Arc de Triomphe year. Moscow Triumphal Gate (Triumphal Arch). Triumphal Gate at Tverskaya Zastava

Moscow Triumphal Gate (Triumphal Arch)

Since antiquity, triumphal arches have been the personification of Victory. After all, they were built for the winners, who, having passed through the arch, became triumphants, that is, received the highest degree of popular recognition and respect.

The tradition of celebrating major victories of Russian weapons by erecting triumphal arches in Russia was introduced by Peter I. Previously, Rus' responded to significant historical events in a different way - by building churches and monasteries.

Peter I and his reforms are associated with the emergence in Russia of new secular holidays in addition to traditional church holidays. Such holidays included, in particular, solemn processions. The construction of triumphal gates and the arrangement of “fiery fun” - fireworks - were timed to coincide with holidays and processions.

The first arch was erected in Moscow in 1696 on the occasion of the capture of Azov. By decree of Peter I, the first secular celebration was organized - a solemn procession through the entire Moscow of victorious troops that entered the city from the south. The culminating moment of their meeting was their passage through the triumphal gates at the Vsesvyatsky (Big Stone) Bridge.

The next “triumphal lighthouse” was built in 1702 in honor of the victory won at Erstfer. In the same 1702, on the occasion of the capture of Nyenskans, a solemn procession of troops took place through three triumphal gates. In the next year, 1703, celebrations with the construction of four gates for the solemn procession of troops were held in connection with the capture of Nyenskans, Koporye, the conquest of Ingermanland and the foundation of the St. Petersburg fortress at the mouth of the Neva.

Moscow Triumphal Gate (Triumphal Arch)

The victory at Poltava was celebrated with particular pomp in Moscow in 1709. For the celebration, eight triumphal gates were built in the ancient capital.

Thus, the tradition of constructing triumphal arches (gates) gradually took root. As long as the custom of constructing temporary triumphal buildings existed, continuity was preserved both in architecture and in the location of the gates. They stopped in front of the triumphal gates, got out of the carriages, jumped off the horses, took off their hats in front of them and reverently listened to the welcoming speeches. The triumphal gates to the coronation of emperors and empresses were erected throughout the 18th century.

In mid-1814, for the solemn welcome of the victorious Russian troops returning from Western Europe, a wooden Triumphal Arch was built at the Tverskaya Outpost.

But the temporary monument to commemorate the victory over Napoleon quickly deteriorated, and in 1826 it was decided to replace the wooden arch with a stone one. Emperor Nicholas I ordered this to be done by the chief architect of Moscow for the “facade part” - Osip Ivanovich Bova. Beauvais, himself a participant in the War of 1812, gained great fame for the restoration of the central part of Moscow after the French invasion.

The architect placed the arch along the Tverskaya-Yamskaya axis, thereby creating a spacious square at the Tverskaya Zastava. The complex of impressive buildings gracefully and naturally closed the street, forming the main entrance gate of Moscow.

In addition to the monumental Triumphal Gate, 28 meters high with a wide span, two guardhouses were placed opposite each other at some distance from them. This was the name of the guard rooms. The gates and guardhouses were connected by beautiful cast-iron bars, thereby highlighting the area that closed 1st Tverskaya-Yamskaya Street.

The Triumphal Gate was built slowly. The soil at the work site was almost entirely sandy. Three thousand oak piles had to be driven into the ground.

The building was brick, and the cladding was made of white stone.

Simultaneously with the construction of the gates and guardhouses, the area around them was also improved. Osip Ivanovich pursued the idea of creating integral urban ensembles in accordance with the scale and existing development of the city. Therefore, the disorderly buildings around the gate were demolished and a new square was planned.

The square on both sides of the gate was lined with houses with identical facades designed by Beauvais. A wonderful urban ensemble was created, which marked the beginning of the improvement of a vast territory - up to the park of the Petrovsky Palace.

Sculpture played a major role in creating the artistic image of the monument. The theme of Russia's military victory is reflected in literally all elements of the Triumphal Gate. Between each of the six pairs of columns, powerful cast figures of ancient warriors stood on high pedestals. The faces of the knights, dressed in plate armor and pointed helmets, are stern and expressive. The walls above the figures are decorated with elegant reliefs full of dynamism: “Expulsion of the French” and “Liberation of Moscow”. The vertical structure of the columns is completed by allegorical female figures: “Hardness” and “Courage”.

