The Alexander Column () is a monument erected 1894 in

Nakhichevan-on-Don __NOTOC__ Nakhichevan-on-Don (, ''Naxičevan’-na-Donu''), also known as New Nakhichevan (, ''Nor Naxiĵevan''; as opposed to the "old" Nakhichevan), was an Armenian-populated town near Rostov-on-Don, in southern Russia founded in 1779 by Armen ...

(now a part of

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, from the Sea of Azov, directly north of t ...

Rostov Oblast Rostov Oblast ( rus, Росто́вская о́бласть, r=Rostovskaya oblastʹ, p=rɐˈstofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the Southern Federal District. The oblast ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

) in Alexandrovsky Park (now Vitya Cherevichkin Park). The column was inaugurated on 18 September 1894 to celebrate the 25 years reign of emperor

Alexander II of Russia Alexander II ( rus, Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич, Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ; 29 April 181813 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Poland and Grand Du ...

. On the occasion the park in which the column stands was also renamed after the sovereign. The column consists of a granite monolith upon which sits a

double-headed eagle The double-headed eagle is an Iconology, iconographic symbol originating in the Bronze Age. The earliest predecessors of the symbol can be found in Mycenaean Greece and in the Ancient Near East, especially in Mesopotamian and Hittite Empire#icon ...

perched on a globe. On the pedestal two commemorative plaques read: "In memory of 25 glorious year of reign of Emperor Alexander II" and "the Armenian community of Nakhichevan-on-Don 25·IX·1894".In . After the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

, the column was the only tsarist monument not to be torn down by the new authorities. They only removed the crowning double-headed eagle and the commemorative plaques on the pedestal. In 1994, the column was returned to its original state. File:Колонна от Армянского на Дону общества №56.jpg, Alexander column in 1907. File:Двуглавый орел.JPG, Imperial eagle. File:Александрийская колонна (вид с запада).JPG, Pedestal decoration. File:Александрийская колонна осенью.JPG, General view.

References

{{reflist Bronze sculptures in Russia Cultural heritage monuments in Rostov-on-Don Monuments and memorials in Rostov-on-Don Cultural heritage monuments of regional significance in Rostov Oblast Outdoor sculptures in Rostov-on-Don