Visiting the Bronze Horseman statue in St. Petersburg, Russia
Our family spent two wonderful days in St. Petersburg, Russia while cruising the Baltics on the Emerald Princess. On the second day of our private guided tour we cut short our visit to the extremely busy Hermitage because Emma, who had only just turned 6, was not dealing with the crowds very well.
As a result, we wrapped up our tour earlier than intended and, as we were leaving St. Isaacs’s Cathedral, our tour guide, Anna, suggested that we go for a walk so that she could show us a little more of her city.
Read Visiting St. Petersburg, Russia on a Cruise
Arriving in Senate Square
I’m so glad she did because in all the rush of trying to see St. Petersburg in two days we had seen a lot of famous sites but we hadn’t really had time to slow down and savour the city. We walked from St. Isaac’s to Senate Square which I would probably have described as a park rather than a city square. The wide, open space for kids to run around was a welcome change from the crowded historical sites that we had been visiting.
There were many tourists in the Square, however, there were also plenty of locals enjoying the gorgeous, sunny day that is so rare in St. Petersburg. Senate Square is ringed by important buildings such as the Admiralty building and the Senate and Synod building, however, it is the famous statue of The Bronze Horseman that draws the tourists.
The Bronze Horseman is an equestrian statue of Peter the Great which was created by French sculptor Etienne-Maurice Falconet and has become one of the symbols of St. Petersburg. It takes its name from Alexander Pushkin’s famous poem about Peter the Great and the founding of the city.
The statue depicts Peter symbolically leading his people as he points at the Neva River while his horse tramples a serpent that represents all those opposed to his reforms. The statue’s pedestal is a single piece of granite known as The Thunder Stone which, at about 1500 tonnes, is claimed to be the “largest stone ever moved by man”. The statue was unveiled in the Square in August of 1782.
The Bronze Horseman, St. Petersburg, Russia
According to legend, as long as the Bronze Horseman stands in St. Petersburg then the city will never be conquered. This was put to the test during the 900 day siege of Leningrad (as St. Petersburg was then known) during the Second World War. The statue was protected by sandbags and a wooden shelter and, despite the long campaign of bombing, the Bronze Horseman survived the siege virtually unscathed and St. Petersburg did not fall.
Emma at The Bronze Horseman
Katie and me at The Bronze Horseman
This was the final stop on our two day tour of St. Petersburg and, although it hadn’t been planned, I’m now thankful that we took the time to learn more about this important part of the city’s history.
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Laurel
I like the legend behind the Bronze Horseman and such an interesting story about the siege.
Steve
My kids always prefer the wide open spaces to the crowded tourist destinations too. I think Senate Square looks like a great place to spend some downtime.
I laugh at the thought of trying to protect a statue through a bombing campaign though. Superstitious much?
Lisa Goodmurphy
Certainly superstitious – on the other hand, would the residents of St. Petersburg have withstood a 900 day siege if they hadn’t fervently believed that the Bronze Horseman would protect them? If the statue had been destroyed perhaps the resolve of the residents would have been destroyed as well and they might have surrendered to the German army. And who knows how that might have changed the course of the war?
Lucia
I’ve never heard the story of the Bronze Horseman before…thanks for sharing that!
Vermont Ski
Nice story! I do think that you and your family really enjoyed the vacation. 😀
Lisa Wood
Gorgeous photos! Amazing how we can “see” more when we slow done and take time. I love the bronze horseman photo!
cheers
Lisa
Sophie
Walking tours are such a nice way to get to know a city. Sounds like you had a great time and learned heaps. Peter the Great was an interesting character, wasn’t he? I was once told that he had a tame bear he had trained, so that whenever one of his guests would refuse yet another shot of pepper vodka, the bear would walk up to the “offender” and growl.
Lisa Goodmurphy
Now that’s a good story! I knew that there was some story about a pet bear but didn’t know the details. Pretty hard to turn down a drink when a bear is insisting that you take it! 🙂