Description of the attraction
In a small grove of tall trees, in the middle of an open meadow of Tsarskoye Selo Catherine Park, there is a vase on a high pedestal with a tongue of flame topping. This monument is dedicated to the memory of Alexander Dmitrievich Lansky, the favorite of Empress Catherine II the Great. The legends that have circulated around this stone monument for 200 years of its existence for a long time hid from the eyes of scientists and researchers the line between reality and fantasy, erased by time.
Archival documents dating back to the 18th century helped to establish the truth: in them, the monument is referred to as the "Marble Pedestal" and is depicted as an allegory of "virtues and merit", which is not associated with any specific historical person. Such structures were often found in English landscape parks of the 18th century. The 3 sides of the pedestal were decorated with white marble bas-reliefs depicting a shield with a spear suspended from a ribbon, a wreath and a cornucopia. The interpretation of the symbols carved on the reliefs can be found in the book “Symbols and Emblematics”, famous in the 18th century, in which there is a mention of 3 of them: cornucopia; a shield with a spear suspended on a ribbon - “a sign of Mars and Bellona, prudence for both peace and protection”, a laurel wreath on a ribbon, dedicated to “the one who fought lawfully, who does good to You”.
However, in addition to the symbols on the side of the pedestal, which faces the palace, there was a bronze plaque with the inscription: "If it is great pleasure for honest souls to see virtues and merits, which are worthily crowned with general praises." Above the inscription there was a relief gilded coat of arms of A. D. Lanskoy and the image of two sides of the medal, which was knocked out in memory of Alexander Dmitrievich.
The creator of the monument to A. D. Lansky, made of white, gray and pink marble, is considered the architect Antonio Rinaldi. Archival documents tell that the "Marble Pedestal" was built in 1773; at the end of winter of the same year, a pedestal, three bas-reliefs, steps, a copper board, a lower plinth, a vase and a flame were brought to Tsarskoe Selo.
In 1784, after the death of A. D. Lansky, a dedicatory inscription was carved on the monument, and the true date of its construction was forgotten over time.
In the 19th century, the monument was sometimes called the "Pedestal of Benefit and Merit", but in 1830 a plaque with an inscription in the name of A. D. Lanskoy was removed due to the fact that her text, at the discretion of Emperor Nicholas I, tarnished the imperial dynasty. A lost bronze plaque with the image of the gilded coat of arms of the favorite of Catherine the Great, a commemorative medal with his profile and the inscription "In memory of friendship" were found at the beginning of the 20th century and re-installed on the pedestal. However, during the Second World War, the monument was destroyed again, and the bronze plaque also disappeared. Nowadays, the restoration of the monument is being carried out.