The ornamented frieze of the gate depicted military armor and coats of arms of thirty-six Russian provinces, whose residents participated in the Patriotic War of 1812. Medallions with the initials of Nicholas I were also placed there.

Osip Ivanovich Bova in his work was greatly helped by his colleagues - a graduate of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts Ivan Petrovich Vitali and Ivan Timofeevich Timofeev, a student of Martos, a gifted graduate of the academy, awarded all its medals!

It is known that Beauvais himself completed the drawings of the most significant sculpture that completes the arch. Six horses with a solemn tread draw a chariot in which the winged goddess of Glory stands proudly, overshadowing the winners with a wreath.

The inscription on the arch was approved by Nicholas I himself. It read: “To the blessed memory of Alexander I, who raised this capital city from the ashes from the ashes and adorned it with many monuments of paternal care, during the invasion of the Gauls and with them twenty languages, in the summer of 1812 it was dedicated to the fire, 1826.” On the city side the inscription is in Russian, and on the opposite side – in Latin. This, as well as the use of ancient forms in the monument itself, emphasized the global significance of Russia's victory and the revival of Moscow.

Unfortunately, Osip Ivanovich Bove died just a few months before the opening of the Triumphal Gate. The monument was completed by Mikhail Ivanovich Bove, his younger brother, who was also a capable architect.

Before the centenary of the Battle of Borodino, in 1912, a city commission examined the condition of the Triumphal Gate. They have been slightly updated and cleaned.

In 1935, the first General Plan for the reconstruction of Moscow was approved. It included the demolition of many buildings, including the Arc de Triomphe.

In the summer of 1936, the Arc de Triomphe was dismantled.

For more than 30 years, the sculptural decoration of the arch was kept in the Donskoy Monastery. In 1966, the question of restoring the arch was raised. After discussing a number of options, it was decided to install the Triumphal Gate on Kutuzovsky Prospekt, next to Poklonnaya Gora. Now the arch was erected without guardhouses, not as a passing gate, but as a monument.

The front side of the Arc de Triomphe faces the entrance to the city.

A bright, expressive image personifying the military power, glory and greatness of Russia was revived. And to this day it remains one of the most majestic monuments dedicated to the victories of the Russian people.

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The history of this monument begins in 1814 - a wooden Triumphal Arch was built on Tverskaya Zastava Square for the ceremonial welcome of Russian troops returning home after the victory over Napoleon.

Nicholas I wished that a monumental monument dedicated to the events of the Patriotic War be erected in Moscow. The emperor instructed the architect O. Beauvais to implement this plan. The construction of the Triumphal Gate lasted five years. On September 20, 1837, construction was completed.

The triumphal arch is decorated with six pairs of cast iron 12-meter columns, niches in which figures of Russian soldiers are located, above them there are high reliefs depicting scenes of the expulsion of the French, the liberation of Moscow, etc. Statues of Victory are erected above the cornices, and the top of the arch is decorated with the Chariot of Glory.

However, the most important question still remains unanswered. Where does all this come from?

Muscovy, which grew into the Russian Empire and made St. Petersburg its capital, since the reign of the Romanov dynasty, did nothing but engage in genocide of its own population and appropriated the lands of the former Tartaria. This social policy did not at all contribute to the flourishing of culture and crafts. Only in terms of luxury goods. But those aspects of the industry that we touched on still reflect its general, basic state.

It seems that this economic wealth was acquired along with the annexation of supposedly wild new lands. The richest craft centers were probably captured in the Urals and Siberia. The new capital was decorated with remnants of the grandeur of the old Empire...

Moscow Triumphal Gate - triumphal arch in Moscow, built in honor of the victory of the Russian people in the Patriotic War of 1812. As a rule, Muscovites do not use the full name of the monument and simply call it the Arc de Triomphe.

Triumphal Arch - restored monument: it was originally erected in 1829-1834 according to the project Osipa Bove on Tverskaya Zastava Square, then dismantled in 1936 during the reconstruction of the square and rebuilt in 1966-1968 on Kutuzovsky Prospekt near Poklonnaya Gora.

