The Kagul Obelisk () in

Tsarskoye Selo Tsarskoye Selo (, , ) was the town containing a former residence of the Russian House of Romanov, imperial family and visiting nobility, located south from the center of Saint Petersburg. The residence now forms part of the Pushkin, Saint Peter ...

is one of several such structures erected on behest of

Catherine II of Russia Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

in 1772 to commemorate

Pyotr Rumyantsev Count Pyotr Alexandrovich Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky (; – ) was one of the foremost Russian generals of the 18th century, and is widely considered to be one of Russia's greatest military leaders, and one of the greatest military commanders in ...

's victory in the

Battle of Kagul The Battle of Kagul or Cahul (, ) occurred on 1 August 1770 (21 July 1770 in Julian Calendar) during the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774. It was the decisive and most important land battle of the war and one of the largest battles of the 18th ce ...

. Designed by Antonio Rinaldi, the dark grey-and-red marble

obelisk An obelisk (; , diminutive of (') ' spit, nail, pointed pillar') is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top. Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called ''tekhenu'', the Greeks used th ...

stands in the

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or human-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes th ...

park of the

Catherine Palace The Catherine Palace (, ) is a Rococo palace in Tsarskoye Selo ( Pushkin), located south of St. Petersburg, Russia. It was the summer residence of the Russian tsars. The palace is part of the World Heritage Site Saint Petersburg and Re ...

. The inscription on the pedestal reads: "In memory of the victory at the Kagul River in

Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

, July 21, 1770, under the command of Count Peter Rumyantsev the Russian army of seventeen thousand caused the Turkish Vizier Galil-Bey and his army of one hundred thousand and a half to flee to the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

Notes

{{Coord, display=title, 59, 42, 51.67, N, 30, 23, 31.47, E Obelisks in Russia Monuments and memorials in Saint Petersburg Buildings and structures in Pushkin Victory monuments Buildings and structures completed in 1772 Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Saint Petersburg

External links

* Kagul (Rumiantsev) Obelisk (Tsarskoe Selo State Museum and Heritage Site

* Kagul Obelisk in Pushkin (Advisor.Travel