"Mosrazborstroy" against the Arc de Triomphe. Narva triumphal gate

Triumphal Arch or Triumphal Gate in Moscow – an object cultural heritage, located on Kutuzovsky Prospekt. The monument was erected to commemorate the victory of the Russian people over the French in 1812. The attraction is one of the most famous triumphal gates and arches in the world.

Story

The Arc de Triomphe was built in mid-1814 and was originally made of wood. The construction at the Tverskaya Zastava turned out to be short-lived, so in 1826 the question arose about the construction of a stone arch. The project was developed by architect O.I. Beauvais, famous for the reconstruction of Moscow after the fire in 1812.

The ceremonial laying of the arch took place in August 1829. A bronze plaque with an inscription about the exaltation of the Russian people was mounted into the monument.

Construction took five years and was completed in 1834. And two years later, during the reconstruction of the square near the Belorussky Station, the Moscow Triumphal Gate was dismantled and the decoration was transferred to the Museum of Architecture. Thirty years later they decided to restore the building.

The new address of the Arc de Triomphe in Moscow is Kutuzovsky Prospekt. The restorers were tasked with recreating the original appearance of the arch. They created more than 150 models - exact copies all decorative elements.

Using fragments of the only remaining column, 12 twelve-meter cast iron columns were cast. According to the reconstruction plan Kutuzovsky Prospekt The arch was inaugurated on November 6, 1968. Today the arch is located on Victory Square near the Park Pobedy metro station. Poklonnaya Hill is also nearby.

Description

The Triumphal Arch on Kutuzovsky Prospekt in Moscow is a single-span arch with two arched pylon supports. Twelve columns were located around them. The front side of the building faces the entrance to Moscow.

There are niches between the columns - in them, on high pedestals, cast figures of warriors dressed in ancient Russian armor were placed. Along the perimeter of the cornice are the coats of arms of the administrative regions of the country, whose residents took part in the fight against the conquerors.

There were also medallions with the initials of Nicholas I. On top were seated statues of the goddesses of Victory with scepters and wreaths in their hands. War trophies are collected at their feet.

The arch is topped with six horses and a chariot with the winged goddess of Victory. In her right hand - Laurel wreath in honor of the winners. On the main facade there is a cast iron plate with text about the victories of the Russian people.

Sculptures

The two main sculptures of the Arc de Triomphe are “The Expulsion of the French” and “Liberated Moscow”. The first depicts hand-to-hand combat, against which the battlements of the Kremlin wall can be seen. Russian warriors are uncontrollably advancing towards the enemy, who flees under their onslaught, throwing away their weapons.

The warrior in the foreground holds a round shield with the coat of arms of Russia. In his right hand is a sword raised over the defeated enemy. The high relief embodies the full might of the Russian people who rose up against the conqueror. The figure of a killed enemy with a bare chest is very expressively executed.

The spatial depth of the structure makes the movement seem especially impressive. The figures in the foreground and background vary in size, and the closest ones are almost independent sculptures.

Another high relief, “Liberated Moscow,” looks more calm. A reclining woman leans on a shield with the image of the ancient Moscow coat of arms. It shows Saint George the Victorious slaying a dragon. She personifies Moscow. The figure is dressed in a sundress and a robe, with a small crown on his head. Right hand reaches out to Emperor Alexander I. Around are images of Minerva, Hercules with a club on the right shoulder of a woman, an old man and a young man. All of them are located against the backdrop of the battlements of the Moscow Kremlin.

Restoration

In February 2012, the restoration of the Arc de Triomphe in Moscow was carried out, timed to coincide with the 200th anniversary of Russia's victory in Patriotic War 1812. Before the work began, the mayor said that the monument was in disrepair. During the repair work, the main part of the cladding that had become unusable was replaced, the sculptural groups were cleared and stone walls, and restoration work on metal elements. At the same time, it was necessary to remove the chariot crowning the gate and the sculpture of the goddess Nike. They were subsequently installed in place.

The grand opening of the Arc de Triomphe after restoration took place in September 2012. The nearest plans include the construction of an observation deck at the gate.

• The Moscow Metropolitan refused to consecrate the monument due to the fact that sculptural images mythological gods.
• Triumphal Arch - main symbol Filevsky bus and trolleybus depot.
• The white stone for cladding the walls of the arch was mined from the village of Tatarovo near Moscow.
• Not far from the arch there is a skating rink with artificial ice- the most popular place among children and youth of Moscow.

