Monuments to the War of 1812-1814

Categories / Architecture/Sculpture, Monuments
MONUMENTS TO THE WAR OF 1812-1814, memorial constructions in honour of Russia's military victories during the Patriotic War of 1812 and the campaigns of 1813-14 against Emperor Napoleon I concluding with allied troops marching into Paris on 19 March 1814. Plans for a temporary Triumphal Gate to meet Guards troops returning home were developed by architects V.P. Stasov and G. Quarenghi (those of the latter were adopted). A temporary wooden Triumphal Gate was constructed at the end of Narvskaya Road, close to the boundaries of St. Petersburg, between Obvodny Canal and Tarakanovka River. The single-span arch, crowned with a Chariot of Victory with six horses, was lavishly decorated with sculptures (sculptor I.I. Terebenev). On 30 July 1814, Guard troops returning to the capital ceremonially passed under it. In 1827-1834, to the west of the old arch the Narvsky Triumphal Gate was constructed. On 17 August 1818 (on the fifth anniversary of the Battle of Kulm), at the entrance to the Catherine Park of Tsarskoe Selo on the initiative of Emperor Alexander I the cast-iron Triumphal Gate "To my dear war companions" (architect Stasov), devoted to the participants of the campaign of 1812-1814, was unveiled. The Our Lady of Kazan Cathedral, where on 13 June 1813 M.I. Kutuzov was buried, also became a monument to the Patriotic War of 1812. The cathedral treasured captured enemy standards and keys from European towns, liberated by Russian troops. In 1834, in the cathedral an icon stand (architect K. A. Ton) was placed, made of 40 poods (equivalent to 655 kilograms) of silver, won by the Cossacks of General M.I. Platov from the retreating French. In front of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan on 29 December 1837 the unveiling of the monuments to Field Marshals Kutuzov and M.B. Barclay de Tolly (sculptor B.I. Orlovsky, architect Stasov) took place. Symmetrical figures of commanders placed on the pedestals of the same type (height 3.4 m) differ in characterizations: Barclay (height 4.3 m) is restrained and concentrated; Kutuzov (height is 3.9 m) is decided and purposeful. On 25 December 1826, in the Winter Palace the Military Gallery was opened (architect K.I. Rossi), where 332 portraits of Russian generals, who took part in the War of 1812-14 were hung (1819-28, artists G. Dow, V.A. Golike and A.V. Polyakov). 13 frames for various reasons were left without portraits. Following the fire of 1837, the gallery was restored in 1839 (architect Stasov, sculptor A.I. Terebenev, N.A. Ustinov). The sculptural decor of the Alexander Column is also reminiscent of the military operations of 1812-1814. The Arch of the General Staff on the Palace Square (opened in 1829) and Glory Columns on Konnogvardeisky Boulevard (1844-1845, sculptor K.D. Rauch, architect Rossi) are dedicated to the military glory of Russia, but are not directly connected with the war of 1812-1814.

References: Раскин А. Г. Триумфальные арки Ленинграда. Л., 1977; Глинка В. М.,Помарнацкий А. В. Военная галерея Зимнего дворца. 3-е изд., доп. Л., 1981.

Y. M. Piryutko. Alexander I, Emperor
Barclay de Tolly Mikhail Bogdanovich, Prince (Mikhael Andreas)
Dow George
Kutuzov (Golenishchev-Kutuzov) Mikhail Illarionovich, Gracious Prince
Napoleon I Bonaparte, Emperor
Orlovsky (real name Smirnov) Boris Ivanovich
Platov Matvey Ivanovich
Quarenghi Giacomo
Rossi Carl Ivanovich (Carlo Giovanni)
Stasov Vasily Petrovich
the Terebenevs
Ton Konstantin Andreevich
Dvortsovaya Square/Saint Petersburg, city
Konnogvardeisky Boulevard/Saint Petersburg, city
Раскин А. Г. Триумфальные арки Ленинграда. Л., 1977
Глинка В. М., Помарнацкий А. В. Военная галерея Зимнего дворца. 3-е изд., доп. Л., 1981 Narva Triumphal Arch
Kazan Cathedral
Alexander Column
General Staff Building
1838
1845