Hero-City Obelisk
Encyclopedia
The Hero-City Obelisk (Leningrad
) is located in Vosstaniya Square
in Saint Petersburg
, Russia
, which was known as Leningrad from 1924 to 1991. It was installed on Victory Day of May 1985 to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the Red Army
's victory the in the German-Soviet War
. The monument was designed by architects V. S. Lukyanov and A. I. Alymov.
The Hero-City Obelisk is pentahedral
in shape; its cross section has the shape of a star. In its lower part, the Obelisk is encircled with a bronze wreath covering the joint of the two monoliths. The monument
is decorated with bronze high reliefs devoted to the heroic defence of Leningrad
while a gold star shines on its top. After the Alexander Column
, it is highest stone monument in Saint Petersburg
.
When Soviet forces eventually lifted the siege in January 1944, over one million inhabitants of Leningrad had died from starvation, exposure and German shelling. 300,000 soldiers had perished in the defence and relief of Leningrad. Leningrad was awarded the title Hero City
in 1945, being the first city to receive that distinction.
Installing the obelisk required high skill builders and fitters. Grey granite
resembling the colour of soldier's overcoat was chosen to make to body of the monument. The rock was obtained from a quarry of the Vozrozhdenie (literally: Revival) deposit near the town of Vyborg
. On 6 November 1983, a monolith
weighing 2200 tonnes was separated from the source rock with the help of a controlled explosion. The finishing touches and polishing of the granite were done on the site. In early April 1985, the Obelisk crowned with the "Gold Star" was installed onto its pedestal
.
, is 1.8 meters.
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
) is located in Vosstaniya Square
Vosstaniya Square
Vosstaniya Square is a major square in the Central Business District of Saint Petersburg, Russia. The square lies at the crossing of Nevsky Prospekt, Ligovsky Prospekt, Vosstaniya Street and Goncharnaya Street, in front of the Moskovsky Rail Terminal, which is the northern terminus of the line...
in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, which was known as Leningrad from 1924 to 1991. It was installed on Victory Day of May 1985 to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
's victory the in the German-Soviet War
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
. The monument was designed by architects V. S. Lukyanov and A. I. Alymov.
The Hero-City Obelisk is pentahedral
Pentahedron
In geometry, a pentahedron is a polyhedron with five faces. Since there are no face-transitive polyhedra with five sides and there are two distinct topological types, this term is less frequently used than tetrahedron or octahedron....
in shape; its cross section has the shape of a star. In its lower part, the Obelisk is encircled with a bronze wreath covering the joint of the two monoliths. The monument
Monument
A monument is a type of structure either explicitly created to commemorate a person or important event or which has become important to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, or simply as an example of historic architecture...
is decorated with bronze high reliefs devoted to the heroic defence of Leningrad
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
while a gold star shines on its top. After the Alexander Column
Alexander Column
The Alexander Column also known as Alexandrian Column , is the focal point of Palace Square in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The monument was erected after the Russian victory in the war with Napoleon's France...
, it is highest stone monument in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
.
When Soviet forces eventually lifted the siege in January 1944, over one million inhabitants of Leningrad had died from starvation, exposure and German shelling. 300,000 soldiers had perished in the defence and relief of Leningrad. Leningrad was awarded the title Hero City
Hero City
Hero City is a Soviet honorary title awarded for outstanding heroism during the German-Soviet War of 1941 to 1945. It was awarded to twelve cities of the Soviet Union. In addition the Brest Fortress was awarded an equivalent title of Hero-Fortress...
in 1945, being the first city to receive that distinction.
Installing the obelisk required high skill builders and fitters. Grey granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
resembling the colour of soldier's overcoat was chosen to make to body of the monument. The rock was obtained from a quarry of the Vozrozhdenie (literally: Revival) deposit near the town of Vyborg
Vyborg
Vyborg is a town in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, situated on the Karelian Isthmus near the head of the Bay of Vyborg, to the northwest of St. Petersburg and south from Russia's border with Finland, where the Saimaa Canal enters the Gulf of Finland...
. On 6 November 1983, a monolith
Monolith
A monolith is a geological feature such as a mountain, consisting of a single massive stone or rock, or a single piece of rock placed as, or within, a monument...
weighing 2200 tonnes was separated from the source rock with the help of a controlled explosion. The finishing touches and polishing of the granite were done on the site. In early April 1985, the Obelisk crowned with the "Gold Star" was installed onto its pedestal
Pedestal
Pedestal is a term generally applied to the support of a statue or a vase....
.
Principal dimensions
The total height of the obelisk is 36 meters. It consists of a crowned top and a central trunk of height 22.5 meters, pommel and Star — 4.5 m. and base — 9 m. Its base has a diameter of 3.5 meters and a width of 9 meters. The overall mass of monument is approximately 390 tonnes. The total mass of the monument with the base is 750 tonnes. The diameter bronze wreaths is 4.5 meters while that of the Gold Star at its top, which is made of stainless steelStainless steel
In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
, is 1.8 meters.