It is believed that Peter I brought the ancient tradition to Russia: in 1696, he built a triumphal gate in honor of the capture of Azov, and in 1709, on his orders, seven arches were erected at once in honor of the celebration of the victory near Poltava. All of them, although skillfully decorated with paintings, statues and allegorical figures, were temporary, mostly made of wood. From the editors of LJ MEDIA

The Triumphal Gate on Victory Square is one of the most recognizable landmarks of the capital. This is also a reminder of an important page. Russian history- Patriotic War of 1812. And there are few old-timers left who saw the majestic structure in a completely different place...

Triumphal Arch on Kutuzovsky Prospekt.

Triumphal Gate at Tverskaya Zastava

In the summer of 1814, a wooden Triumphal Arch appeared on Tverskaya Zastava Square - it honored the Russian army, which was returning from Europe after the defeat of Napoleon. The location was not chosen by chance: usually it is here, at the entrance to the city, that Moscow mayors, nobles and honorary citizens We met the emperor arriving from the Northern capital. This road later became known as the St. Petersburg (now Leningrad) Highway - it was opened in 1822.

The arch itself was also made in best traditions- many similar structures were built along the path of Russian soldiers.

In 1826, Nicholas I decided that the memory of the victory deserved something more lasting and ordered the wooden gates to be replaced with stone ones. The famous architect Osip Bova was commissioned to create them. Construction began three years later, and ended after another five: according to some sources, the treasury did not have enough funds - the city continued to be revived after the great fire of 1812; according to others, the work was slowed down by Moscow officials, who for some reason did not like the project.

In September 1834, the grand opening of the monument finally took place. Alas, the author did not live several months to this moment, and his younger brother Mikhail Bove completed the construction of the gate. The structure at the intersection of architecture and sculpture turned out to be truly majestic: six pairs of columns framed high pedestals with powerful figures of ancient warriors in pointed helmets and plate armor. On the decorated frieze were the coats of arms of 36 Russian provinces, whose residents participated in the Patriotic War of 1812, and medallions with the monogram of Nicholas I. The arch was crowned by the chariot of Glory, standing in which six horses, Nike, the winged goddess of victory, ruled. The pediment on both sides was decorated with an inscription (facing inside the city - in Russian, outside - in Latin), glorifying Alexander I as the savior of the Fatherland.

The troubled fate of the monument

In 1872, a horse-drawn line from Tverskaya Zastava to Voskresenskaya Square (now Revolution Square) passed under the gate. In 1899, it was replaced by the city's first electric tram, launched from Strastnaya Square (now Pushkinskaya) to Petrovsky Park. Intense traffic could not but affect the condition of the monument, and on the centenary of the Battle of Borodino, the gate underwent its first restoration - cosmetic for now. The next repair took place already at Soviet power, in the mid-1920s.

In 1936, Tverskaya Zastava began to be rebuilt in accordance with the General Plan for the Reconstruction of Moscow, adopted a year earlier. The triumphal gate was dismantled, with plans to later return it to its original location after careful restoration. During dismantling, specialists from the Museum of Architecture named after A.V. Shchusev measured the parameters of the structure, drew up detailed drawings of the tiers and photographed the arch from all sides. Most of the elements were cleaned and updated, and then sent for storage to a branch of the museum on the territory of the Donskoy Monastery. They fit quite organically into general composition: figures of warriors lined up along the central alley, high reliefs were placed in wall niches, and the chariot of Glory was installed on a special pedestal.

The restoration of the gates was not postponed indefinitely - it was pushed back by the Great Patriotic War, after which the capital, like the whole country, was essentially rebuilt. The elements in the Donskoy Monastery were patiently waiting in the wings. Much less fortunate, for example, were the cast iron columns: they lay on Miusskaya Square for several years, and then they were melted down for military needs - only one of the twelve survived. It seemed that the monument was destined for oblivion as one of many “relics of the past”...

Arches and gates: a look into history

Triumphal gates have come to us from time immemorial: classical examples - the arches of the emperors Titus, Septimius Severus and Constantine in Ancient Rome. They served as a standard for the construction of triumphal arches in Paris under Napoleon, and the gates at the Tverskaya Zastava, like the Narva Gate in St. Petersburg (also opened in 1834), became a kind of “symmetrical response” to Russia.

It is believed that Peter I brought the ancient tradition to Russia: in 1696, he built a triumphal gate in honor of the capture of Azov, and in 1709, on his orders, seven arches were erected at once in honor of the celebration of the victory near Poltava. All of them, although skillfully decorated with paintings, statues and allegorical figures, were temporary, mostly made of wood. Usually they were dismantled at the end of the celebrations or later, when they became dilapidated; often the arches burned down in a fire.