Triumphal Arch at Tverskaya Zastava

In 1814, when Russian and allied troops entered Paris and peace was achieved, Russian cities began to prepare to welcome troops returning from France. Along their route, triumphal gates were erected in cities, and Moscow was no exception: near the Tverskaya Zastava, where the emperor was traditionally greeted with honors, they began to erect a temporary triumphal arch made of wood.

In 1826, Emperor Nicholas I ordered the construction of the Triumphal Gate in Moscow as a monument to the victory of Russian weapons, similar to the Narva Triumphal Gate, which was being built at that time in St. Petersburg. The development of the project was entrusted to a prominent Russian architect Osip Bova; the master developed it the same year, but the need to redevelop the area slowed down the process, and the project required changes.

The triumphal gate according to Beauvais’ new design was built in 1829-1834, with a bronze foundation slab and a handful of silver rubles “for good luck” laid at the base - which, by the way, did not help at all: construction was delayed for 5 years due to lack of funds. The sculptural design of the arch was made by sculptors Ivan Vitali And Ivan Timofeev, who worked from Beauvais' drawings. The columns and sculptures were cast from cast iron, and the gate itself was erected from white stone from the village of Tartarovo (“Tartarov marble”) and stone from the dismantled Samotechny Canal.

On the attic of the gate there was an inscription (in Russian and Latin on different sides):

In 1899, the first electric tram line in Moscow passed right under the arch, and in 1912 and in the 1920s they were even cleaned and restored.

Unfortunately, in 1936, according to the General Plan for the Reconstruction of Moscow, the gates were dismantled to reconstruct the square. Initially, they were planned to be restored near their original location, so during dismantling they took careful measurements and preserved some sculptural and architectural elements, but in the end they did not restore the gates.

Triumphal Arch on Kutuzovsky Prospekt

In the 1960s, given the artistic value and historical significance of the gate, it was decided to return to the idea of restoring it, and in 1966-1968 a copy of it was built on Kutuzovsky Prospekt near Poklonnaya Gora and the Battle of Borodino Panorama Museum.

The project was carried out under the leadership of the architect-restorer Vladimir Libson by a group of architects (I. Ruben, G. Vasilyeva, D. Kulchinsky). During the construction, drawings and measurements made during the dismantling of the gate were used, as well as the author’s model of the structure provided by the Museum of Architecture.

Generally Triumphal Arch on Kutuzovsky Prospekt is an external copy of its predecessor, but with a number of design changes: instead of brick, reinforced concrete was used in the construction of the walls, vaults and basement, the white stone was replaced with Crimean limestone, and it was decided not to restore the guardhouses and gratings. The surviving sculptures and design details were not used, and everything was cast from cast iron anew. In addition, the texts on the attic were changed - instead of words about Emperor Alexander I, lines from Mikhail Kutuzov’s order to Russian soldiers and an excerpt from the inscription on the mortgage board of 1829 appeared there:

In 2012, the Arc de Triomphe was restored in preparation for the celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the Russian Victory in the Patriotic War of 1812.

The Arc de Triomphe was placed in a park divided between oncoming lanes of Kutuzovsky Prospekt. In 1975, in honor of the 30th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, this square became known as Victory Square.

To date Triumphal Arch has become one of the recognizable symbols of Moscow: views of the monument are decorated with popular postcards and calendars, the arch is depicted in artists’ paintings and a large number of souvenirs with its image are produced.

You can get to the Arc de Triomphe on foot from the metro station "Victory Park" Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya line.

In mid-1814, for the solemn welcome of the victorious Russian troops returning from Western Europe, a wooden Triumphal Arch was built at the Tverskaya Zastava (at the end of what is now Gorky Street). But the monument quickly deteriorated, and 12 years later, in 1826, it was decided to replace the wooden Arc de Triomphe with a stone one. The drawing up of the project was entrusted to the largest Russian architect Osip Ivanovich Bova. In the same year, he developed its initial project. However, the decision to redesign the front square at the main entrance to Moscow from St. Petersburg led to the need to rework the project. The new version, which Bove worked on for almost two years, was adopted in April 1829.

