The Alexandrine Column. On the Palace Square and in Russian history

The unconditional architectural dominant of the Palace Square of St. Petersburg is the famous Alexandria Column. The image of her from childhood comes into the minds of several generations of Russian people, even those who have never been on the banks of the Neva. But the textbook poetry of Pushkin, where it is mentioned, is known to everyone. At the same time, not everyone will remember that the Alexandrian column was erected in honor of commemorating the victory of Russian arms over Napoleon in the Patriotic War of 1812 . Often it is perceived no more than the axis of symmetry of the architectural ensemble and the center of the overall composition, uniting in a single whole the brilliant creations of Rossi and Rastrelli. Of course, this is a simple convention, but it is considered to be a symbolic center of not only the Palace Square, but all of St. Petersburg.

History of creation

The Alexandrian column on the palace square was erected according to the design of the great architect Auguste Montferrand. In its construction there is some element of chance. Forty years of his life Montferrand dedicated to the construction of St. Isaac's Cathedral. Granite for the construction of its colonnades was mined in the Karelian rocks. One of the monolithic blanks weighed a thousand tons, and its pink granite was of surprising quality. The length also greatly exceeded the required length. To cut such a gift of nature was just a pity. And it was decided to use the whole monolith. The Alexandria column was manufactured right at the site of extraction of the monolithic billet. The work was done by Russian stone-cutters. For her delivery to the capital on the Neva had to design and build a special barge. The action took place in 1832. After delivery to the place of destination and carrying out all the preparatory work, the final installation took only one and a half hours. In the vertical position, the Alexandrian column was brought through a system of levers with the help of the physical efforts of two and a half thousand workers and soldiers of the Moscow garrison. The construction was completed in 1834. A little later, the pedestal was decorated with ornament and surrounded by a low barrier.

Some Technical Details

The column on the Palace Square and to this day is the highest triumphal structure of this type in all of Europe. Its height is 47 and a half meters. It is carefully polished and has the same diameter along its entire length. The uniqueness of this monument is also in the fact that it is not fixed in any way and stands on a solid foundation solely under the influence of its own weight. Not so distant is the bicentenary of this building. But during this time there was not even the slightest deviation from the vertical of the six-hundred-ton monolith. There are no signs of a drawdown of the foundation under it. This was the accuracy of the engineering calculation of Auguste Richard Montferrand.
During the war, near the column, bombs and shells of long-range artillery were bursting. The Alexandrian column survived those who fired on it and, apparently, stood firm for a long time. The metal angel on its top is also not fixed, but it's not going to fly away.