The first capital structure in this series was the Red Gate, built in 1753 under Elizaveta Petrovna on the site of a wooden arch. They tried to demolish them in the middle XIX century, and in 1927 they destroyed it to expand the Garden Ring. The name of the monument was preserved in the toponym of the square, and in 1935 a metro station of the same name opened here.

However, triumphal arches also have another “relative”, which is not necessarily associated with victories, but marks the central, ceremonial entrance to the city and most often speaks of its capital status - we are talking about the Golden Gate. In Rus' they first appeared in Kyiv under Yaroslav the Wise (11th century); they were modeled after the Byzantine arch of Emperor Constantine. Later, the Golden Gate was erected in other cities to show their greatness, for example in Vladimir (12th century).

Another analogue of triumphal arches is the Royal Doors in Christian churches. They also inherit the ancient tradition: in Ancient Rome, the two-faced Janus was responsible for any gates and doors - a deity who looks simultaneously forward and backward, into the future and the past, and connects different worlds. It was in his honor that the month that begins the year was named January. In the temple, the Royal Doors symbolize the transition from the earthly city to the heavenly city, in other words, the entrance to heaven. In addition, according to some studies, in the era of classicism (late XVIII - early XIX century) iconostasis in the form of triumphal arches spread.

In general, the Soviet government had reason to be skeptical about the bright symbol of imperial greatness, which was also indirectly connected with religion.

Recreation of the Triumphal Gate: new location, new meaning

Victory in the Great Patriotic War made it possible to reconsider ideological positions. In May 1947, a wide carved arch with traditional Russian patterns rose on Pushkin Square; in the evenings it was illuminated by colorful lights. It was not just an entrance to the first post-war Spring Bazaar fair, but a symbolic transition from a time of famine and devastation to an era of abundance and prosperity.

In the early 1950s, large-scale, truly triumphal gates appeared at the main entrance of the Central Park of Culture and Leisure named after Gorky and VDNKh, which was then the main platform for mass festivities.

And in 1965, the Council of Ministers of the USSR finally recognized the great artistic value and socio-historical significance of the Triumphal Gate and ordered its restoration. But they no longer fit into the ensemble of the square near the Belorussky Station, and a new suitable place was found for them - on Kutuzovsky Prospekt, opposite the “Battle of Borodino” panorama.

Strictly speaking, the structure was not restored, but recreated: 30 years after dismantling, many parts were lost or became unusable. Apparently, this is why the restorers decided not to touch the reliefs and statues preserved on the territory of the Donskoy Monastery. Using drawings and photographs from 1936, as well as the author’s copy of the arch, which was kept in the Museum of Architecture, all elements were made anew. For example, cast iron columns were made at the Stankolit plant, and sculptures, coats of arms and high reliefs were made at the Mytishchi artistic casting plant.

There were some transformations: the base of the structure became reinforced concrete, and not brick, as in the original; Instead of white facing stone, granite and gray Crimean limestone were used. The inscriptions on the memorial plaques also changed: the mention of Alexander I was removed, but lines from Kutuzov’s address to the army were quoted. This is clearly a key point - the people, not the emperor, were recognized as the savior of the Fatherland. In addition, the Triumphal Gate was no longer a travel gate: it was installed on an island in the middle of the avenue, leveling a small hill, and underground pedestrian crossings were installed on both sides of the highway.

The grand opening was timed, as expected, to coincide with the revolutionary holiday: the ceremony took place on November 6, 1968. And eight years later, on the 30th anniversary of the end of the Great Patriotic War, the area around the Triumphal Gate was named Victory Square. The military memorial complex and Victory Park, which later grew on Poklonnaya Hill, helped the recreated monument, sharing with it a heavy double load.

Time flies quickly and does not spare even stone and cast iron. IN beginning of XXI century, experts noted that the Triumphal Gate needed restoration, and it was carried out in 2012, on the 200th anniversary of the Patriotic War of 1812. Not only the arch itself was improved, but also the area around it: landscapers laid out new flower beds, and engineers redid the artistic lighting system. The updated monument became one of the gifts to Muscovites for City Day.

The jury of the Moscow Restoration competition awarded several prizes for the work on updating the monument. Awards were given in seven categories at once, including best project and for high quality executed works.

In addition, on the 18th International exhibition on restoration, protection of monuments and urban renewal, carried out under the patronage of UNESCO in Germany, the award was received by the stand of the Moscow Government, where, first of all, the restoration of the Arc de Triomphe was presented.