The monument to the scuttled ships in Sevastopol was erected more than a hundred years ago in honor of the events that took place in the middle of the XIX century. Despite the remoteness of the events, the history of the appearance of the monument and the outline of the monument is familiar not only to the residents of the city, but also to anyone who has ever been here.
City emblem
Sevastopol Bay and the Navy are inseparable concepts. The city throughout its history has proved loyalty, devotion and love to the sea and ships. But once the sailors had to sacrifice the most expensive that they had. In order to save the city, the military destroyed ships that were deliberately shot by their own guns and sunk in the wake of the bay, thereby creating a barrier to the passage of enemy ships.
The city was saved. In honor of this event, residents erected a monument. Since then, the monument to the scuttled ships has become a unique visiting card of Sevastopol. During the existence of the Soviet Union, the image of the monument was on the coat of arms of the city. In 2000, it appeared on the flag of Sevastopol.
All dates significant for the city were marked by various events, including the issue of postage stamps, commemorative signs that depict the historical places of the city. Monument to the scuttled ships is an indispensable element of all such compositions.
As it was decided to create a monument
In 1905, all of Russia celebrated the 50th anniversary of a significant historical event when Sevastopol was retained during the Crimean War. The monument to the scuttled ships, the photo of which is presented in the article, is evidence of respect for the brave defenders of the city, as well as a sign of special honors to the Russian fleet. To this important date for the history of Russia, a monument was erected.
It should be noted that the idea of creating such a monument appeared much earlier. Back to the 20th anniversary of the defense of Sevastopol, its participants proposed to perpetuate the memory of the feat accomplished by Russian sailors. The bay of sunken ships in the project of the monument to academician Mikeshin occupied the main position. But later it was decided to erect monuments in different places of the city, where there were also fierce battles for his freedom, and the idea of creating a grandiose monument in memory of the sunken fleet was forgotten for several years.
Only in 1899, when Russia began to prepare for the celebration of the half-century date of the defense of Sevastopol, it was considered again. By 1901, there were two main projects of the monument, but only one of them was sent for consideration and further approval. The monument, made according to this project, to this day reminds descendants of the former glory of Russian sailors.
Historical events preceding the installation of the monument
During the Crimean War, Sevastopol had to defend against a strong enemy more than once. Defenders made any sacrifices, thanks to which the city always remained free.
In order to save the city from the enemy’s invasion from the sea, it was decided to block the way for warships. For this, the sailors flooded in the channel first seven failed sailboats. After severe storms that raged on the sea and in the bay in the autumn and winter of 1854, the sailboat barrier had to be strengthened again. For this, three more merchant ships were later flooded here. Ten flooded sailboats constituted the first line of defense.
In February 1855, a decision was made to flood six more ships, which created a second line of defense. In August of the same year, the remaining vessels of the fleet were flooded. According to historians, a total of 75 military vessels and 16 auxiliary ships were sent to the bottom of the bay. The crews of warships went on land and there continued the heroic service of the city and the Fatherland. Barriers created by sailors often received the names of their sunken ships.
The city was beyond the reach of enemy forces. A salvific role was played by both reinforced fire from the coastline of the bay and sunken ships. In Sevastopol, it was always believed that in those harsh times, not only people, but even fleet ships, took part in the defense of the city. Thanks to the joint efforts of the enemy, it was possible to stop just before the entrance to Sevastopol.
How was the decision to flood the ships
To this day, historians do not give a definite answer when it comes to the correctness of the decision made. The initiators of the decision to flood the ships had ardent opponents who believed that it was necessary to withdraw the fleet into the open sea, take battle there, and at the same time win or die.
The real situation was such that victory in an open battle was unlikely. The enemy significantly exceeded the Russian fleet in terms of the number of ships, their equipment, and technical excellence.
After much debate and painful deliberation, a difficult decision was made to flood the fleet. Time has shown that the sacrifice was not in vain - Sevastopol was not occupied by the enemy. The heroic deed of the Russian sailors was highly appreciated by the command of the Anglo-Franco-Turkish fleet. It was noted that if it were not for this extraordinary decision, then a well-trained enemy army would not have been difficult to defeat the Russians.
