Egyptian gate in Pushkin: construction history and interesting facts

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:55

Have you heard anything about the Egyptian Gate in Pushkin? The distance between Cairo and St. Petersburg is huge - almost 5 thousand kilometers, but the charm of the culture of ancient Egypt, its original myths gave rise to the fashion for everything Egyptian in the 18th century. In the northern capital there is a hanging Egyptian bridge and sculptures of sphinxes. By order of Catherine II, a pyramid was built in Tsarskoe Selo (today it is the city of Pushkin). And by the highest order of Nicholas I, the majestic Egyptian gates were also placed there. This amazing structure is described in the article.

Egyptian Gate in Pushkin

This original architectural monument can be called one of the most striking examples of Egyptomania. As conceived by the architect, the gate was a decoration of the main entrance to Tsarskoye. To the right and left of the light elegant gates there are two powerful three-story guard towers (guardhouses) guarding the entrance to the former imperial residence. They were built in such a way that guard soldiers could live there.

Egyptian gates in Pushkin are lavishly decoratedvarious Egyptian hieroglyphs and ornaments. The reliefs and bas-reliefs of the towers were made according to the sketches of the artist V. Dodonov, which were carefully drawn in full size, and the general artistic appearance was developed by the artist Ivanov, a graduate of the Russian Academy of Arts.

Initially, the Egyptian gates were called Kuzminsky, because they were installed from the Bolshoe Kuzmino settlement.

Construction history

The history of the Egyptian Gate in Pushkin begins in 1827. It was then that the construction of this architectural object began under the guidance of the English architect Menelas.

From a technical point of view, the most difficult thing was the manufacture of huge cast-iron slabs with plots of ancient Egyptian mythology, which were supposed to veneer the facades of towers and gate pillars. These products were made at the Alexander iron foundry.

Full decoration of the watchtowers was completed in 1831, and in 1831 the gate lattice was brought to Tsarskoe Selo, the laborious installation of which took a whole year. The chief architect, Menelas, died of cholera before the building was completed. After his death, the leadership of the project passed to master Ton, who brought it to the end.

Egyptian gate in Pushkin: interesting facts

Egyptian-style watchtowers, between which the gates to the city of Pushkin open, are the very first attraction from whichtourists get to know each other on their way to the Catherine Palace.

Two guard towers are similar to the pylons that stand in front of the entrance to the Egyptian temple. Their main purpose is security. It is interesting that in European countries, which Egyptomania also did not bypass, such structures in the form of Egyptian gates usually serve as decorations for the entrance to cemeteries in memory of the cult of the dead, which was very developed in ancient Egypt.

The Egyptian gate depicts more than 37 mythological scenes about the life of the pagan gods Isis and Osiris.

Egyptian gates in Pushkin were badly damaged by bombing and shelling during the Great Patriotic War. In 1949, during restoration work in the gate towers, several huge holes and 1085 holes of various sizes were repaired, 358 cracks were welded. 15 decorative arrowheads and 2 kites were remade.

Until 1987, the entrance road to the city of Pushkin passed right under the gate. So it was until a huge truck crashed into a unique architectural monument. After the accident, the gates were repaired and restored, and the road for transport was circled around the structure. Now only pedestrians are allowed to pass under the gate arch.

Tourists who come to Tsarskoe Selo often want to look at the monument to Pushkin at the Egyptian Gate. This attraction is located directly opposite them, at the intersection of three streets: Oktyabrsky Boulevard, Palace Street and Petersburg Highway.

How to get there

From St. Petersburg you can get to the point "Station Tsarskoe Selo", and from there any bus or taxi will take you to the stop, which is called the "Egyptian Gate".

Another convenient route for tourists: get to the Egyptian Gate by minibus, bus or taxi from Zvezdnaya, Moskovskaya or Kupchino metro stations in St. Petersburg.