St. Petersburg, the view of its eyewitnesses to global history
Scroll down to see more
Anton Malkov
St. Petersburg is a place of many historically important events. History was made right on the streets where today you can have a coffee or take an evening stroll. Yet no one remembers the time of Peter the Great, the Russian Revolution, the Imperial family, and few can recall the Leningrad siege during Second World War.
Anton Malkov
But the city does have eyewitnesses to global history: the stone statues on the buildings, cathedrals, bridges and right on the streets. They have had a unique view of events.
Anton Malkov
The next time you visit St. Petersburg, try to imagine what the statues have seen, standing in the same place for centuries on end, observing the coming and going of countless generations. / A statue on an ordinary house in the center of St. Petersburg.
Anton Malkov
A horse on Blagoveshinskiy Bridge over the Neva River. It is the first permanent structure over this huge river that separates city into several parts. The bridge was reconstructed many times, but the railings stayed the same. They have a nautical theme: shells, sea horses and Neptune’s trident.
Anton Malkov
The Neva statue (named after the main river in the city). There are four columns at Birzhavaya (Stock Exchange) Square along with four statues, each of them named after a river.
Anton Malkov
One of Anichkov’s four famous sculptures — wild horses with their tamers, adorning the four corners of a bridge across the Fontanka Canal. The statues symbolize an increasingly strong Russia and were made by Pytor Klodt.
Anton Malkov
The “Dnieper” sculpture at Birzhavaya Square is named after one of the largest rivers in Europe. It flows through Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.
Anton Malkov
In front of the four columns on Birzhavaya Square stand four statues named after rivers. On the opposite side, the columns are decorated with ship’s prows and mermaids. These strong women with wings and fish tails look straight ahead; one of them has been staring at the Peter and Paul Fortress for two centuries.
Anton Malkov
A statue of the goddess of wisdom Minerva, which crowns the Academy of Art. She is considered to be the founder of arts and trades.
Anton Malkov
The eagle on Singer House in St. Petersburg. This building has been a salient feature throughout the history of the city. At the turn of the 20th century it was occupied by the Singer Corporation, which was originally German. At the onset of the First World War, this could have caused trouble, so the first floor was offered to the United States embassy. That is why an American eagle appeared. It was stolen in the 1920s, but recently recreated based on old drafts.
Anton Malkov
Statues of women welcoming the sun on the roof of the Winter Palace.
Anton Malkov
Even though these statues suffer from the harsh northern climate, they might still provoke feelings of envy. They forever behold a city of unrivalled elegance and will continue doing so for the next hundreds years or more.
.jpg)
.jpg)