Triumphal Gate at Tverskaya Zastava

Triumphal Arch in Moscow

Ceremonial laying of the arch

took place on August 17 of the same year. A bronze plaque was embedded in the base of the future monument with the inscription: “These Triumphal Gates were laid as a sign of remembrance of the triumph of Russian soldiers in 1814 and the restoration of the construction of magnificent monuments and buildings of the capital city of Moscow, destroyed in 1812 by the invasion of the Gauls and with them the twelve languages.” .

Construction of the Triumphal Gate

The first and only arch-type monument in Moscow, built after the War of 1812, took five years to complete due to lack of funds and indifference on the part of the city authorities. Only on September 20, 1834, the opening of this unique monument took place, reflecting the military power, glory and greatness of Russia, the heroism of its victorious soldiers. Bove created a bright, expressive image of unconquered Moscow, rising “from the ashes and ruins,” as one of the inscriptions on the arch said.

The ensemble of the Triumphal Gates stood at the Tverskaya Zastava for 102 years. In 1936, the square near the Belorussky railway station, where the arch stood, was decided to be redesigned and expanded to relieve congestion on the Gorky Street - Leningradskoye Highway transport highway. The triumphal arch, guardhouses (rooms for military guards) and the remains of the forged fence that once connected them were dismantled. The rich sculptural decoration of the arch was kept for 32 years in a branch of the A. V. Shchusev Museum of Architecture (on the territory of the former Donskoy Monastery). There, even now, you can still see to the right of the northern entrance to the Great Cathedral fragments of old casting - cast-iron boards with relief military armor and coat of arms, the base and capital of one of the columns.

In 1966, the Moscow Council of Workers' Deputies decided to restore the Arc de Triomphe in a new location. The team of the 7th workshop of Mosproekt-3 worked on the project. The task before him was not an easy one: after all, in the cornice crowning the arch alone, it was necessary to place 1276 independent parts. Architects, artists and engineers had to use the surviving measurements, drawings and photographs to recreate the original appearance of the monument, replacing the lost decorative elements. Led by one of the elders of Moscow restoration, V. Libson, the leading team of restorers, consisting of architects D. Kulchinsky and I. Ruben, engineers M. Grankina and A. Rubtsova, boldly got down to business.

Sculptors-restorers of the Production and Art Plant of the USSR Ministry of Culture on Profsoyuznaya Street, having carefully studied archival materials, prepared plaster casts and molds of parts that were to be cast anew. More than 150 models were prepared - exact copies of each restored decorative element.

Experienced masters of artistic casting using plaster molds again cast individual figures, lost parts of military armor and coats of arms of old Russian cities, as well as reliefs with military attributes instead of the original ones, mounted in the walls of the lobby of the Battle of Borodino panorama museum in 1962.

The minters also worked a lot on the castings. Great skill was required to assemble reliefs with images of ancient warriors, pyramids of military armor from scattered parts, and to recreate the lost fragments of the cast iron “clothing” of the Triumphal Gate.

The question of a new location and the scope of restoration work has caused a lot of controversy and proposals. Some believed that the Arc de Triomphe should be restored on the Leningradskoye Shosse, not far from the Belorussky Station Square. Others believed that the arch should be taken outside the city limits, to Poklonnaya Hill, and restored certainly as Bove created it, that is, with small, richly decorated guardhouses symmetrically located on both sides of the arch. Like mighty wings, the guardhouses were connected to the body of the arch with an openwork forged lattice. This ensemble at one time created a very successful architectural completion of one of the main Moscow highways. However, the architects of the 4th workshop of Mosproekt-1, which decided on placement issues, were convinced that the Triumphal Gate should be restored as a monument, that is, without guardhouses, at the entrance square of Kutuzovsky Prospekt.

The problem of installing a grandiose monument

was not limited to choosing a location on Kutuzovsky Prospekt. If Bove placed the arch on the outskirts of the capital, among small houses, where it was the center of the architectural composition, then modern city planners had to install the monument in the existing urban landscape, among tall buildings that were larger than the arch. It was necessary to erect the monument so that it would not be covered by multi-story buildings, so that it would not get lost between them, and so that its unique decorative decoration could be seen from a distance. The architects recognized the current Victory Square as the most suitable location. Now the Arc de Triomphe was erected without guardhouses and fences, not as a traffic gate, but as a monument in such a way that busy traffic flows around it on both sides, and it unites and decorates the space between the surrounding houses, without at the same time merging with them.

