

The design features of some buildings suggest a large floor area with a small number of partitions and load-bearing walls. It is difficult to do without a support such as a massive column in the middle of the room under such conditions. If the column does not correspond to the general style of the room, it makes sense to decorate it.

Unusually advantageous compositions of semi-columns combined with photo wallpaper. By choosing a drawing of a suitable style, you can transform any, even the tiniest room, for example, a hallway. A small street, a piece of a garden or the canals of Venice will harmoniously enlarge and refresh the space, thanks to the framing with semi-columns.

Having comprehended the ideas of ancient architects, having selected the appropriate modern technological materials, it is really possible to turn a gray concrete and glass building into a luxurious palace, oriental harem, a brutal loft or… a beautiful garden.

So what is the secret of using columns in the interior? They give volume, turn a flat image into 3D, create a stereo effect, set the rhythm of space, and therefore make the interior alive, real.

This monument complemented the composition of the Arch of the General Staff, which was dedicated to the victory in the Patriotic War of 1812. The idea of ​​building a monument was given by the famous architect Karl Rossi. When planning the space of Palace Square, he believed that a monument should be placed in the center of the square. However, the proposed idea of ​​installing another equestrian statue He rejected Peter I.

An open competition was officially announced on behalf of Emperor Nicholas I in 1829 with the wording in memory of " unforgettable brother". Auguste Montferrand responded to this challenge with the project of erecting a grandiose granite obelisk, but this option was rejected by the emperor.

A sketch of that project has survived and is currently in the library. Montferrand proposed to erect a huge granite obelisk 25.6 meters (84 feet or 12 fathoms) high on an 8.22 meters (27 feet) granite plinth. The front face of the obelisk was supposed to be decorated with bas-reliefs depicting the events of the war of 1812 in photographs from the famous medallions made by the medalist Count F. P. Tolstoy.

On the pedestal it was planned to carry out the inscription "Blessed - grateful Russia." On the pedestal, the architect saw a rider on a horse trampling a snake underfoot; a double-headed eagle flies ahead of the rider, the goddess of victory follows the rider, crowning him with laurels; the horse is led by two symbolic female figures.

The sketch of the project indicates that the obelisk was supposed to surpass all monoliths known in the world with its height (secretly highlighting the obelisk installed by D. Fontana in front of St. Peter's Cathedral). The artistic part of the project is excellently executed in watercolor technique and testifies to the high skill of Montferrand in various areas of fine art.

Trying to defend his project, the architect acted within the limits of subordination, dedicating his essay to Nicholas I " Plans et details du monument consacré à la mémoire de l'Empereur Alexandre”, but the idea was nevertheless rejected and Montferrand was unambiguously pointed out to the column as the desired form of the monument.

Final project

The second project, which was subsequently implemented, was to install a column higher than the Vendôme column (erected in honor of Napoleon's victories). As a source of inspiration, Montferrand was offered Trajan's Column in Rome.

The narrow scope of the project did not allow the architect to escape the influence of world-famous examples, and his new work was only a slight modification of the ideas of his predecessors. The artist expressed his individuality by refusing to use additional decorations, like the bas-reliefs spiraling around the shaft of the ancient Trajan's column. Montferrand showed the beauty of a gigantic polished pink granite monolith 25.6 meters high (12 fathoms).

In addition, Montferrand made his monument higher than all existing monolithic columns. In this new form, on September 24, 1829, the project without sculptural completion was approved by the sovereign.

Construction was carried out from 1829 to 1834. Since 1831, Count Yu.

Preparatory work

After separating the blank, huge stones were cut from the same rock for the foundation of the monument, the largest of which weighed about 25 thousand pounds (more than 400 tons). Their delivery to St. Petersburg was carried out by water, for this a special design barge was involved.

The monolith was duped on the spot and prepared for transportation. Ship engineer colonel K. A. Glazyrin was engaged in transportation issues, who designed and built a special boat, named "Saint Nicholas", with a carrying capacity of up to 65 thousand pounds (almost 1065 tons). To perform loading operations, a special pier was built. Loading was carried out from a wooden platform at its end, coinciding in height with the ship's side.

