Monument to the Cherepanovs, Nizhny Tagil: description, history and interesting facts

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:54

Monument to the Cherepanovs, Russian engineers and inventors, builders of the first steam locomotive in Russia, is the most famous monument in Nizhny Tagil. It was erected on the central square by decision of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR (August 22, 1945). And the opening itself took place on November 4, 1956. The monument cost the city 251 thousand "old" rubles. In this article, we will look at some facts about the Cherepanov monument (Nizhny Tagil).

Author's idea

The work on the creation of the monument was entrusted to the sculptor A. S. Kondratiev. He began by studying the life and life of the Cherepanovs. Soon the author formed the main concept of the monument. The seated figure in the face of Father E. A. Cherepanov personified the power of Russian antiquity, which comes, as it were, from the earth itself. In the hands of Yefim Aleksemovich is a scroll, and his face is turned to his son. Thus, he calls on the younger generation for the final solution of the technical problem that has arisen. And the standing figure of the son - Miron Efimovich -expresses fortitude, perseverance, calmness and confidence. It is quite clear that he will solve the problem that has arisen. This is what, according to Kondratiev, people who look at the Cherepanov monument (Nizhny Tagil) should see.

Inconsistency with reality

Here it is worth noting that the author of the sculpture, apparently, was filled with romanticism and did not fully delve into the biographies of the heroes of his monument. If he had done this, then the monument to the Cherepanovs would have turned out to be completely different. According to Lyubimov (manager of the house of steam locomotive builders), Efim Alekseevich was only considered literate. In fact, he did not even learn to properly read by the age of thirty. The only book he has mastered is the Ps alter. Also, Cherepanov Sr. could not write. The most he could do was sign the statements.

Subsequently, the number of books he read increased. But, according to contemporaries, he did it with great reluctance. His son Myron did translations and writing texts, and his nephew named Ammos did the drawings. So in the scene captured by the sculptor, Yefim Alekseevich, most likely, asks his son to read him a scroll.

Two Jews

That is how the Cherepanov monument was called by the people after its opening. The thing is that on the solemn day the first snow fell, decorating the heads of the son and father with white yarmulkes. But then the people of Tagil fell in love with the monument to the pioneers of locomotive building, and they began to call the monument simply - "Cherepanovs" or "Skulls".

There are two interesting facts about the construction. Soover time they have become urban legends.

Fact one: faces

Young people are unlikely to notice this feature. But representatives of the older generation, upon careful examination of the monument, have vague guesses: they have already seen these faces somewhere. At least twice a year.

To understand why this happens, you need to turn to history. In those distant times, members of the Union of Artists earned money mainly by making sculptures and busts of cult characters. Of course, the main ones were theorists of scientific communism - Engels, Marx and Lenin. In this regard, the sculptor Kondratiev, who created the monument to the Cherepanovs, was no exception. Either he decided not to bother himself with working on portraits of his son and father, or the routine left a certain imprint, but Miron is very similar to Marx, and his father is to Engels.

Fact two: the legend of the compass

This story is about a drawing tool that was supposed to be in Miron Efimovich's hand. By the way, the monument to the Cherepanovs (Nizhny Tagil) is connected by a historical thread with another well-known building - a monument in honor of N. N. Demidov. And they are united by nothing more than a compass.

It all started in 1830, when Demidov's sons decided to build a monument to him. Seven years later, their order was ready. The monument was erected in 1837 next to the still unfinished Vyysko-Nikolskaya church. The tomb of the Demidovs was located there. Some time later, the lowerTagil was visited by Alexander II and ordered that the monument be moved to the main square.

The monument turned out to be impressive. There were two figures on a marble pedestal: Demidov, dressed in a court caftan, extended his hand to a kneeling woman in an ancient Greek costume and crown. Below the central pair in the corners were four bronze groups depicting different periods of the industrialist's life: student, educator, protector and patron.

A few years later, the clerk Belov discovered the theft of some elements of the monument. From the sculptural group, where Demidov was depicted as a student, the compasses and the book disappeared. The clerk informed the owners, and the necessary items were quickly restored at the plant. But two months later history repeated itself. Belov, out of fright, spread rumors that Masons had appeared in the village. Who else could so impudently steal a book and a compass from a monument in front of the guards of the dam, the temple and the factory management? Masons only…

To prevent further looting of the monument, the manager ordered all small parts to be twisted from the structure, and then handed over to the warehouse according to the inventory. In 1891, the Mining Museum was opened, and all the elements from the Demidov monument were transferred to its exposition. As a result, only the sign of Mercury has survived to this day. Well, the building itself was waiting for an unenviable fate. In 1919, after the end of the revolution, the Demidov monument, along with four allegories, was sent to Moscow for melting down.

History repeats itself

In 1956, the monument to the Cherepanovs was unveiled(Nizhny Tagil), the description of which is presented above. According to the project, the hand of Miron Efimovich could not be cast along with the compass. Therefore, this drawing tool was made separately, and then attached with a bolt. On the photographs of the monument on the opening day and ten days after, the compass was in hand. But two weeks later he mysteriously disappeared. Were the Freemasons really involved in this?

City asked manufacturers to make more compasses. But within 2-3 years this reserve was also used up. The city executive committee was fed up with the mania of the townspeople, they decided to forget about the compasses. So the monument stood without this drawing tool until our days.

In the middle of the 2000s, Nikolai Didenko (the mayor) decided to restore the monument to the Cherepanovs (Nizhny Tagil), whose history is known to almost every inhabitant of the city. Knowing the craving of his fellow countrymen for bronze compasses, he ordered as many as five pieces in reserve. But after the restoration, the monument was put in its place, the news story was removed and the drafting tool was twisted, deciding not to tempt lovers of non-ferrous metals. As a result, Miron Efimovich was left without a compass. Most of the villagers didn't know anything about the drafting tool, so the item was classified as an urban legend.