After the Executive Committee of the Moscow City Council approved the project for the reconstruction of the entrance square to Kutuzovsky Prospekt, the builders began work. They had to make the area around the future arch absolutely flat, tear down the hill near Staromozhaiskoye Highway, build a new 15-meter-wide passage for vehicles and an underground passage connecting both sides of the avenue with the area in the middle of the roadway where the arch would grow.

Concrete workers, facing workers, installers, stone cutters and welders of the 37th Construction Department of the Trust for the Construction of Embankments and Bridges worked with great love on the construction of the monument.
Triumphal Arch on Kutuzovsky Prospekt in Moscow

On November 6, 1968, Beauvais’s wonderful creation found a second life.

Through the work of designers, restorers and builders, perhaps the most grandiose Moscow monument in honor of the victory of the Russian people in the Patriotic War of 1812 was recreated.

The triumphal arch now stands on Victory Square, not far from Poklonnaya Gora, forming a single historical and memorial complex together with the panorama museum “Battle of Borodino”, “Kutuzovskaya Izba” and the monuments located next to them.

Front side arch

facing the entrance to the capital. By placing it in this way, the architects followed the old tradition, according to which triumphal gates and arches were always placed with the main facade facing the road leading into the city.

The basis of the monument

consists of a single-span arch with six pairs of free-standing 12-meter cast-iron columns of the magnificent Corinthian order, located around two arched supports - pylons. The columns, weighing 16 tons each, were re-cast at the Moscow Stankolit plant using parts from the only surviving old column. Between each pair of columns, in the niches formed by them, on high pedestals there are powerful cast figures of warriors with heart-shaped shields and long spears, in ancient Russian chain mail and pointed helmets, with cloaks thrown over their shoulders in the form of Roman robes. The bearded faces of the knights are stern and expressive. The rhythmic, somewhat artificial poses of the warriors, their tight, Roman-style tunics are a tribute to the classical image that dominated at the beginning of the 19th century.

High relief "Expulsion of the Gauls from Moscow" on the facade of the triumphal arch

Above the figures of warriors, in the upper part of the pylons, there are skillfully executed, graceful, full of dynamism high reliefs. The relief “The Expulsion of the French,” called by its creators “The Expulsion of the Gauls from Moscow” or “The Slaying of the Twelve Tongues,” depicts hand-to-hand combat against the backdrop of the battlemented Kremlin wall. Russian soldiers in ancient armor, irresistibly approaching from the right in dense ranks, are pushing back the enemy, whose army is running, throwing away their weapons. In the foreground is a Russian warrior. In his left hand he holds a round shield with the coat of arms of Russia. With a swing of his right hand, he raised his sword over his defeated enemy. The figure of a Russian warrior, as if brought to life on the relief, embodies the power of the peoples of Russia who rose up to fight the conqueror. The horror and doom of the enemies is contrasted with the firm confidence and boundless determination of the Russian soldiers - the liberators of Moscow. The figure of a killed enemy warrior with his bare chest is also expressively executed.

The composition is masterfully solved.

The impression of movement is enhanced by the creation of spatial depth. The figures in the foreground and in the depths of the relief are different in size, and the nearest figures are almost independent sculptures. However, this does not prevent the high relief from successfully fitting into the plane of the wall of the Arc de Triomphe. Convention and reality are merged here. The relief is executed with great patriotic feeling, passion and deep vitality of the drawing.

high relief - “Liberated Moscow”

Done in a more relaxed manner. The reclining Russian beauty, resting her left hand on a shield with the ancient Moscow coat of arms, which depicts St. George the Victorious slaying a dragon, personifies Moscow. Her figure is dressed in a sundress and a robe, and her head is adorned with a small crown. She extends her right hand to Emperor Alexander I. He is wearing the rich dress of a Roman Caesar. These central figures are surrounded by images of Hercules with a club on his right shoulder, Minerva, an old man, a woman and a youth. The backdrop for them is the battlemented wall of the Moscow Kremlin.