Having overcome all difficulties, the column was loaded on board, and the monolith went to Kronstadt on a barge towed by two steamers, in order to go from there to the Palace Embankment of St. Petersburg.

The arrival of the central part of the column in St. Petersburg took place on July 1, 1832. The contractor, the merchant's son V.A. Yakovlev, was responsible for all of the above work, further work was carried out on the spot under the guidance of O. Montferrand.

Business qualities, unusual intelligence and diligence of Yakovlev were noted by Montferrand. He most likely acted on his own. at your own expense» - assuming all financial and other risks associated with the project. This is indirectly confirmed by the words:

Yakovlev's case is over; upcoming difficult operations concern you; I hope you have as much success as him.

Nicholas I, to Auguste Montferrand about the prospects after the unloading of the column to St. Petersburg

Works in St. Petersburg

Since 1829, on Palace Square in St. Petersburg, work began on the preparation and construction of the foundation and pedestal of the column. O. Montferrand supervised the work.

The foundation of the monument was built from stone granite blocks half a meter thick. It was brought out to the horizon of the square with a plank masonry. In its center was laid a bronze box with coins minted in honor of the victory in 1812.

The work was completed in October 1830.

Building a pedestal

After laying the foundation, a huge four-hundred-ton monolith, brought from the Pyuterlak quarry, was hoisted onto it, which serves as the base of the pedestal.

The engineering problem of installing such a large monolith was solved by O. Montferrand as follows:

1. Installing the monolith on the foundation
2. Precise installation of the monolith
   • The ropes, thrown over the blocks, were pulled by nine capstans and raised the stone to a height of about one meter.
   • They took out the rollers and added a layer of slippery solution, very peculiar in its composition, on which they planted a monolith.

Since the work was carried out in winter, I ordered to mix cement with vodka and add a tenth of soap. Due to the fact that the stone initially sat incorrectly, it had to be moved several times, which was done with the help of only two capstans and with particular ease, of course, thanks to the soap, which I ordered to be mixed into the mortar.

O. Montferrand

The setting of the upper parts of the pedestal was a much simpler task - despite the greater height of the rise, the subsequent steps consisted of stones much smaller than the previous ones, moreover, the workers gradually gained experience.

Column installation

As a result, the figure of an angel with a cross was accepted for execution, made by the sculptor B.I. Orlovsky with expressive and understandable symbolism for everyone, - “ Sim win!". These words are connected with the story of the acquisition of the life-giving cross:

It was impossible to look without deep spiritual tenderness at the sovereign, humbly kneeling in front of this numerous army, moved by his word to the foot of the colossus he built. He prayed for his brother, and everything at that moment spoke of the earthly glory of this sovereign brother: the monument that bears his name, and the kneeling Russian army, and the people in the midst of whom he lived, complacent, accessible to everyone.<…>How striking was at that moment this contrast of worldly grandeur, magnificent, but fleeting, with the grandeur of death, gloomy, but unchanged; and how eloquent was this angel in the mind of both, who, not involved in everything that surrounded him, stood between earth and heaven, belonging to one with his monumental granite, depicting what no longer exists, and to the other with his radiant cross, a symbol of what always and forever

In honor of this event, in the same year, a memorial ruble was issued with a circulation of 15,000.

Description of the monument

The Alexander Column resembles samples of the triumphal buildings of antiquity, the monument has an amazing clarity of proportions, laconic form, and beauty of the silhouette.

Text on the plaque:

TO ALEXANDER IMU GRATEFUL RUSSIA

This is the tallest monument in the world, made of solid granite and the third tallest of all monumental columns - after the Great Army Column in Boulogne-sur-Mer and Trafalgar (Nelson's Column) in London; The Alexander Column is higher than the Vendôme Column in Paris, Trajan's Column in Rome and Pompey's Column in Alexandria.

