The monument to Krylov is the most voluminous of the monuments installed in the Summer Garden of the historical center of St. Petersburg.
The monument is popularly called "Grandfather Krylov".
The Krylov monument is one of the first monuments to Russian writers and the first to be installed in St. Petersburg.
The monument is located in one of the boskets In the Summer Garden, on the place where there was a pyramid-shaped Dolphin Cascade, richly decorated with lead gilded sculptures and flowerpots, created in 1721 by the French master Nicolo Pinot. The cascade was badly damaged during the flood of 1777 and was dismantled in the 1780s.
In 1855, a bronze monument to the Russian fabulist Ivan Andreevich Krylov, made by the sculptor Peter Klodt, was installed on the bosket site. The monument was created on voluntary donations of citizens.
The monument to Krylov can still be seen in the bosket of the Summer Garden today.
The choice of the place of installation of the monument was not accidental. As they say, Krylov loved and often strolled through this garden. And the monument itself, later, was recognized as one of the best works of Klodt.
The height of the monument is 3.5 meters. The monument is fenced with a low cast-iron grating.
The bronze monument is installed on a high stepped granite pedestal.
Ivan Krylov is depicted sitting on a stone and holding an open book in his hands.
The pedestal of the monument is made of dark gray Serdobolsky granite.
On the four sides of the pedestal are placed bronze high reliefs, which are based on the plots of Krylov's fables. The high reliefs depict a "menagerie".
During Klodt's work on the monument, there was no menagerie in St. Petersburg, and it was not the lot of the sculptor to work without good drawings. Therefore, a menagerie was created for the work, which brought a monkey from Paris, a cat, a dog and a sheep, which were cared for by the Klodt family.
The elephant, which was once presented by the Persian shah to the Russian emperor, was taken from the royal elephant house.
Images of a leopard and a lion were taken from animals that one German showed to everyone at the Car Wash for a fee.
The bear for Klodt's menagerie was caught in the forests of the Novgorod province.
The artist Alexander Alekseevich Agin was engaged in drawings of animals.
After working on the bas-reliefs, the animals from Klodt's menagerie were given to the same German "from the Sink", who then showed them for money to those who wanted.
For the extraordinary history of the creation of bas-reliefs, the monument to Krylov in the Summer Garden is also sometimes called "the menagerie of Klodt-Krylov".
Practical information
The Summer Garden is located in the heart of St. Petersburg, between The Swan's Groove, the Fontanka River, The Palace Embankment (Neva River) and the Moika River embankment (Moika River).
Coordinates of the Summer Garden: 59°56'41.0" N 30°20'08.0" E (59.944722, 30.335556).
Nearest metro stations: "Nevsky Prospekt", "Gostiny Dvor", "Admiralteiskaya" and "Chernyshevskaya".
Buses: №№ 46, 49, K-76 and K-212. Tram: № 3.
Entrance to the Summer Garden is free (free of charge).
You can enter the garden through two entrances: from the Palace Embankment and the Moika River embankment.
You can also visit the Summer Garden and the Crown Fountain with one of the excursions
In the spring, somewhere in the month of April, the garden is closed for drying. Also, the garden may not work due to weather conditions and routine maintenance.
We recommend checking the opening hours of the Summer Garden and its pavilions directly before visiting the official website.
Summer Garden website: summer-garden.
All accommodation facilities in St. Petersburg, including in the city center and more remotely from it, can be viewed and booked here
