RUS-2016-Pushkin-Catherine Park-Chesme Column

The Chesme Column () is a

rostral column A rostral column is a type of victory column originating in ancient Greece and Rome, where they were erected to commemorate a naval military victory. Its defining characteristic is the integrated prows or rams of ships, representing captured o ...

(a type of

victory column A victory column, or monumental column or triumphal column, is a monument in the form of a column, erected in memory of a victorious battle, war, or revolution. The column typically stands on a base and is crowned with a victory symbol, such as ...

) in the

Catherine Park The Catherine Park (russian: Екатерининский парк) is the large landscaped area to the south of the Catherine Palace, located in the town of Tsarskoye Selo (Pushkin (town), Pushkin), 25 km south-east of Saint Petersburg, St. P ...

at the

Catherine Palace The Catherine Palace (russian: Екатерининский дворец, ) is a Rococo palace in Tsarskoye Selo (Pushkin), 30 km south of St. Petersburg, Russia. It was the summer residence of the Russian tsars. The Palace is part of the ...

, a former Russian royal residence at

Tsarskoye Selo Tsarskoye Selo ( rus, Ца́рское Село́, p=ˈtsarskəɪ sʲɪˈlo, a=Ru_Tsarskoye_Selo.ogg, "Tsar's Village") was the town containing a former residence of the Russian imperial family and visiting nobility, located south from the c ...

, a suburb of

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. The column commemorates three Russian naval victories in the 1768–1774

Russo-Turkish War The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histor ...

: the Battle of Chios, the

Battle of Chesma The naval Battle of Chesme took place on 5–7 July 1770 during the Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774) near and in Çeşme (Chesme or Chesma) Bay, in the area between the western tip of Anatolia and the island of Chios, which was the site of a num ...

and the Battle of Mytilene. It was constructed from 1774 to 1778 in the large pond of the landscape park of the Catherine Palace to Antonio Rinaldi's designs. The monument is a Doric rostral column made from three pieces of white-and-pink marble; this raspberry quartzite was quarried in

Karelia Karelia ( Karelian and fi, Karjala, ; rus, Каре́лия, links=y, r=Karélija, p=kɐˈrʲelʲɪjə, historically ''Korjela''; sv, Karelen), the land of the Karelian people, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for ...

, at the villages of

Shyoltozero Shyoltozero ( rus, Шёлтозеро, p=ˈʂoltəzʲɪrə; vep, Šoutjärv’; krl, Šoutjärvi; fi, Soutjärvi) is a rural locality (a '' selo'') in Prionezhsky District of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located close to the shore of Lake ...

, Shoksha, and Rybreka, the only place in the world where it was commercially mined. The column is decorated with the

rostra The rostra ( it, Rostri, links=no) was a large platform built in the city of Rome that stood during the Roman Republic, republican and Roman Empire, imperial periods. Speakers would stand on the rostra and face the north side of the comitium tow ...

of three ships' bows, and crowned by a bronze figure of an eagle (a symbol of Russia) crushing a crescent (a symbol of Turkey). The column stands on a grey marble pedestal, on three sides of which are bronze

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

s illustrating the Russian victories, while the fourth side is inscribed with a description of the battles. The bas-reliefs were destroyed by the Germans during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, and subsequently replaced using old photographs. The column was reopened in June 1996, commemorating the 300th anniversary of the Russian Navy. The pedestal rests on a stepped

pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrila ...

-like granite platform, with an arched opening with a grille leading to a flight of steps providing access to the pedestal.

Gallery

File:Catherine_II_walking_by_V.Borovikovskiy_(1794,_Tretyakov_gallery).jpg,

Catherine II , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anha ...

strolling in the park at

with the Chesme Column in the background, painting by

Vladimir Borovikovsky Vladimir Lukich Borovikovsky (russian: Влади́мир Луки́ч Боровико́вский, ukr, Володи́мир Лýкич Боровикóвський, ; July 24 O.S. (August 4, N.S.) 1757, Mirgorod – April 6 O.S. (April 18, N ...

File:Marblebridge.jpg, Marble Bridge in Tsarskoye Selo (1774). The Chesme Column is seen in the distance File:Чесменская (Орловская) колонна, Царское Село.JPG, Side view shows an entrance leading into the base pedestal.

References

{{Coord, 59.7100, N, 30.3937, E, display=title Monumental columns in Russia Monuments and memorials in Saint Petersburg Buildings and structures in Pushkin Victory monuments Buildings and structures completed in 1778 Sculptures of birds Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Saint Petersburg