In the clothes of the characters, a combination of Russian national features with ancient ones is noticeable, as in the previous relief. Undoubtedly, this high relief is in many ways inferior to “The Expulsion of the French,” but they are close to each other in a direction that goes beyond the traditional framework of classicism and acquires the features of romanticism.

Traditional figures trumpeting the victory of Slavs hover in the walls above the bends of the arch. And along the entire perimeter of the strongly protruding cornice are placed the coats of arms of the administrative regions of Russia, the population of which participated in the fight against the aggressor.

Above the cornice, allegorical statues of Victories froze in calm poses, clearly standing out in the bright foyer of the attic. The seated figures are strictly oriented along the verticals of the pylons and seem to crown each pair of columns. War trophies are piled at the feet of Victory. In the hands of the goddesses are wreaths and scepters as symbols of ruling victory. Classically stern faces are enlivened by a slight smile.

The arch is crowned by the chariot of Glory

As if flying over the attic. Six horses, moving at a measured pace, pull the chariot. The winged goddess of Victory stands proudly in the chariot. With a laurel wreath raised high in her right hand, she crowns the winners. The dense, rounded shape of her body breathes energy. The gaze of the ancient Greek goddess is turned to those entering the capital. She seems to be trying to tell them the good news about the victory of Russian weapons.

It is interesting to note that the Moscow Metropolitan refused to consecrate the Arc de Triomphe at its opening in 1834 because of the placement of sculptural images of mythological gods on it.

In the center of the attic, above the roadway,

On both sides of the arch there are memorial plaques with inscriptions. The one that looks at the city is made up of the words of M.I. Kutuzov, addressed to Russian soldiers in 1812: “This glorious year has passed. But your great deeds and exploits done in it will not pass away and will not be silenced; posterity will keep them in their memory. You saved the Fatherland with your blood. Brave and victorious troops! Each of you is the savior of the Fatherland. Russia greets you with this name.” The text of the mortgage board is repeated on the main façade. And, reading these lines, we, the descendants of the fifth generation of heroes of the twelfth year, seem to lose the sense of time and seem to stand next to those who fought at the walls of Moscow, who raised it from the ruins, who accomplished their military and labor feats more than 160 years ago .

The walls of the arch are lined with white stone, mined near the village of Tatarova near Moscow. At one time, Bove partially used the white stone that was used to decorate the Mytishchi gravity water supply system - it was then rebuilt. The skillful combination in one monumental structure of various materials and contrasting colors - black cast iron and white stone - enhances the artistic expressiveness of the monument.

The architectural and sculptural concepts in it are in complete unity.

The masterfully conceived and executed staging of the arch sculpture perfectly took into account the play of light and shadow of its parts. You can easily verify this if you walk around the arch at sunrise or sunset, i.e., at its maximum illumination. Due to the fact that the columns and the warrior figures standing between them are not adjacent to the wall of the arch, the light seems to flow around them and, reflecting from the white walls, additionally illuminates the black figures from behind and from the sides.

The creators also found an excellent solution for the harmonious architectural proportions of all elements of the Arc de Triomphe. Try to mentally increase the height of the warriors' figures - and they will interfere with the perception of the high reliefs. Change the dimensions of the arch base and you will have to change the dimensions of the cast iron columns. Raise the arch above its current 28 meters - and all its stucco decoration will become small and will be lost against the background of the wall openings. This confirms the correctness of the chosen proportions and their strict interdependence.

Talented Russian sculptors Ivan Petrovich Vitali and Ivan Timofeevich Timofeev helped express the idea of a clear and calm consciousness of Beauvais’ victory. They carried out most of the work based on the drawings of the architect, who outlined the sculptural decoration of the arch. In the works of Vitali and Timofeev one can feel the desire for simplicity and truthfulness. Their works are distinguished by restraint and majestic calm.

Perfect beauty of form

The vitality of the sculpting and the firmness of the lines speak of the sculptors’ deep understanding of the essence of ancient art and the appearance of realistic motifs in their works. The merit of Vitali and Timofeev is that in the composition of the Arc de Triomphe, monumental sculpture is successfully combined with massive architectural forms.