Creators of the monument
The monument to the scuttled ships in Sevastopol in the version that we see now was created by the sculptor Amand Ivanovich Adamson, the architect Valentin Avgustovich Feldman and the engineer Oscar Ivanovich Enberg. These people are considered the main authors of the monument.
O. I. Enberg proposed the idea of erecting a monument not on land but in the sea, which was an original and unexpected decision. It was positively received by many co-authors of the project, as well as by the highest persons at the Court.
V.A. Feldman, as a result of work on the comments received from the members of the special commission, replaced the square column with a round one and proposed to install it on an artificial rock protruding from the sea. A.I. Adamson was involved in the work on the monument already at the final stage of its construction. Being a recognized master of monumental art, he made an invaluable contribution to the process of creating the monument.
In addition, it should be noted that the entire creative team, which created a monument to the scuttled ships in Sevastopol, consisted of a large number of talented artists, sculptors, engineers, ordinary people, who executed the creative ideas of recognized masters.
The name of the monument
Throughout the history of its existence, the monument had 15 different names. Some of them were officially registered, others were offered by the people and were known as alternative.
The construction commission, which transferred the monument to the city, named it in the act as a monument to the flooding of ships. In 1914, a historical guide was published, which described the whole Crimea. The monument to the scuttled ships was already listed in this edition under the name that is known now. Today this name of the monument is the most common and is considered the most correct.
What does the composition look like?
An artificial granite rock rises from the coastal waters at Primorsky Boulevard at a distance of ten meters from the coast. Its height is 9 meters. On it rises an elegant seven-meter column, which is crowned by the Corinthian capital. The bronze double-headed eagle, mounted on top of the column, faces the sea. He holds in his beak an anchor and a wreath of laurel and oak leaves, intending to lower them into the water and thereby give honor to the dead ships.
On the octagonal pedestal of the monument there is an inscription: “In memory of the ships sunk in 1854-1855. to block the entrance to the raid. " The bas-reliefs facing the embankment depict scenes of battle and flooding of ships. On the plate you can see the map of the Sevastopol Bay and the line of the flooding of ships.
From the side of the sea, a bronze mast protruding from the water was originally attached to the monument. This element of the composition is currently lost.
Flooded ships in Sevastopol are honored and remembered as real heroes. This fact once again confirms the idea of the inextricable existence of the fleet and the city.
Firing wall
The place where the monument to the scuttled ships in Sevastopol is erected can rightly be called historical. In November 1905, another tragic event took place here. On the shore near the wall, sailors from the cruiser "Ochakov" were shot. They were severely punished by the authorities for the riot.
The wall, near which there was a massacre of people, is located next to the place where descendants recall the sunken ships. In Crimea, this wall is called a firing squad. The memorial plaque and the anchors installed here, which were raised from the flooded flotilla, remind of the sad events.
The fate of the sunken ships
The flooded fleet made the Sevastopol Bay unsuitable for shipping. That is why it was decided to clean the fairway. Work began in 1857. Over the next two years, the bulk of the vessels were raised to the surface. Some of them were restored, but many were scrapped. Work on cleaning the bay from the remains of sunken ships continued for more than ten years.
The composition of the decorative retaining wall, which is located opposite the monument to the scuttled ships, uses old anchors that were raised from the bottom of the bay. There are no photos of the flooded ships in the museums of the city of Sevastopol, but there are canvases of Russian and foreign artists, which depict those tragic days. Thanks to these works, it is possible to restore history with a high degree of certainty.
Monument and time
For more than a hundred years, the column of the monument rises off the coast of Primorsky Boulevard. Many adversities swept over this time - earthquakes, storms, wars. But all the tests of the monument withstood with honor.
The monument to the scuttled ships, the photo and material of which is presented in the article, was not damaged even during the Great Patriotic War, which is an amazing fact. After all, in those places where the monument stands, there were fierce battles. The monument is clearly visible from different points of view, as evidenced by numerous photographs of the monument.
However, it should be noted that it had to be restored several times. Special work was carried out in 1951, 1955-1959. In 1989 and 2003, reconstruction of certain parts of the monument was also carried out.
