The beauty and grandeur of the city of Neva delight tourists from all over the world. Its architectural decoration is harmoniously complemented by numerous sculptures of animals and mythical creatures - griffins, newts, sphinxes. They are made of metal and stone, their images adorn the entrances to buildings, the descent to the Neva, the facades of houses, squares and parks, bridges. They can be seen in the city center and in remote areas.
Sphinxes - who is it?
The word "sphinx" has Greek roots and means "spirit of death." In ancient Egypt, they were revered as wise beings who are endowed with the body of a proud lion and the head of a man. The Egyptians often endowed them with a portrait resemblance to the pharaohs. Sphinxes were considered demi-gods, half-humans.
In Greece, they were represented as mythical winged creatures having the body of a lion (or dog), a female head and chest. In Africa, the sphinx was considered a narrow-nosed monkey from the baboons. If you are interested in where the sphinxes are located in St. Petersburg, then you need to read this article. In it we will tell how these exotic creatures got into our country.
Sphinx in St. Petersburg
The appearance of these sculptures in the city has a long history. At the beginning of the 19th century, fashion came to Europe for everything oriental, and of course, this affected works of art and architecture.
St. Petersburg was no exception. An Egyptian bridge appeared in the city, an Egyptian lobby in Pavlovsk, there is even an Egyptian pyramid in Tsarskoye Selo. In 1834, the sphinxes appeared on the embankments of St. Petersburg, and all thanks to the efforts of A.N. Muravyov. During his trip to the holy places, he accidentally saw interesting sculptural sculptures for sale. Amazing creatures that had the face of a man and the body of a lion, struck him. He immediately sent a letter to the Russian ambassador, in which he proposed to buy them for St. Petersburg. Then such an acquisition was considered impractical, and after resolving all the bureaucratic difficulties, the English-owner sold them to France.
A little later, in connection with the revolution that began in the country, the French agreed to sell sculptures to Russia. Today, the sphinx in St. Petersburg is one of the main and recognizable symbols of the city.
University Embankment
Egyptian sphinxes in St. Petersburg were in 1832. At first, they stood in the courtyard of the Academy of Arts for two years. That is how much time it took to build a pier near its walls. The sculpture took its permanent place on the embankment in 1834.
Each sphinx installed here is quite advanced - about 3, 5 thousand years. Carved figures from syenite. Before moving to St. Petersburg, stone mythical creatures guarded the entrance to the temple in Egypt. The heads of the sphinxes is a portrait image of the pharaoh Amenhotep, who was the ruler of two kingdoms - Lower and Upper Egypt.
With the passage of time, the sphinxes lost their attractiveness and gradually collapsed. The chins were broken off at the sculptures, smudges and a black film appeared on the surface. Specialists began to talk about the need for urgent restoration.
In early 2002, a thorough and scrupulous work began on the restoration of these ancient statues. Gradually, the former beauty and grace of forms began to return to them. Hieroglyphs embossed on the chest and between the front legs appeared from beneath the age-old layers of dirt. Drop-down shawls became striped, necklaces on the chest sparkled after polishing. It seemed that in the process of restoration, the gloomy sphinxes became younger before our eyes.
Many interesting, sometimes mysterious, phenomena are associated with these figures. Residents of the city say that during the day the sphinx in St. Petersburg (on the embankment) can change its expression. It seems calm and peaceful in the morning and sinister in the evening.
How many sphinxes in St. Petersburg
Undoubtedly, the most ancient statues are on the University Embankment. In addition, they are the "indigenous people" of Egypt. However, there are other sphinxes in St. Petersburg. Where are these amazing sculptures located? There are a lot of them in St. Petersburg. They are located at building entrances, on bridges, house facades, in parks and squares. Nobody knows their exact number.
The very first statues were made for Stroganov’s cottage. In 1796, two sculptures made of pink marble were installed there, and in 1908 they were transferred to the courtyard of the Stroganov Palace, which is located on Nevsky Prospect, 17. These figures have female faces, and their headscarves are wrapped in scarves with flowing ends. A headscarf, crown or sacred necklace are symbols of power.
At the end of the XVIII century, the sphinxes appeared on the Sverdlovsk embankment, but then they disappeared without a trace. Recreated them in the late fifties of the XX century. The sculptures are made of gray granite. And the sphinxes from the Stroganov Palace became their prototype. But this is not all sculpture. Let's take a walk around the city and see where these mystical creatures have “settled”.
Kiev highway
On the north side of Pulkovo Mountain (on the Kiev highway) you can see the fountain, which was built in 1809. The author of the project was the architect Tom de Tomon. Four sphinxes are installed at its four corners.
Egyptian bridge
The ancient bridge with sphinxes in St. Petersburg is well known to citizens. In 1826, cast-iron sculptures of mystical creatures by P.P. Sokolov were installed on it.
An interesting point: despite the fact that the Sphinxes “guard” the Egyptian bridge, they cannot be called Egyptian, since sculptures of these creatures were carved with male faces on the banks of the Nile. Sokolov’s figures have female forms, therefore, they are more reminiscent of Greek statues.
Kamennoostrovsky bridge
Another famous bridge in the city. Sphinxes in St. Petersburg, as already mentioned, were often installed near the river. These figures adorned the embankment at the Kamennoostrovsky bridge, on Malaya Nevka. These are exact copies of the sculptures located on the Egyptian bridge. They were made as trial ones, and then they just threw them in the courtyard of a residential building. Quite by accident, the statues were discovered in 1971 and decorated the embankment of Malaya Nevka with them. However, the trials of the long-suffering statues did not end there: after the flood (1975), they almost completely submerged in water, and later the vandals abused them more than once, even tearing off the crown of one of them. Sphinxes required urgent restoration.
Damaged works of art were restored in 2005 and installed near the Mostotrest building. By the means of this company, by the way, restoration work was carried out. Despite the fact that the sculptures were completely safe at the gates, in 2010 they were returned to their historical place - Malaya Nevka. These statues are unique because they are the only probes (from the surviving ones) that were made by the great architect P. Sokolov.
Mining Institute
The most original sphinxes in the city on the Neva appeared in 1826 in the courtyard of the Mining Institute on Vasilievsky Island. Among the greenery are two small black sculptures with female heads and surprisingly expressive and noble faces. This is the work of the sculptor A. Postnikov.