The names of the creators, the history of the construction and renewal of the Arc de Triomphe are written on a commemorative cast-iron plaque installed under the arch of the arch: “The Moscow Triumphal Gate in honor of the victory of the Russian people in the Patriotic War of 1812 was built in 1829-1834. designed by the architect Osip Ivanovich Bove, sculptors Ivan Petrovich Vitali, Ivan Timofeevich Timofeev. Restored in 1968."

Nine years have passed since the arch was recreated, and in September 1977 it was again surrounded by scaffolding. For several weeks, roofers, sandblasters, sealers, welders, mechanics, installers, lapidaries, and masons of the Mosstroy No. 7 trust worked here, replacing each other. The roofing felt roof of the arch under the hooves of bronze horses was replaced with theocol mastic, which is more resistant to rain, snow and sun. , lined with fiberglass; zinc coating - copper with a reinforced fastening system. In some places, the corrosion deposit that appeared on the casting was cleaned off to a shine, and these places were covered with red lead and special black paint with a dark green antique tint. The granite plinth was renewed, the walls and inscriptions were cleared, and the slabs on the area surrounding the arch were leveled.

Triumphal Arch

This is a beautiful symbol of victorious Moscow, imbued with the idea of the triumph of the Russian people, this is the main monument to the Patriotic War of 1812 in the capital, this is a visible embodiment of the deep gratitude of descendants to the victorious heroes. “Russia must solemnly remember the great events of the Twelfth Year!” - wrote V. G. Belinsky. And the recreated Arc de Triomphe on Victory Square is the best confirmation of this.

Since the time of Peter the Great, the most striking victories of the Russian people have been celebrated with some kind of majestic structure that will remind of the country’s feat. The Arc de Triomphe or the Moscow triumphal gate, erected in the early thirties of the 19th century in honor of the 1812 victory over Napoleon Bonaparte, is precisely such a monument.

History of the monument

The history of the monument goes back to the first half of the 19th century to the distant Tverskaya outpost, where it was originally erected, not from stone, but from wooden materials. The architectural structure was crowned by a chariot of glory; the cornice rose on monumental columns, which represented a majestic gate decorated with statues of liberators and images of the departure of enemy troops. But, since the monument quickly deteriorated and became unusable, they soon decided to replace the wooden arch with a stone one in order to preserve it for a longer period.

Nicholas I and the Arc de Triomphe

Initially, the idea of creating the Arc de Triomphe belonged to the Russian Emperor Nicholas I, who was inspired by the projects being built at that time in St. Petersburg, and wanted to build something similar in Moscow. The project was entrusted to the most famous at that time Osip Ivanovich Bova. But lack of finance and lack of government assistance have been the centuries-old scourge of Russia, so construction was extended over several years.

For more than a century, the legendary monument to the great victory of the Fatherland existed at the Tverskaya Zastava, and only in 1936, in connection with the reconstruction and expansion of Moscow streets and squares, a decision was made to move the famous gate.

Relocation of the Arc de Triomphe

Tverskaya Zastava and Triumphal Gate in the 1920s. In the background is Belorussky Station

The arch was carefully disassembled, the museum architects made careful measurements for subsequent restoration work, and the parts were placed in storage at the museum. It was not restored immediately, but only thirty years later. One can only imagine how complex and painstaking work fell to the architects and engineers of that time.

Using the remaining drawings, drawings and old photographs, it was necessary to restore the monument to its original form, filling in those details that had irretrievably disappeared. On the arch cornice alone, it was necessary to place more than a thousand independent parts!

A huge team worked to recreate the lost fragments: using plaster casts, they re-cast the shapes of details of military armor and coats of arms of ancient cities. The panorama of the “Battle of Borodino” helped a lot in this process, some compositions from which were also used.

There was also a lot of controversy regarding the choice of location. Undoubtedly, when the arch was initially erected in the 19th century, it looked majestic anywhere in Moscow, since the nearby houses were not distinguished by their height, and after a century the capital had changed beyond recognition, and it was difficult to preserve the architect’s original idea among the high-rise buildings and highways.

The Arch was installed on Kutuzovsky Prospekt not far from Victory Park, where it fit perfectly into the bustle of Moscow life, reminding people of the great feat of the Russian people, who from time immemorial have stood guard over the Fatherland.

Triumphal Arch- This is one of the most significant monuments of the Patriotic War of 1812, which silently reminds of those great events sung by many writers of past years.