The Monument to Peter I (russian: памятник Петру I) is a bronze equestrian monument of Peter the Great in front of the St. Michael's Castle in

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 ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. In 1716, emperor Peter the Great commissioned the Italian sculptor

Carlo Bartolomeo Rastrelli Carlo Bartolomeo Rastrelli (1675 in Florence, Italy – 18 November 1744 in Saint Petersburg, Russia) was an Italian sculptor and architect. Born in Italy, he moved in 1716 to Russia, where he worked until his death. His most famous works include ...

to design an equestrian statue in commemoration of the Russian victories over Sweden in the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swed ...

. Rastrelli worked for eight years with a model of the monument before it was approved by the emperor in 1724. But as the emperor died the following year, work halted and the sculpture's casting was only completed after the sculptor's death, by 1747, only to remain in a local warehouse, and not to be erected until 53 years later. In the meantime, Catherine the Great had ordered another monument in memory of her predecessor Peter the Great - the ''

Bronze Horseman The ''Bronze Horseman'' (russian: link=no, Медный всадник, literally "copper horseman") is an equestrian statue of Peter the Great in the Senate Square in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was opened to the public on 7 (18) August ...

'', the most famous statue of Peter the Great in St Petersburg. At the base of the ''Bronze Horseman'', Catherine even linked her name with Peter the Great, an expression of Catherine's attitude toward her predecessor and her view of her own place in the line of great Russian rulers. Catherine, who, having gained her position through a palace coup, had no legal claim to the throne, was anxious to appear as Peter's rightful heir. Only in 1800, during the reign of emperor

Paul I Paul I may refer to: *Paul of Samosata (200–275), Bishop of Antioch * Paul I of Constantinople (died c. 350), Archbishop of Constantinople *Pope Paul I (700–767) *Paul I Šubić of Bribir (c. 1245–1312), Ban of Croatia and Lord of Bosnia *Pau ...

, was the Monument to Peter I finally erected. It was placed on a pedestal faced with green, red and white-shaded Finnish

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

that is decorated with bas-reliefs depicting scenes of two Russian victories over Sweden during the Great Northern War, the

Battle of Poltava The Battle of Poltava; russian: Полта́вская би́тва; uk, Полта́вська би́тва (8 July 1709) was the decisive and largest battle of the Great Northern War. A Russian army under the command of Tsar Peter I defeat ...

and the Battle of Hangö, and also an allegorical composition with trophies. The Russian victories at Poltava and near Hangö, Finland helped Russia become the dominant power in the north of the continent. Peter the Great led his troops to both victories. By order of emperor Paul I, the inscription "''To Great Grandfather from Great Grandson''" (''Прадеду - правнук'') was made on the pedestal, a subtle but obvious allusion to the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

"''Petro Primo Catherina Secunda''", the dedication by Catherine the Great on the ''Bronze Horseman''. 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the equestrian statue of Peter I was removed from its pedestal and sheltered from the 900-day German siege of the city. In 1945, the statue was restored and returned to its pedestal.

References

*''Leningrad : Monumentalnaya i dekorativnaya skulptura 18-19 vekov'', ed. E.N. Petrovoy. Chudozestvennye sokravisca SSSR : Moscow, 1951. *''Pamyatniki architektury Leningrada : Architectural monuments of Leningrad : Glavnoe architekturno-planirovocnoe upravlenye ispolnitelnogo komiteta Leningradskogo gorodskogo Soveta deputatov trudyaschisha, Gosudarstvennaja inspekciya po ochrane pamyatnikov'', ed. A.N. Petrov, 4th ed., Leningrad : Stroyizdat, 1976. {{coord, 59.9392, N, 30.3385, E, type:landmark, display=title 1747 establishments in the Russian Empire 1747 sculptures Monuments and memorials in Saint Petersburg Equestrian statues in Russia Monuments and memorials to Peter the Great Statues in Russia

Peter I Peter I may refer to: Religious hierarchs * Saint Peter (c. 1 AD – c. 64–88 AD), a.k.a. Simon Peter, Simeon, or Simon, apostle of Jesus * Pope Peter I of Alexandria (died 311), revered as a saint * Peter I of Armenia (died 1058), Catholico ...

Paul I of Russia Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Saint Petersburg