Monument of «Glory»

What? - Monument of Glory

Description

Cartographic and historical sources indicate that at the beginning of the 18th century, near Poltava's Round Square, there was a defensive rampart of a fortress with the only entrance gate to the suburb at that time. It was opposite them in the spring of 1709 that the Swedish fortification "Ellerburg" was built in order to block the exit from the city. Before the construction at the beginning of the 19th century, Poltava residents grazed livestock here.

The monument, opened in 1811 in honor of the 100-year anniversary of the battle, is the center of the eight-beam urban composition and, together with the development of the Round Square, forms an ensemble of the era of classicism (empire), which has no analogues in Ukraine. In terms of artistic value, the ensemble belongs to world-class urban planning masterpieces, such as St. Peter's Square in Rome, Rossio Square in Lisbon, Vendome Square in Paris and others.

Authors of the project: provincial architect M. Amvrosimov, professor of the Academy of Arts Thomas de Thomont, sculptor F. Shchedrin, consultations by F. Gordeev, G. Ugryumov, I. Martos. Construction was supervised by M. Amvrosimov. The creators of the monument, based on the principles of ancient architecture, used the ancient Roman tradition and paraphernalia, avoiding imperial symbols.

A two-level pedestal, made of local granite, holds a cast-iron column of the Tuscan order, stylized as a cannon barrel. The upper part of the column is crowned with a bronze and gilded eagle with lightning bolts in its claws and a laurel wreath in its beak. Bronze decorations in the form of palm and oak leaves, wreaths and fascias are located along the trunk surface of the column at the junction of the three parts. The cubic base of Amvrosimov's column on the north and south sides contains highly artistic bronze high-reliefs in the form of Roman military equipment. The western and eastern parts of the granite cube, framed by a snake holding its tail, contain the inscriptions: "completed in 1809" and "June 27, 1709". The upper part of the pedestal is decorated with a cast-iron fence in the form of downward-pointing swords, and the lower part contains 18 cannons mounted in the base of the pedestal. The total height of the monument is 16.61 m, the height of the column is 10.35 m, the height of the eagle is 2.11 m, the wingspan is about 3 m.

Currently, "wars of memories" and "wars of monuments" are unfolding around the monuments of the Battle of Poltava, erected during the time of the empire, the participants of the discussions take positions from moderate to extremely radical. Civilized countries preserve their cultural heritage. Even difficult pages of history should serve as a lesson for future generations.

The object is a monument of monumental art of national significance (Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated September 3, 2009 No. 928 "On the entry of objects of cultural heritage of national significance into the State Register of Immovable Monuments of Ukraine", security number 160010-Н) .

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