Sphinx in St. Petersburg: review, description, location

The beauty and greatness of the city is not admired by tourists from all over the world. Its architectural decoration is harmoniously complemented by numerous sculptures of animals and mythical creatures - griffins, newts, sphinxes. They are made in metal and stone, their images adorn the entrances to the buildings, descents to the Neva, the facades of houses, public gardens and parks, bridges. They can be seen in the city center and in remote areas.

Sphinxes - who is this?

The word "sphinx" has Greek roots and in translation means "spirit of death". In ancient Egypt, they were revered as wise beings who are endowed with the body of a proud lion and the head of a man. Egyptians often endowed them with a portrait resemblance to the pharaohs. Sphynxes were considered demigods-half-people.

In Greece, they were represented as mythical winged creatures with a body of a lion (or dog), a female head and chest. In Africa, the sphinx was considered to be a locust monkey of the genus Baboons. If you are interested in where the sphinxes in St. Petersburg are located, then you need to finish reading this article. In it we will tell you how these exotic creatures came to our country.

Sphinx in St. Petersburg

The appearance of these sculptures in the city has a long history. At the beginning of the XIX century, Europe was replaced by fashion for all the eastern, and of course, it touched works of art and architecture.

St. Petersburg was no exception. In the city appeared Egyptian bridge, in Pavlovsk - the Egyptian vestibule, there is even an Egyptian pyramid in Tsarskoe Selo. In 1834, the sphinxes appeared on the embankments of St. Petersburg, and all thanks to the efforts of AN Muraviev. During his trip to the holy places, he accidentally saw interesting sculptural sculptures put up for sale. Amazing creatures that had the face of a man and the body of a lion struck him. He immediately sent a letter to the Russian ambassador, in which he suggested buying them for St. Petersburg. Then such an acquisition was considered inexpedient, and after resolving all the bureaucratic difficulties, the English owner sold them to France.

A little later, in connection with the revolution that had begun in the country, the French agreed to sell sculptures to Russia. Today the Sphinx in St. Petersburg is one of the main and recognizable symbols of the city.

University embankment

Egyptian sphinxes in St. Petersburg were in 1832. At first they were two years in the courtyard of the Academy of Arts. It took that much time to build a pier near its walls. His permanent place on the embankment of sculpture was taken in 1834.

Each Sphinx, established here, is quite old - about 3.5 thousand years. Figures from syenite are carved. Before his move to St. Petersburg, stone mythical creatures guarded the entrance to the temple in Egypt. The heads of the sphinxes are a portrait of the pharaoh Amenhotep, who was the ruler of the two kingdoms - Lower and Upper Egypt.

With the passage of time, the sphinxes lost their attractiveness and gradually collapsed. Sculptures were chipped off chisels, on the surface there were streaks and black film. Specialists began to talk about the need for urgent restoration.

In early 2002, a thorough and scrupulous work began on the restoration of these ancient statues. Gradually, the beauty and grace of forms began to return to them. Hieroglyphs emerged from under the age-old layers of dirt, carved on the chest and between the front paws. Dying kerchiefs became striped, necklaces on the chest sparkled after polishing. It seemed that in the process of restoration work the sullen sphinxes were young before their eyes.

Many interesting, sometimes mysterious phenomena are associated with these figures. Residents of the city say that during the day the sphinx in St. Petersburg (on the waterfront) can change the facial expression. Calm and peaceful it seems in the morning and ominous - in the evening.

How many sphinxes in St. Petersburg

Undoubtedly, the most ancient statues are on the University embankment. In addition, they are "indigenous people" of Egypt. However, there are other sphinxes in St. Petersburg. Where are these amazing sculptures? There are a lot of them in St. Petersburg. They are located at the entrances of buildings, on bridges, facades of houses, parks and squares. No one knows the exact number.

The very first statues were made for the Stroganov dacha. In 1796, two sculptures made of pink marble were erected there, and in 1908 they were moved to the yard of the Stroganov Palace, which is located on Nevsky Prospekt, 17. These figures have female faces, and their heads are wrapped in handkerchiefs with falling ends. A headscarf, crown or sacred necklace is a symbol of power.

At the end of the XVIII century sphinxes appeared on the Sverdlovskaya embankment, but then they disappeared without a trace. Recreated them in the late fifties of the XX century. Sculptures are made of gray granite. A prototype of them were the Sphinxes of the Stroganov Palace. But this is not all sculptures. Let's take a walk around the city and see where these mystical creatures "settled" .

The Kiev highway

On the north side of the Pulkovskaya Mountain (on the Kiev Highway) you can see a fountain that was built in 1809. The author of the project was the architect Tom de Tomon. Four sphinxes are installed at its four corners.

Egyptian Bridge

The ancient bridge with sphinxes in St. Petersburg is well known to the townspeople. In 1826, it was installed cast-iron sculptures of mystical creatures by PP Sokolov.

An interesting point: despite the fact that the Egyptian bridge is "guarded" by the sphinxes, they can not be called Egyptian, because on the banks of the Nile sculptures of these creatures were carved with male faces. The figures of the same Sokolov have female guises, so they look more like Greek statues.

Kamennoostrovsky Bridge

Another famous bridge in the city. Sphinxes in St. Petersburg, as already mentioned, were often installed near the river. These figures adorned the embankment at the Kamennoostrovsky Bridge, on the Little Nevka. These are exact copies of the sculptures located on the Egyptian bridge. They were made as trial, and then simply thrown in the courtyard of the apartment building. It was by accident that the statues were discovered in 1971 and decorated them with the embankment of Malaya Nevka. However, on this test the long-suffering statues did not end: after the flood (1975) they almost completely plunged into the water, and later over them not once vandalized, even tore off the crown from one of them. Sphynxes required urgent restoration.

Damaged works of art were restored in 2005 and installed near the Mostotrest building. By the way, this company also financed the restoration work. Despite the fact that at the gate of the organization the sculptures were in complete safety, in 2010 they were returned to the historical site - Malaya Nevka. These statues are unique, because they are the only probes (from the surviving ones) that the great architect P. Sokolov made.

Mining Institute

The most original sphinxes in the city on the Neva appeared in 1826 in the courtyard of the Mining Institute on the Vasilievsky Island. Among the greenery there are two small black sculptures with female heads and surprisingly expressive and noble faces. This is the work of sculptor A. Postnikov.

Robespierre Embankment

It is well known to the indigenous inhabitants of the Northern capital that the Sphinx in St. Petersburg is not uncommon. They admire, they are accustomed to ... Of course, they adorn the streets of the city for so many years! But not everyone knows that these mythical creatures appear in St. Petersburg in our time. The youngest sculptures are those that were installed in 1995 on the Robespierre embankment - in memory of the victims of political repression.

Two bronze statues are installed on granite pedestals in such a way that they are converted by an ordinary profile to residential buildings, and in the direction of prison "Crosses" - an eroded skull. On the pedestal, lines from the famous works of V. Vysotsky and A. Solzhenitsyn, Marina Tsvetaeva and other authors are carved. Petersburgers believe that every such Sphinx in St. Petersburg (on the Robespierre Embankment) helps the unjustly convicted to quickly find themselves at home.