The column shaft is the tallest and heaviest monolith ever installed in the form of a column or an obelisk vertically, and one of the largest (the fifth in history and the second - after the Thunder-stone - in modern times) monoliths displaced by man.

Characteristics

• The total height of the structure is 47.5 m.
  • The height of the trunk (monolithic part) of the column is 25.6 m (12 fathoms).
  • The height of the pedestal is 2.85 m (4 arshins),
  • The height of the angel figure is 4.26 m,
  • The height of the cross is 6.4 m (3 fathoms).
• The bottom diameter of the column is 3.5 m (12 ft), the top diameter is 3.15 m (10 ft 6 in).
• The size of the pedestal is 6.3 × 6.3 m.
• The dimensions of the bas-reliefs are 5.24 × 3.1 m.
• Fence dimensions 16.5 × 16.5 m
• The total weight of the structure is 704 tons.
  • The weight of the stone shaft of the column is about 600 tons.
  • The total weight of the top of the column is about 37 tons.

The column itself stands on a granite base without any additional supports, only under the influence of its own gravity.

Pedestal

Pedestal of a column, decorated with four sides bronze bas-reliefs, was cast at C. Byrd's factory in 1833-1834.

A large team of authors worked on decorating the pedestal: sketch drawings were made by O. Montferrand, artists J. B. Scotty, V. Solovyov, Tverskoy, F. Brullo, Markov painted life-size bas-reliefs on cardboard. Sculptors P. V. Svintsov and I. Leppe sculpted bas-reliefs for casting. Models of two-headed eagles were made by the sculptor I. Leppe, models of the base, garlands and other decorations - by the ornamental sculptor E. Balin.

The bas-reliefs on the pedestal of the column in allegorical form glorify the victory of Russian weapons and symbolize the courage of the Russian army.

The bas-reliefs include images of ancient Russian chain mail, cones and shields kept in the Armory Chamber in Moscow, including helmets attributed to Alexander Nevsky and Ermak, as well as the armor of the 17th century Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, and that, despite Montferrand's claims, it is completely doubtful that the shield Oleg of the 10th century, nailed by him to the gates of Tsargrad.

These ancient Russian images appeared on the work of the Frenchman Montferrand through the efforts of the then president of the Academy of Arts, a well-known lover of Russian antiquity A. N. Olenin.

In addition to armor and allegories, allegorical figures are depicted on the pedestal from the northern (front) side: winged female figures hold a rectangular board on which the inscription in civil script: "Russia is grateful to Alexander the First." Under the board is an exact copy of armor samples from the armory.

Symmetrically located figures on the sides of the armament (on the left - a beautiful young woman leaning on an urn from which water pours out and on the right - an old aquarius man) personify the Vistula and Neman rivers, which were forced by the Russian army during the pursuit of Napoleon.

Other bas-reliefs depict Victory and Glory, recording the dates of memorable battles, and, in addition, the pedestal depicts the allegories of Victory and Peace (the years 1812, 1813 and 1814 are inscribed on the Victory shield), Justice and Mercy, Wisdom and Abundance ".

On the upper corners of the pedestal there are double-headed eagles, they hold oak garlands in their paws, lying on the ledge of the cornice of the pedestal. On the front side of the pedestal, above the garland, in the middle - in a circle bordered with an oak wreath, the All-Seeing Eye with the signature "1812".

On all the bas-reliefs, weapons of a classical nature are depicted as decorative elements, which

... does not belong to modern Europe and cannot hurt the pride of any people.

Column and sculpture of an angel

The stone column is a single piece of polished pink granite. The trunk of the column has a conical shape.

The top of the column is crowned with a bronze capital of the Doric order. Its upper part, a rectangular abacus, is made of brickwork with bronze lining. A bronze cylindrical pedestal with a hemispherical top is installed on it, inside of which is the main support array, consisting of multi-layered masonry: granite, brick and two more layers of granite at the base.

