Monument to the Scuttled Ships in Sevastopol (photo)

The monument to the flooded ships in Sevastopol was erected over a hundred years ago in honor of the events that took place in the middle of the XIX century. Despite the prescription of events, the history of the appearance of the monument and the outline of the monument are familiar not only to the inhabitants of the city, but to anyone who has even once visited here.

Emblem of the city

Sevastopol Bay and the Navy are inseparable concepts. The city throughout the history of its existence proved loyalty, devotion and love to the sea and ships. But once the sailors had to sacrifice the most expensive that they had. For the sake of the city's salvation, the military was destroyed by ships that were intentionally shot by their own guns and flooded in the wake of the bay, thereby creating an obstacle on the way of following enemy ships.

The city was saved. In honor of this event, the inhabitants erected a monument. Since then, the monument to the flooded ships has become a kind of visiting card of Sevastopol. In the days of the Soviet Union, the image of the monument was on the coat of arms of the city. In 2000, it appeared on the flag of Sevastopol.

All significant for the city dates were marked by various events, including the issue of postage stamps, memorable signs, which depict the historical places of the city. The monument to the flooded ships is an indispensable element of all such compositions.

As it was decided to create a monument

In 1905, all of Russia celebrated the 50th anniversary of a significant historical event, when during the Crimean War Sevastopol was held back. The monument to the scuttled ships, the photo of which is presented in the article, is a testament to the respect of the brave defenders of the city, as well as a sign of special honors to the Russian fleet. To this important date for the history of Russia a monument was erected.

It should be noted that the idea of creating such a monument appeared much earlier. As early as the 20th anniversary of the defense of Sevastopol, its participants offered to perpetuate the memory of the deed committed by Russian sailors. The bay of the flooded ships in the project of the monument to academician Mikeshin took the main position. But later it was decided to erect monuments in different parts of the city, where fierce battles for his freedom also took place, and the idea of creating a grand monument to the memory of the sunken fleet was forgotten for several years.

Only in 1899, when Russia began to prepare for the celebration of the half-century defense date of Sevastopol, it was reviewed again. By 1901, there were two main projects of the monument, but only one of them was sent for consideration and further approval. The monument, executed on this project, and to this day reminds descendants of the former glory of Russian sailors.

Historical events that preceded the installation of the monument

During the conduct of the Crimean War, Sevastopol had to defend more than once from a strong opponent. Defenders went to any sacrifice, thanks to which the city was always free.

To save the city from invading the enemy from the sea, it was decided to block the way for warships. For this, the sailors were flooded in the wake of the first seven failed sailboats. After the severe storms that raged on the sea and in the bay in the autumn and winter of 1854, the obstacle from the sailboats had to be reinforced. For this, three more merchant ships were later flooded here. Ten of the flooded sailboats were the first line of defense.
In February 1855, it was decided to flood six more ships, which created a second line of protection. In August of the same year, the remaining ships of the fleet were flooded. According to historians, only 75 military ships and 16 auxiliary vessels were sent to the bottom of the bay. Crews of warships went to land and there continued their heroic service to the city and the Fatherland. The barriers created by sailors were often given the names of their sunken ships.

The city was inaccessible to enemy forces. A salutary role was played both by intensified fire from the coastline of the bay, and by flooded ships. In Sevastopol, it was always believed that in those harsh times in the protection of the city took part not only people, but even ships of the fleet. Thanks to joint efforts, the enemy managed to stop before the very entrance to Sevastopol.

How was the decision to flood ships

Historians to this day do not give an unambiguous answer when it comes to the correctness of the decision. The initiators of the decision to flood the ships were ardent opponents who believed that it was necessary to bring the fleet to the open sea, to take the fight there and at the same time to win or perish.

The real situation was such that the victory in open battle was unlikely. The enemy greatly exceeded the Russian fleet in terms of the number of vessels, their equipment, and technical perfection.

After long disputes and painful meditations, a heavy decision was made to flood the fleet. Time has shown that the victim was brought not in vain - Sevastopol was not occupied by the enemy. The heroic deed of Russian sailors was highly appreciated by the command of the Anglo-French-Turkish fleet. It was noted that if it were not for this extraordinary decision, a well-trained enemy army would not have made it difficult to defeat the Russians.

