The monument to Prince Vladimir in Belgorod was opened in early August 1998. This date was preceded by several events:
- 55th anniversary of the liberation of the city from the troops of Nazi Germany;
- the eve of the 2000th anniversary of the birth of Christ.
How the monument was created
At the end of the twentieth century, namely in the 90s, the city government decided - to build a monument to Prince Vladimir in Belgorod. His story is simple. Belgorod residents believe that the founder of their city is Prince Vladimir. However, there is no documentary evidence of this fact.
The development of the monument belongs to the sculptor Vyacheslav Klykov. A few years earlier, he took part in the construction of a temple on the Prokhorovsky field in the Belgorod region.
Budget and erection
The monument to Prince Vladimir in Belgorod was built at the expense of donations and sponsors. Money was collected in a short time. The sculpture was made using the punch technique. It was created in Kaluga. In 1998, the symbol of the city was moved to their native land. It was decided earlier that it is necessary to erect a monument to Prince Vladimir in Belgorod on Kharkov Hill.
Supervised the construction at that time Vasily Boltenkov. The elder brother of the singer Igor Talkov, Vladimir Talkov, also took part in the construction of the monument. And already in August 1998, the monument was inaugurated. The opening ceremony was timed to the 55th anniversary of the liberation of the city from the troops of Nazi Germany.
The monument to Prince Vladimir in Belgorod is considered the modern symbol of the city.
About technical specifications
In order for the monument to find the desired form, it took more than one and a half tons of copper! The monument to Prince Vladimir in Belgorod looks majestic. Its height from the surface of the earth is almost 23 meters, of which 15 is on a pedestal. The sculpture of the prince himself is 7.5 meters high.
Description of the monument to Prince Vladimir in Belgorod
The composition consists of only three tiers:
- the lower one is made up of four six-figured reliefs; in total, 24 figures were placed in the lower tier;
- the middle tier has 3 single-figured reliefs;
- on the last, third tier, they erected a sculpture of Prince Vladimir, the townspeople climb a wide staircase to the pedestal.
First tier
As mentioned above, the lower tier is 4 reliefs. They are devoted to the subject of military valor and courage, as well as sacrifice. In addition, they are called to glorify all the defenders of our country.
On the north-west side is the face of the Savior Almighty (this is the central image in the iconography of the Savior). As expected, the archangel Michael is located to the left of the son of God, and Gabriel to the right. They were surrounded by the founders of the Orthodox Church - the apostles Paul and Peter. At the edges of this relief depicted the holy warriors who are especially revered in Russia: George the Victorious and Dmitry Solunsky.
The northeastern face has the image of warriors, as well as princes, who were canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church: the martyrs Mercury Smolensky, John the Warrior, Damian, Prince Mikhail Yaroslavich from Tver, as well as Prince Andrei Smolensky.
From the southeastern side of the relief, Russian princes who are considered holy are looking at us: Gleb and Alexander Nevsky, Alexander Peresvet, Dmitry Donskoy and others.
The last side has images of especially revered Christian soldiers and ascetics: Andrei Bogolyubsky, Theodore Tiron, martyr Prince Boris, healer Panteleimon and others.
Middle tier
This part of the monument is much more massive. Its first part has an inscription that states that the monument is dedicated to Equal-to-the-Apostles Vladimir. Above it was depicted a cross called the “Prosperous Tree”, it symbolizes the baptism of Russian land. On the other reliefs of the middle tier, one can find the image of saints who were canonized before the events of the revolution. Saint Joasaph of Belgorod was located to the left of the prince, and Seraphim of Sarov to the right. Behind the baptist of the Russian land is Emperor Nicholas II, who is looking towards Kiev.
