Description of the attraction
In the northern Russian capital, there are a number of tourist sites, popular attractions that form the unique appearance of the city, create its unique atmosphere: it is simply impossible to imagine this city without them.
One of these sights is the Rostral Columns. They tower at the eastern end Vasilievsky Island - actually in the center of the city. Currently, they do not perform any practical function, but in the 19th century, the columns were port lanterns. These lanterns were lit in the dark, and their light also helped to navigate in the fog.
Column history
The columns were built in the first decade of the 19th century. Project author - Jean-Franus Thomas de Thomon … It was he who came up with the idea to place on the columns as decorations nasal parts of warships - rostra (translated from Latin the word "rostrum" means "beak").
More precisely, the custom to decorate the columns in this way existed even in Ancient rome: those who won in a naval battle, as trophies, took the rostra of the defeated ships and, returning home, put them on public display. This was a testament to military valor, strength and was supposed to frighten enemies. The first such column appeared in Rome around 340 BC … In the 19th century, a French architect remembered this ancient Roman custom and decided to revive it, glorifying the power of Russia as a maritime power.
It should be noted here that the columns are not a monument to victory in any particular naval battle. Moreover, they symbolize the successes of the Russian fleet not only in the military sphere, but also in the field of trade … Rostra used as decorative elements, of course, are not the bows of real defeated ships. They were made specifically to decorate the columns. Sami rostra decorated with figures of seahorses, fish, crocodiles, as well as images of winged mermaids and mermaids, which again sends us back to ancient traditions.
It is known that the architect has been working on the design of the columns for several years. He repeatedly reworked the project, changing the proportions of architectural structures and their decor. The original idea of the architect was very different from his final project: initially, the French architect planned to erect small columns. But one of the Russian architects criticized this plan: the stairs, which were supposed to be inside the columns, turned out to be so narrow that no one could climb them, and the walls turned out to be too thin, their strength was extremely doubtful. The French architect took into account all these fair comments and redesigned the project.
Speaking about the construction of columns, one cannot fail to mention Samson Sukhanov - the famous stonemason at that time. Coming from a family of poor peasants, he achieved wide fame only thanks to his work and talent. The French sculptors also worked on the creation of the columns: they made statues depicting sea gods; these sculptures can be seen at the foot of the columns.
The structure and architectural features of the columns
The height of each column is thirty two meters … They are covered with plaster and painted in a noble dark red (terracotta) color. The architect who designed the columns was chosen Doric order, since he is the most strict, restrained, courageous of all the ancient Greek orders (differing in this from the graceful Ionic order and the luxurious Corinthian one).
One of the lanterns points the way to the branch of the Neva, starting at the Palace Bridge; another lantern helps to reach a branch that branches off from the river at the Spit of Vasilievsky Island.
At the foot of the columns you can see four statues … They represent sea gods and patrons of trade. There is an erroneous version, according to which these sculptures are allegories of Russian rivers: female figures depict Volga and Neva, male - Dnipro and Volkhov … But this version appeared relatively recently and it does not correspond to the architect's intention at all. There is another strange version about who the sculptures depict: according to her, one of the male figures is fisherman Vasily, who once lived in these places (hence the name of the island - Vasilievsky), and a female figure located nearby depicts him beloved Vasilisa … This version is urban folklore and has nothing to do with the truth.
Initially, it was decided to make sculptures from bronze (according to another version, from cast iron), but later the architect abandoned this idea, since the selected metal was very difficult to process in the right way. It was decided to replace the bronze lime tuff … This material possesses the properties that facilitated the work of sculptors and helped them achieve the best result: in the ground, tuff is elastic and soft, and in the open air it quickly becomes hard and durable.
Each column has observation deck, which can be reached by a spiral staircase located inside the column. The viewing platforms are huge lamps in the form of bowls … These lamps are installed on special tripods (the structure resembles antique altars). Once upon a time, resin torches burned on the viewing platforms of the columns. Later, the bowls of the lamps, inside which there were wicks, began to fill hemp oil … It burns beautifully, forming a tall column of fire. This light helped ships find their way to port at night or in dense fog. But hemp oil had one serious drawback: when it burned, a whole fireworks of blazing oil splashes flew up over the bowl, and this was not at all safe. Falling from a height, this spray often burned passers-by.
In the mid-90s of the 19th century, hemp oil was replaced electricity … But the application of the new method of lighting proved to be extremely expensive, so the use of electric column lamps was soon discontinued. In the 50s of the XX century, lanterns were gasified … This lighting method turned out to be much more economical.
Nowadays, famous lanterns are lit only in especially special occasions (for example, on major holidays - such as the New Year or Victory Day): then seven meters high bright orange streams of fire rise into the sky of the northern Russian capital. But on holidays, the lanterns do not burn all day, but only at certain hours, according to the schedule of celebrations.
It should be noted here that at present, some historians doubt that the columns were used as lighthouses (no one denies their use as port lanterns). Such skeptics emphasize that usually lighthouses were not placed on the banks of rivers (with the exception of some rare cases), and even less often you can hear or read about lighthouses installed in the central part of the city. To this they are often objected that the climatic conditions of the northern Russian capital and the waywardness of the river, on the banks of which the lanterns are installed, are sufficient arguments in favor of the fact that the columns were really used as lighthouses for a long time.
Interesting Facts
The history of the columns goes back more than two centuries. It is inseparable from the history of the city, one of the "calling cards" of which are these architectural structures. But still, the columns have their own history, many unusual events and interesting facts are associated with them. Here is some of them:
- In the early 30s of the XX century, the columns were captured on color slides by the famous American photographer and traveler Branson Deco.
- In the 40s of the XX century, during wartime, the columns were strongly suffered from shelling … The decor was broken and rusty. At the end of the 40s, the metal decorations were replaced with duplicates, which were made from polished copper sheets. The sculptures at the foot of the columns were also seriously damaged; these parts of the architectural monuments were also restored.
- The image of the columns can be seen on the banknote in denomination fifty rubles … For this reason, many guests of the capital are photographed against the background of this landmark, holding a bill in their hands.
- Last reconstruction famous columns was carried out at the turn of the XX and XXI centuries. The restoration of architectural structures was carried out by high-level specialists, employees of the State Hermitage.
The summer of 2011 was marked by two unusual incidents involving the Rostral Columns. In the first week of summer, the door to the staircase of one of the columns was broken open by several hooligans. Their goal was to get inside the column. Fortunately, their actions did not cause any damage to the historical and architectural monument. Almost two and a half months later, at the end of August of the same year, a certain man (whose name is unknown) entered the observation deck of one of the columns and lit a lantern by opening the gas valve. Firefighters immediately went to the scene. The fire was extinguished and the incident ended. No one was hurt by the hooligan actions of the man who arbitrarily lit the flame of the famous column-lantern.
- In 2014, the lantern columns were lit in honor of Paralympic Games (an unprecedented event in the history of this architectural landmark). From them the Paralympic flame was lit, which then, according to tradition, was passed on through the relay. In order to "lower" the fire from the observation deck, a special pyrotechnic cord was used.
