The Tsar-Carpenter is a monument to Peter I, installed in St. Petersburg.
The sculpture "Tsar-Carpenter" is one of the most famous monuments to Peter the Great in St. Petersburg. The first popular monument to Peter I in the city is the equestrian statue "The Bronze Horseman", located near the monument "The Tsar-Carpenter".
The sculpture of the Tsar-carpenter is a decoration of the Admiralty embankment of the city.
The fate of this sculpture is quite interesting!
It all started in 1907, when Emperor Nicholas II, visiting an exhibition in Paris, became interested in two plaster monuments made by the sculptor Leopold Adolfovich Bernshtam, which depicted Peter I - "Peter saving fishermen near Lakhta" and " Peter learning shipwrights in Saardam "("The Tsar-Carpenter").
In 1910, at the behest of the emperor, both sculptures were cast from bronze and installed in St. Petersburg on the Admiralteyskaya Embankment. The work on the installation of monuments was led by the architect A. I. von Gauguin, who also made pedestals for sculptures.
In 1911, by order of Nicholas II, a smaller copy was cast from the monument "Tsar-Carpenter", which they decided to give to the city of Zaandam (now Saardam / Zaandam, Zaandam) in Holland, where Peter I lived under the name of carpenter Peter Mikhailov for 8 days, studying shipbuilding. But because of the small size, the Dutch refused the gift. Then another copy of the sculpture was made, which exactly repeated the dimensions of the original and which the Dutch accepted as a gift. A smaller copy of the monument was installed in Summer garden in St. Petersburg.
In 1918, both monuments on the Admiralty Embankment were dismantled and sent for melting. In 1934, the same fate befell a smaller copy of the monument in the Summer Garden.
In 1996, the Kingdom of the Netherlands presented a copy of the monument "Tsar-Carpenter" to the city of St. Petersburg. The monument was re-installed on the Admiralty Embankment and opened on September 7, 1996, during the celebrations held simultaneously in Zaandam and St. Petersburg and dedicated to the 300th anniversary of Peter I's trip to Holland. The ceremony in St. Petersburg was opened by Crown Prince Willem-Alexander.
It should be noted that the Dutch monument to Peter I "The Tsar-Carpenter" still stands in the city of Zaandam in the Netherlands.
The monument to Peter in St. Petersburg is made of bronze, facing the Neva River, and depicts a young Peter studying shipbuilding craft.
The monument is installed on a pedestal made by architect F. K. Romanovsky and artist I. G. Uralov.
On the pedestal there is an inscription that reads: "This monument was presented to the city of St. Petersburg by the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Opened on 7 September 1996 by His Royal Highness the Prince of Orange."
According to local tradition, the monument helps to find a good job and quickly move up the career ladder. To do this, you need to go to the "Tsar-carpenter", ask Peter and touch the sculpture.
The Tsar-Carpenter monument is located in the historical center of St. Petersburg, near the Palace Pier (Palace Bridge), next to the Admiralty building, opposite school No. 225 (Admiralteiskaya Embankment, 6).
Nearest metro stations: "Admiralteiskaya", "Gostiny Dvor" and "Nevsky Prospekt".
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