Monday, August 19, 2013

Philatelic Photograph: Peter I Monument - St. Petersburg, Russia

Interesting Places I've Photographed
Peter I Monument
(The Bronze Horseman) 
St. Petersburg, Russia
Topic: Philatelic Photographs




GPS: N59° 56.185; E030° 18.110

Quick Description: 

The Monument to Peter I is commonly called the Bronze Horseman is located in Senate Square southwest of the Admiralty and near the Neva River.

Long Description:

The monument to Peter I (Peter The Great) is one of the iconic symbols of St. Petersburg. The statue was commissioned by Catherine II (Catherine The Great). The equestrian statue was created by French sculptor Étienne Maurice Falconet and cast by Emelyan Khailov. It took 12 years, from 1770 to 1782, to complete the work.

A 6 meter high (20 feet) statue depicts Peter I sitting on his rearing horse which is trampling a large snake. His right arm is outstretched and pointing towards the Neva River. The horse and rider are positioned atop a huge, 7 meters (23 feet) high, rock monolith suggestive of the edge of a cliff face. The stone is ofter referred to as the largest stone ever moved by man. It is calculated that the granite stone weighs 1,500,000 kilograms (1500 metric tons).

The monument was the subject of the a narrative poem written by Aleksandr Pushkin in 1833 entitled the Bronze Horseman. The poem is considered to be a masterpiece of Russian literature. Because of the popularity of the poem the monument is commonly referred to as the Bronze Horseman.

The monument to Peter I appears on numerous Russian stamps. This stamp was issued by Russia in 1947 to commemorate the 5th anniversary of the end of the German blockade and the liberation of Leningrad during World War II.

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