Not only is the column itself taller than the Vendome column, the figure of an angel surpasses in height the figure of Napoleon I on the Vendome column. In addition, the angel tramples the snake with a cross, which symbolizes the peace and tranquility that Russia brought to Europe by defeating the Napoleonic troops.

The sculptor gave the facial features of the angel a resemblance to the face of Alexander I. According to other sources, the figure of the angel is a sculptural portrait of the St. Petersburg poetess Elisaveta Kulman.

Light figure angels, falling folds of clothing, a clearly expressed vertical of the cross, continuing the vertical of the monument, emphasize the harmony of the column.

The fence and surroundings of the monument

The Alexander Column was surrounded by a decorative bronze fence about 1.5 meters high, designed by Auguste Montferrand. The fence was decorated with 136 double-headed eagles and 12 captured cannons (4 in the corners and 2 are framed by double-leaf gates on four sides of the fence), which were crowned with three-headed eagles.

Between them were placed alternating spears and staffs of banners, topped with guards double-headed eagles. Locks were hung on the gates of the fence in accordance with the author's intention.

In addition, the project included the installation of a chandelier with copper lanterns and gas lighting.

The fence in original form was installed in 1834, completely all the elements were installed in 1836-1837. In the north-eastern corner of the fence there was a guardhouse, in which there was a disabled person dressed in full dress guard uniform, guarding the monument day and night and keeping order in the square.

Throughout the entire space of the Palace Square, an end pavement was made.

Stories and legends associated with the Alexander Column

legends

With regard to this column, one can recall the proposal made to Emperor Nicholas by the skillful French architect Montferrand, who was present at its excision, transportation and setting, namely: he proposed to the emperor to drill a spiral staircase inside this column and required for this only two workers: a man and a boy with a hammer, a chisel, and a basket in which the boy would carry out fragments of granite as he drilled; finally, two lanterns to illuminate the workers in their hard work. In 10 years, he argued, the worker and the boy (the latter would grow a little, of course) would have completed their spiral staircase; but the emperor, rightly proud of the erection of this one of a kind monument, feared, and perhaps with good reason, that this drill might not penetrate the outer sides of the column, and therefore refused this proposal.

Completion and restoration work

Two years after the installation of the monument, in 1836, white-gray spots began to appear on the polished surface of the stone under the bronze top of the granite column, spoiling the appearance of the monument.

In 1841, Nicholas I ordered an inspection of the flaws noticed then on the column, but the conclusion of the survey stated that even during processing, granite crystals partially crumbled in the form of small depressions, which are perceived as cracks.

In 1861, Alexander II established the "Committee for the study of damage to the Alexander Column", which included scientists and architects. Scaffolding was erected for inspection, as a result of which the committee came to the conclusion that, indeed, there were cracks on the column that were originally characteristic of the monolith, but it was feared that an increase in the number and size of them "may give rise to the collapse of the column."

There were discussions about the materials that should be used to seal these cavities. The Russian “grandfather of chemistry” A. A. Voskresensky proposed a composition “which should have been given to the closing mass” and “thanks to which the crack in the Alexander column was stopped and closed with complete success” ( D. I. Mendeleev).

For regular inspection of the column, four chains were fixed on the abacus of the capitals - fasteners for lifting the cradle; in addition, the craftsmen had to periodically “climb” the monument to clean the stone from stains, which was not an easy task, given the great height of the column.

Decorative lanterns near the column were made 40 years after the opening - in 1876 by the architect K.K. Rakhau.

For all the time from the moment of its discovery until the end of the 20th century, the column was subjected to restoration work five times, which was more of a cosmetic nature.

After the events of 1917, the space around the monument was changed, and for the holidays the angel was covered with a red-painted canvas cap or masked with balloons descended from a hovering airship.

The fence was dismantled and melted down for cartridge cases in the 1930s.

The restoration was carried out in 1963 (foreman N. N. Reshetov, the work was supervised by the restorer I. G. Black).

In 1977, on the Palace Square were held restoration work: historical lanterns were restored around the column, the asphalt surface was replaced with granite and diabase paving stones.

