In the center of St. Petersburg, on Malaya Sadovaya Street, there is one inconspicuous, but well-known monument-the monument to the cat and the cat, which is one of the attractions of the city.
The monument is a composition consisting of two small figures of cats, located separately - on the facades of two buildings located opposite each other.
Each sculpture has its own name - the cat Elisha and the cat Vasilisa.
The cat Elisha is located on the corner facade of the building at number 8. The cat is depicted sitting peacefully in a characteristic feline pose and is mounted on a small metal support.
The cat Vasilisa is located opposite the cat Elisha, on the cornice of the building at number 3. Vasilisa gracefully slightly bends her back and is presented in all its glory in a standing position on four legs.
History of the monument
Sculptures of cats appeared on Malaya Sadovaya Street in 2000. They are made of life-size metal, according to the idea of Sergei Lebedev, by the animal sculptor Vladimir Petrovichev and the architect Larisa Domracheva.
Elisha the cat appeared first. The height of the cat is 33 centimeters, and its weight is 25 kg.
Later, the St. Petersburg historian Sergei Lebedev proposed to install on one of the houses on the same Malaya Sadovaya Street the figure of a friend of the Cat - cat Vasilisa.
So in St. Petersburg there was a duet - "Monument to the cat and the cat".
The sculptures are dedicated to and represent the cats brought to St. Petersburg during the Great Patriotic War from Yaroslavl. During the siege of Leningrad, the city was flooded with rats, which destroyed the already meager food supplies of the citizens, and also carried with them the possibility of infection and disease. The imported cats saved the city and people from destroying food supplies.
Legend
There is a legend: if you throw a coin on the monument to the cat Elisha, then the person who threw it will certainly be lucky and prosperous.
However, this attitude to the monument causes a lot of problems. Tossed coins hit the cat figurine and thus cause damage to it, and the restoration of monuments is an expensive procedure. As a result, such actions are undesirable; it is better to just admire the sculptures, and luck will come to you!
Practical information
Monuments to the cat and the cat are located near the fountain "Rotating Ball" (fountain-clock) on Malaya Sadovaya Street in the center of St. Petersburg.
Nearest metro stations: "Gostiny Dvor" and "Nevsky Prospekt".
All accommodation facilities in St. Petersburg, including in the city center and more remote from it, can be viewed and booked here
