Great national victories have always been echoed in architectural structures - unique and inimitable. One of the incarnations of the gratitude of the descendants to the victorious soldiers in the Patriotic War of 1812 was the Narva Triumphal Gates, erected to return the army from defeated France.
This magnificent monument, which perpetuated the glory of the Russian guard, and its creators will be discussed in the article.
Narva Triumphal Gate in St. Petersburg: History
For the first time, the idea of creating a monument arose on April 14, 1814, after the news of the return of Russian heroes from Paris. This message put an end to the victorious end of the war with Napoleon. The city was preparing to solemnly welcome the winners, and on the initiative of General S.K. Vyazmitinov, at an urgently convened meeting of the Senate, the installation of arched gates on the way along which guards troops arrived in St. Petersburg was approved.
Architect Stasov V.P., an academician of architecture at the Imperial Academy of Arts, undertook to design a triumphal arch. But since time was running out, we decided to modify the entrance gate at the Kalinkin bridge, rebuilding it and decorating it with sculptural decoration. The reconstruction was entrusted to Quarenghi D., an ingenious Italian architect who had the courage to disobey the king of Italy and stay in Russia during the difficult war period for her.
According to his project, in just a month, the Narva Triumphal Gate was built from wood and alabaster. The architect created them in the form of a wide arch, crowned on top with the chariot of Glory, flying in the six horses and framed by sculptural reliefs. All compositions were created by the talented Russian sculptor I. Terebenev.
The pylons of the arch contained the names of all the fighting guards regiments, and the wide attic was decorated with a recognizable inscription in Latin and Russian. On both sides of the arch spectator stands were built. Special galleries were erected for the imperial family.
The entry of troops into the city
By July 30, 1814 the structure was built. The Narva Triumphal Gates met the winners. On this day, under the arch with triumph, the Guard infantrymen of the Preobrazhensky, Izmailovsky, Semenovsky and Jaeger regiments passed.
On September 6, the city was met by the Finland and Pavlovsky Life Guards regiments, on October 18 cavalry guards arrived, and on October 25 - the Cossack regiment.
New gate
After 10 years, the design noticeably dilapidated, and it was decided to demolish it, about which they adopted an appropriate resolution. General Governor Miloradovich M.A. obtained the highest permission to erect a marble triumphal arch, “in order to perpetuate a thankful memory”. It was planned to create a new Narva Triumphal Gate at a short distance from the bridge (across the Tarakanovka River along the Peterhof Road). The committee on construction, led by Miloradovich, included the president of the Academy of Arts, Olenin A.N., who proposed to keep the main motive of the Quarenghi arch in the future construction. The sculptor of the Narva Triumphal Gate Stasov followed the advice, embodying the wishes of Olenin in the project, only increasing the size of the monument and changing the decor elements.
The construction start date is August 5, 1827. On this day, they began to construct a foundation pit for the foundation of the future gate. And on August 26, on the anniversary of the Battle of Borodino, the laying of the monument of triumph took place. Almost 9 thousand veterans attended the ceremony.
Gateway ceremony
The beginning of construction was marked by a visit to the members of the royal family. Eleven stones were laid with an engraving of the royal names and surnames of the architect, gold coins, guards and a commemorative plaque. The ceremony ended with a solemn march of the guards.
Construction stages
In the autumn of 1827, more than 1000 piles were driven into the pit, each of which exceeded 8 m in length and 0.5 m in diameter. The intervals between the piles were filled with stone slabs, and three more layers were laid on top: 0.5 m of granite, 1, 5 m Tosnensky slabs and 0.5 m granite. The completed foundation was waiting for the continuation of the work for three years due to disagreements regarding the material from which the gates will be constructed.
In 1830, they decided to build a brick building with copper cladding, and in August the construction continued. At the same time, the demolition of the former monument erected by the architect Quarenghi ended.
2600 people worked on the creation of the monument, half a million bricks were laid. Since 1831, the production of facing copper sheets, the thickness of which was 5 mm, began at the Alexander Foundry. At the same factory, all sculptures and relief inscriptions were made.
The Narva Triumphal Gate was erected quickly. In early autumn, brick work was completed. The fire that occurred in January 1832, when all the protective boardwalks over the arch and office premises burned down, significantly slowed down the pace of construction, but dried the masonry well. By the spring of the same year, all the consequences of the fire were eliminated, and the work resumed, and on September 26, 1833 the construction was completed.
Monument Parameters
The selection committee enthusiastically spoke about the quality of the erected monument, its beauty and architectural lightness. The dimensions of the monument are very impressive: the height of the gate was 23 m, and including the Victory sculpture - 30 m. The height of the arch vault is 15 m, the arched width reaches 8 m. The width of the structure is 28 m. The monument is decorated with 12 columns of 10 meters height, each diameter almost 1 m
In each pylon of the building there are very impressive sizes of internal premises, consisting of 3 floors and a basement connected by a spiral staircase.
Today the Narva Triumphal Gate is a museum of the history of their creation, located in these rooms.
Sculptural compositions and decor
The beauty and grace of the monument, despite its monumentality, is amazing. The sculptural ensemble crowning the arch is executed by the most talented masters of its time: six horses - Klodt P.K., the figure of Victory - Pimenov S., chariot - Demut-Malinovsky V.I. The sculptural group is represented by a light wagon, which is controlled by the goddess of victory Nick with a palm branch and laurel wreath in hands symbolizing the glory of the world.
Niches of pylons are decorated with figures of ancient Russian warriors-heroes in clothes made according to authentic patterns. On the ledge of the gate are winged female figures - the personification of fame, victory and peace. The names of the guards regiments - participants in the battles in the war of 1812 were also immortalized. The names of cavalry formations are displayed in gold letters on the western facade, and infantry on the eastern facade. The main battles are listed along the edge of the pediment.
Emphasizing the dominant position of the monument, the area around it is gradually decreasing. Therefore, the dominant position in the future is occupied by the Narva Triumphal Gate, the architect and sculptor of which sought precisely this effect.