The creators of the monument

The monument to the flooded ships in Sevastopol in the version that we see now was created by sculptor Amand Ivanovich Adamson, architect Valentin Avgustovich Feldman and engineer Oskar Ivanovich Enberg. These people are considered to be the main authors of the monument.

OI Enberg proposed the idea of erecting a monument not on land, but at sea, which was an original and unexpected decision. It was positively received by many co-authors of the project, as well as by the highest personalities at the Court.

VA Feldman, as a result of working on comments received from members of the special commission, replaced the square column with a round one and proposed to install it on an artificial rock protruding from the sea. AI Adamson was involved in work on the monument at the final stage of its erection. Being an acknowledged master of monumental art, he made an invaluable contribution to the process of creating the monument.

In addition, it should be noted that the entire creative team, which created a monument to the flooded ships in Sevastopol, consisted of a large number of talented artists, sculptors, engineers, ordinary people who performed the creative ideas of recognized masters.

The name of the monument

For the whole history of its existence the monument had 15 different names. Some of them were officially registered, others were offered by the people and were known as alternative.

The construction commission that handed over the monument to the city, named it in the act as a monument to the flooding of ships. In 1914 a historical guide was published, where the whole Crimea was described. The monument to the flooded ships already appeared in this edition under that name, which is known even now. Today, this name of the monument is the most common and is considered the most correct.

What the composition looks like

From the coastal waters near Primorsky Boulevard, an artificial granite rock rises ten meters from the shore. Its height is 9 meters. On it rises an elegant seven-meter column, crowned by a Corinthian capital. The bronze two-headed eagle, set at the top of the column, faces the sea. He holds in his beak an anchor and a wreath of laurel and oak leaves, intending to lower them into the water and thereby pay tribute to the lost ships.

On the octagonal pedestal of the monument there is an inscription: "In memory of the ships, flooded in 1854-1855. To block the entrance to the raid. " On the bas-reliefs facing the embankment, scenes of battle and ship flooding are depicted. On the plate you can see the map of Sevastopol Bay and the line of ships flooding.
From the sea side, originally, a bronze mast protruding from the water was attached to the monument. Currently this element of composition is lost.
Flooded ships in Sevastopol are honored with honor and memory as real heroes. This fact once again confirms the idea of the inseparable existence of the fleet and the city.

The Shooting Wall

The place where the monument to the scuttled ships in Sevastopol is established, can rightfully be called historical. In November 1905 another tragic event occurred here. On the shore near the wall, sailors were fired from the Ochakov cruiser. They were brutally punished by the authorities for the rebellion.

The wall, near which there was a massacre of people, is near the place where the descendants remember the flooded ships. In the Crimea, this wall is called the execution. The sad events are reminiscent of a memorial plaque and anchors installed here, which were raised from a flooded flotilla.

The Fate of Flooded Ships

The flooded fleet made Sevastopol Bay unsuitable for navigation. That is why it was decided to clean the channel. Work began in 1857. Over the next two years, most of the ships were brought to the surface. Some of them managed to be restored, but many went to scrap. The work on cleaning the bay from the remains of the flooded ships continued for more than ten years.

In the composition of the decorative retaining wall, which is located opposite the monument to the flooded ships, old anchors were used, which were raised from the bottom of the bay. There are no photos of the flooded ships in museums of the city of Sevastopol, but there are paintings of Russian and foreign artists depicting those tragic days. Thanks to these works, history can be restored with great accuracy.

Monument and time

Over a hundred years, a column of the monument rises near the coast of Primorsky Boulevard. A lot of adversity swept through this time - earthquakes, storms, wars. But all the tests stood the monument with honor.

The monument to the scuttled ships, photo and material about which is presented in the article, was not damaged even during the Great Patriotic War, which is an amazing fact. After all, in those places where the monument stands, there were fierce battles. The monument can be seen from different points of view, as evidenced by numerous photographs of the monument.

However, it should be noted that it had to be restored several times. Special works were carried out in 1951, 1955-1959. In 1989 and 2003, too, was reconstructed parts of the monument.

What attracts Sevastopol Bay

On peaceful days Primorsky Boulevard with a monument to the flooded ships is one of the busiest places in Sevastopol. Hundreds of tourists and locals come here daily.

Involuntarily creeps into the idea that the composition, created in honor of the glory and courage of the Russian fleet, has a special magic, capable of resisting any enemy, dark power. Perhaps this attracts hundreds of people here.