Far to the north, at the mouth of the cold Northern Dvina River, lies the ancient and colorful city of Arkhangelsk. And it contains dozens of interesting and beautiful monuments, monuments, sculptural compositions dedicated to various events, animals and famous personalities.
Arkhangelsk: a little about the city
The capital of the Russian north is a cold, peaceful and very atmospheric city located thirty kilometers from the White Sea. The climate here is harsh: winters are cold and long, and summers are short and cool. More than two months (from May 17 to July 26) the white nights last.
About 350,000 people live in the northern city of lumberjacks and sailors today. There are two museums in Arkhangelsk: art and local history, and the main place for tourist walks is Chumbarova-Luchinsky Avenue with several dozen wooden houses. The monuments of Arkhangelsk (and there are quite a lot of them here) amaze with their diversity, artistic beauty, and sometimes even originality.
Perhaps the main attraction of Arkhangelsk is the riverNorthern Dvina. A very colorful and cozy embankment is laid along its shore. It is here that you can see many interesting and beautiful monuments of Arkhangelsk. For example, a modest but very majestic monument to Peter the Great. Or a very touching sculpture of a rescue seal. These and other monuments of the city will be discussed further.
Monuments of the city of Arkhangelsk
The very first sculpture in the city appeared in 1832. And it has survived to this day. This is a monument to Mikhail Lomonosov, perhaps the most famous native of these lands.
All the monuments of Arkhangelsk can be conditionally divided into several groups:
- obelisks and monuments dedicated to various historical events (the obelisk of the north, zero miles and others);
- monuments to outstanding personalities (M. V. Lomonosov, Yuri Gagarin, Peter the Great);
- military monuments (monuments of the Victory, a monument to the Solovetsky youths and others);
- comic sculptural compositions (for example, the sculpture "Arkhangelsk peasant").
Some monuments of Arkhangelsk surprise with their immediacy. For example, the sculpture of Stepan Pisakhov, installed on Chumbarov-Luchinsky Avenue, looks very interesting. The famous artist, writer and storyteller is pictured here with an elegant cane and a large seagull perched on his hat.
Monument to M. V. Lomonosov
World-famous scientist and encyclopedist Mikhail Lomonosov was born in the village of Mishaninskaya, Arkhangelsk province. Therefore, it is not surprising that the firstArkhangelsk, a monument was erected to this person. The author of the granite sculpture was the Russian muralist Ivan Martos (the author of the monument to de Richelieu in Odessa).
Money (46 thousand rubles) was collected "by the whole world." Significant sums for the creation were donated by many famous figures and patrons, in particular, Lomonosov's granddaughter Sophia Raevskaya. In 1829 the monument was made. A year later, he arrived in Arkhangelsk.
The composition includes two figures. The first is a great scientist standing in an ancient Roman toga. The second is a naked winged genius, who has fallen on one knee in front of Lomonosov. It is curious that the monument changed its location in the city three times. Finally, in 1930, he decorated the square in front of the forestry institute, where he still stands.
Seal monument in Arkhangelsk
On the embankment of the Northern Dvina stands, perhaps, the most touching sculpture of the city. This is a monument to the seal-savior, installed in 2010 near the Eternal Flame.
The choice of location for the sculptural composition is not at all random. During the Second World War, famine raged in Arkhangelsk. And seals saved from the sad fate of many residents of the city! The people of Akhangelsk ate meat (satisfactory, albeit tasteless) and fat of these animals. In addition, the warm skins of seals also saved them from the cold.
"Oh, how many people you saved from hunger and cold" - reads the inscription on the pedestal of the monument. The seal sculpture itself weighs 900 kg and is one and a half meters high.