Engineering and restoration work at the beginning of the XXI century

At the end of the 20th century, after a certain time had passed since the previous restoration, the need for serious restoration work and, first of all, a detailed study of the monument began to be felt more and more acutely. The prologue to the start of work was the study of the column. They were forced to be produced on the recommendation of the specialists of the museum urban sculpture. The alarm of specialists was caused by large cracks at the top of the column, visible through binoculars. The inspection was carried out from helicopters and climbers, who in 1991, for the first time in the history of the St. Petersburg restoration school, landed a research “landing party” on top of the column using a special Magirus Deutz fire hydrant.

Having fixed at the top, the climbers took photos and videos of the sculpture. It was concluded that it was necessary to urgently carry out restoration work.

The restoration was financed by the Moscow association Hazer International Rus. To carry out work worth 19.5 million rubles on the monument, the Intarsia company was chosen; this choice was made due to the presence in the organization of personnel with extensive experience in such critical facilities. Works at the facility were carried out by L. Kakabadze, K. Efimov, A. Poshekhonov, P. Portuguese. The work was supervised by the restorer of the first category Sorin V.G.

By the autumn of 2002, the scaffolding had been erected, and the conservators carried out on-site surveys. Almost all the bronze elements of the pommel were in disrepair: everything was covered with a “wild patina”, a “bronze disease” began to develop in fragments, the cylinder on which the figure of an angel relied cracked and took on a barrel-shaped shape. The internal cavities of the monument were examined using a flexible three-meter endoscope. As a result, the restorers were also able to establish what the general design of the monument looks like and determine the differences between the original project and its actual implementation.

One of the results of the study was the solution of the spots appearing in the upper part of the column: they turned out to be a product of the destruction of the brickwork, flowing outward.

Carrying out work

Years of rainy St. Petersburg weather led to the following destruction of the monument:

• The brickwork of the abacus was completely destroyed; at the time of the study, the initial stage of its deformation was recorded.
• Inside the cylindrical pedestal of the angel, up to 3 tons of water accumulated, which got inside through dozens of cracks and holes in the shell of the sculpture. This water, seeping down into the pedestal and freezing in winter, ruptured the cylinder, giving it a barrel shape.

The following tasks were set for the restorers:

1. Get rid of water:
   • Remove water from the cavities of the top;
   • Prevent water accumulation in the future;
2. Restore the structure of the abacus support.

The work was carried out mainly in winter at high altitude without dismantling the sculpture, both outside and inside the structure. Control over the work was carried out by both specialized and non-core structures, including the administration of St. Petersburg.

The restorers carried out work to create a drainage system for the monument: as a result, all the cavities of the monument were connected, and the cavity of the cross, about 15.5 meters high, was used as an “exhaust pipe”. The created drainage system provides for the removal of all moisture, including condensation.

The brick weight of the finial in the abacus was replaced with granite, self-jamming constructions without binders. Thus, the original intention of Montferrand was again realized. The bronze surfaces of the monument were protected by patination.

In addition, more than 50 fragments left over from the blockade of Leningrad were removed from the monument.

Scaffolding from the monument was removed in March 2003.

Fence repair

... "jewelry work" was carried out, and when recreating the fence, "iconographic materials, old photographs were used." "Palace Square got the finishing touch."

The fence was made according to a project completed in 1993 by the Lenproektrestavratsiya Institute. The work was financed from the city budget, the costs amounted to 14 million 700 thousand rubles. The historical fence of the monument was restored by the specialists of Intarsia LLC. The installation of the fence began on November 18, the grand opening took place on January 24, 2004.

Soon after the discovery, a part of the lattice was stolen as a result of two "raids" of vandals - hunters for non-ferrous metals.

The theft could not be prevented, despite the 24-hour surveillance cameras on Palace Square: they did not record anything in the dark. To monitor the area at night, it is necessary to use special expensive cameras. The leadership of the Central Internal Affairs Directorate of St. Petersburg decided to establish a round-the-clock police post near the Alexander Column.

