Rumyantsev Obelisk
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Румянцевский обелиск | |
 Rumyantsev Obelisk, Rumyantsev Square | |
 Interactive map of Rumyantsev Obelisk | |
| Location | Saint Petersburg |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 59°56′18″N 30°17′33″E / 59.93833°N 30.29250°E |
| Designer | Vincenzo Brenna |
| Type | Obelisk |
| Material | Serdobolsky granite (obelisk and base) Pink Tivdia and Gray Raskolsky marble (pedestal) White Italian marble (bas-reliefs) |
| Height | 21.3 metres (70 ft) |
| Beginning date | 1798 |
| Completion date | 1799 |
| Opening date | 1799 |
| Dedicated to | Pyotr Rumyantsev |
The Rumyantsev Obelisk (Russian: Румянцевский обелиск) is a granite obelisk located in Saint Petersburg. It is at the centre of Rumyantsev Square, on Vasilyevsky Island, between the Menshikov Palace and the Saint Petersburg Institute for Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. The obelisk commemorates the victories of Count Pyotr Rumyantsev during the Russo-Turkish War between 1768 and 1774, and his service in the Russo-Turkish War of 1787–1792.
The idea for a monument originated late in the reign of Empress Catherine the Great, and was realised by her son and successor, Emperor Paul I, in 1799. Paul had attempted to persuade Rumyantsev's heirs to accept the offer of a palace built at public expense in place of the monument, but was turned down. The monument was built to the design of Vincenzo Brenna and was initially sited on the Tsaritsyn Meadow, later the Field of Mars. It was moved twice over its existence, to a new site on the Tsaritsyn Meadow after the Suvorov Monument was unveiled there, and then to Vasilyevsky Island after 1818, where it remains. The square it sits on was landscaped with gardens after 1867, and after a period being renamed after Taras Shevchenko during the Soviet era, had its original name, Rumyantsev Square, restored in 2001.
The concept for a monument to honour Rumyantsev's victories originated in 1795, towards the end of the reign of Empress Catherine the Great.[1] Both the Empress and Rumyantsev died in 1796, though Rumyantsev's sons continued to press for the realisation of the monument. Catherine's successor, Emperor Paul I, tried to convince them to accept an offer of having a palace constructed at public expense instead, but they refused.[1][2] Paul finally granted the request in February 1798, decreeing the construction of an obelisk "to commemorate the victories of Field Marshal Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky, which is to be sited on the square between the Summer Garden and the Lombard, and orders the amount of 82,441 rubles to be placed at the disposal of our official Marshal Tiesenhausen, to be available at his request."[2] Architect Vincenzo Brenna was commissioned to design the monument.[2][3][4][5]
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