The obelisk "To the Hero City of Leningrad" is a monument and a reflection of the highest degree of distinction that the city was awarded for the selflessness and heroism of its residents during the Great Patriotic War.
The honorary title (the highest degree of distinction) "Hero City" was awarded to Leningrad in 1965, and the obelisk was installed 20 years later - on April 12, 1985. The grand opening took place on the eve of Victory Day - May 8, 1985.
The obelisk "To the Hero City of Leningrad" stands in the center of Vosstaniya Square and completes the so-called front (main) part of the most visited, significant and beautiful street of the city - Nevsky Prospekt, which stretches from Alexander Garden (merger with Palace Square and Admiralteiskiy Prospekt).
The authors of the monument were architects Vladimir Sergeyevich Lukyanov and Alexander Ivanovich Alymov.
The obelisk is a high column-a vertical granite pentahedral monolith, which is mounted on a low pedestal, decorated with bronze high reliefs and crowned with a five-pointed star - the "Golden Star of the Hero".
The bronze high reliefs were made by sculptors A. S. Charkin, V. D. Sveshnikov, B. A. Petrov and A. A. Vinogradov.
On each side of the lower part of the obelisk are oval high reliefs, which depict the main moments of the heroic defense of Leningrad: "Blockade", "Rear-front", "Attack" and "Victory", and on the decorative cartouche is the Order of Lenin and the inscription: "To the Hero City of Leningrad".
Above the high reliefs, completing the base of the obelisk, the monolithic trunk of the obelisk is framed by a bronze Wreath of Glory. The top of the obelisk is crowned with a" Golden Star " made of stainless steel.
The total height of the monument is 36 meters, at the base the width of the obelisk is 9 meters. The total weight is about 750 tons.
The obelisk is part of the general ensemble of Vosstaniya Square, which is decorated with historical buildings around the perimeter, including: the Moscow Passenger Railway Station, the 4-star Oktyabrskaya Hotel (link to the hotel) and the metro station "Ploshchad Vosstaniya".
The obelisk "To the Hero City of Leningrad" is relatively reminiscent of another grandiose monument of St. Petersburg - the Alexander Column, erected in honor of the feat of the Russian people in the Patriotic War of 1812 and adorning the center of the Palace Square. Learn more about the Alexander Column…
Practical information
Coordinates of the obelisk: 59°55'52" N 30°21'43" E (59.931111, 30.361944).
Nearest metro stations: "Ploshchad Vosstaniya" and "Mayakovskaya".
All accommodation facilities in Saint Petersburg, including in the city center, Vosstaniya Square and Nevsky Prospekt, can be viewed and booked here
