Dekabristov Square

Categories / City Topography/Urban Network/Squares
Categories / Architecture/Architectural Monuments/Architectural Ensembles
DEKABRISTOV SQUARE (prior to 1925, also called Senatskaya, Petrovskaya), is situated between Admiralteyskaya Embankment and St. Isaac Square. It appeared at the beginning of the 18th century west of the outer bank of Admiralty Fortress; Admiralteysky Canal ran along the southern side of the square. In the first half of the 18th century, the Church of St. Isaac of Dalmatia stood on the square. In 1763, the Senate moved into the palace of Field Marshall General A.P. Bestuzhev, situated on the intersection of the square and Angliiskaya Embankment (hence the first name of the square, Senatskaya). In 1782, a monument to Peter the Great (the Bronze Horseman) was put up on the square, and it acquired the name of Petrovskaya. On 14 December 1825, and armed uprising organized by members of various secret societies took place on the square (see Decembrists, hence the present-day name). In 1829-36, in the western part of the square the building of the Senate and the Holy Synod was erected (today, Russian State Historical archives). In the 1840s, the Columns of Glory were set up where today Konnogvardeysky Boulevard begins. In 1872-74, Alexandrovsky Garden was laid out along the western and southern facades of the Main Admiralty. The spacious Dekabristov Square, extending towards the Bolshaya Neva River, makes a natural part of St. Petersburg central squares' architectural ensemble. Its composition's centre point is the monument to Peter the Great, which is highly visible from all parts.

References: Канн П. Я. Площади революционных восстаний. Л., 1955; Гордин А. М. Площадь Декабристов. Л., 1966.

O. A. Chekanova. Bestuzhev-Ryumin Alexey Petrovich, Count
Peter I, Emperor
Admiralteyskaya Embankment/Saint Petersburg, city
Angliiskaya Embankment/Saint Petersburg, city
Dekabristov Square/Saint Petersburg, city
Konnogvardeisky Boulevard/Saint Petersburg, city
St.Isaac's Square/Saint Petersburg, city
Канн П. Я.. Площади революционных восстаний. Л., 1955
Гордин А. М. Площадь Декабристов. Л., 1966 Admiralty Fortress
Senate
Senate
Bronze Horseman
Senate and Synod Buildings
Admiralty
Admiralty