Ice rink around the column

At the end of March 2008, an examination of the condition of the column fence was carried out, a defective statement was drawn up for all the loss of elements. It recorded:

• 53 places of deformation,
• 83 lost parts,
  • Loss of 24 small eagles and one large eagle,
  • 31 partial loss of details.

• 28 eagles
• 26 spades

The loss did not receive an explanation from the St. Petersburg officials and was not commented on by the organizers of the rink.

The organizers of the skating rink undertook obligations to the city administration to restore the lost elements of the fence. Work was to start after May holidays 2008.

References in art

Also, the column is depicted on the cover of the album "Lemur of the Nine" by the St. Petersburg group "Refawn".

Column in literature

• "Pillar of Alexandria" is mentioned in the famous poem by A. S. Pushkin "

A unique monument stands on Palace Square in St. Petersburg - a column crowned with a sculptural image of an angel with a cross, and at the base framed by relief allegories of victory Patriotic War 1812.

Dedicated to the military genius of Alexander I, the monument is called the Alexander Column, and with light hand Pushkin is called the "Pillar of Alexandria".

The erection of the monument took place in the late 20s - early 30s of the nineteenth century. The process was documented, and therefore there should be no secrets in the appearance of the Alexander Column. But if there are no secrets, you really want to invent them, don't you?

What is the Alexander Column made of?

The network is full of assurances about the discovered layering in the material from which the Alexander Column is made. Say, the masters of the past, not knowing how to mechanically process solid, learned to synthesize granite-like concrete - from which the monument was cast.

The alternative view is even more radical. The Alexander Column is not monolithic at all! It is made up of separate blocks, stacked on top of each other like children's cubes, and on the outside it is lined with plaster with a large amount of granite chips.

There are completely fantastic versions that can compete with the notes from ward number 6. However, in reality the situation is not so complicated, and most importantly, the entire process of manufacturing, transportation and installation of the Alexander Column is documented. The history of the appearance of the main monument of the Palace Square is painted almost by the minute.

The choice of stone for the Alexander Column

Auguste Montferrand or, as he called himself in the Russian manner, August Montferand, before receiving an order for a monument in honor of the victory in the Patriotic War of 1812, built St. Isaac's Cathedral. During the harvesting work in a granite quarry on the territory of modern Finland, Montferrand discovered a monolith measuring 35 x 7 meters.

Monoliths of this kind are very rare and even more valuable. So there is nothing surprising in the frugality of the architect, who noticed, but did not put into action a huge granite slab.

Soon the emperor had the idea of ​​a monument to Alexander I, and Montferrand drew a sketch of the column, mindful of the availability of suitable material. The project has been approved. The extraction and delivery of stone for the Alexander Column was entrusted to the same contractor who provided the material for the construction of Isaac.

Skillful mining of granite in a quarry

For the manufacture and erection of the prepared place of the column, two monoliths were required - one for the core of the structure, the other for the pedestal. The stone for the column was carved first.

First of all, the workers cleaned the granite monolith from soft soil and any mineral debris, and Montferrand carefully examined the surface of the stone for cracks and defects. No flaws were found.

Using hammers and forged chisels, the workers roughly leveled the top of the massif and made slotted recesses for attaching the rigging, after which it was time to separate the fragment from the natural monolith.

Along the lower edge of the blank for the column, a horizontal ledge was carved for the entire length of the stone. On the upper plane, having retreated a sufficient distance from the edge, a furrow was cut along the workpiece a foot deep and half a foot wide. In the same furrow, wells were drilled by hand, with the help of forged bolts and heavy hammers, at a distance of a foot from one another.

Steel wedges were placed in the finished wells. In order for the wedges to work synchronously and give an even crack in the granite monolith, a special spacer was used - an iron beam laid in a furrow and leveling the wedges into an even palisade.

At the command of the senior hammerers, placed one by one into two or three wedges, they set to work. The crack went exactly along the line of the wells!

With the help of levers and capstans (winches with a vertical shaft arrangement), the stone was overturned onto an obliquely laid out bed of logs and spruce branches.

The granite monolith for the pedestal of the column was also mined in the same way. But if the blank for the column initially weighed about 1000 tons, the stone for the pedestal was chipped off two and a half times less - “only” 400 tons in weight.

Lasted career work two years.

Transportation of blanks for the Alexander Column

The “light” stone for the pedestal was delivered to St. Petersburg first, in the company of several granite boulders. The total weight of the cargo was 670 tons. The loaded wooden barge was placed between two ships and safely towed to the capital. The ships arrived in the first days of November 1831.

Unloading was carried out using the synchronous operation of ten dragging winches and took only two hours.

Transportation of the larger workpiece was postponed until next summer. A team of masons, meanwhile, chipped off excess granite from it, giving the workpiece a rounded column shape.

A ship with a carrying capacity of up to 1100 tons was built to transport the column. The workpiece was sheathed with a board in several layers. On the shore, for the convenience of loading, a pier was built from log cabins, ballasted with wild stone. The area of ​​the pier flooring was 864 square meters.

A log-stone pier was built in the sea in front of the pier. The road to the pier was widened, cleared of vegetation and stone outcrops. Particularly strong remains had to be blown up. Of the many logs, they arranged a semblance of a pavement for unhindered rolling of the workpiece.

The movement of the prepared stone to the pier took two weeks and required the efforts of more than 400 tons of workers.

Loading the workpiece onto the ship was not without trouble. The logs, laid out in a row with one end on the pier, the other - on board the ship, could not withstand the load and broke. The stone, however, did not sink to the bottom: the ship, spread between the pier and the pier, did not allow it to drown.

The contractor had enough people and lifting equipment to rectify the situation. However, the authorities, for fidelity, called in soldiers from a nearby military unit. The help of several hundred hands turned out to be handy: in two days the monolith was lifted on board, strengthened and sent to St. Petersburg.

No one was hurt during the incident.

Preparatory work

To avoid accidents when unloading the column, Montferrand rebuilt the St. Petersburg berth so that the side of the vessel adjoined it without gaps along its entire height. The measure turned out to be successful: the transfer of cargo from the barge to the shore went flawlessly.

Further movement of the column was carried out along inclined floorings with the ultimate goal in the form of a high wooden platform with a special trolley at the top. The trolley, moved on rollers, was intended for the longitudinal movement of the workpiece.

The stone cut for the pedestal of the monument was delivered to the site of the column in autumn, covered with a canopy and placed at the disposal of forty masons. Having trimmed the monolith from above and from all four sides, the workers turned the stone over onto a sand pile in order to prevent the block from splitting.

After processing all six planes of the pedestal, the granite block was hoisted onto the foundation. The foundation for the pedestal rested on 1250 piles driven into the bottom of the pit to a depth of eleven meters, sawn to the level and embedded in the masonry. On top of the four-meter masonry that filled the pit, they laid out a cement mortar with soap and alcohol. The compliance of the mortar pad made it possible to set the pedestal monolith with high accuracy.

Within a few months, the masonry and cement pad of the pedestal had set and gained the required strength. By the time the column was delivered to the Palace Square, the pedestal was ready.

Column installation

Installing a 757 ton column is a challenging engineering challenge even today. However, the engineers of two hundred years ago coped with the solution of the problem "perfectly well."

The design strength of the rigging and auxiliary structures was three times. The workers and soldiers involved in raising the column acted with great enthusiasm, Montferrand notes. Competent placement of people, impeccable organization of management and ingenious scaffolding design made it possible to raise, align and install the column in less than an hour. It took another two days to straighten the verticality of the monument.

Finishing the surface, as well as the installation of the architectural details of the capital and the sculpture of the angels, took another two years.

It should be noted that there are no fastening elements between the sole of the column and the pedestal. The monument rests solely due to its gigantic size and the absence of any noticeable earthquakes in St. Petersburg.

Links to additional information

Drawings and other documents on the construction of the Alexander Column in St. Petersburg: