Money tourists spoil the monument to Peter I by Shemyakin in the Peter and Paul Fortress

Money tourists visiting the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg, harm set here exactly 25 years ago, the monument to the founder of the city and the fortress - Peter the Great. This told TASS custodian of the sculpture of the State Museum of History of St. Petersburg Tatiana Shcherbina.

"The coins thrown by tourists on the pedestal of the statue, becoming a serious problem, - said she -. They damage the bronze, they are under the influence of rain and snow are rusty spots, greens protective film -. Patina that protects the material from damage This may lead to that required the intervention of the restorers, which for 25 years had never required. wipers sweep the coins, but tourists continue to throw them, not realizing that by doing so spoil a monument. "

Peter I monument was presented to the city by Mikhail Shemyakin in 1991. In anticipation of the king's birthday, celebrated on June 9, the statue was installed on the main avenue in front of the fortress of the former guardhouse. She served as the prototypes stored in the Hermitage death mask of Peter and his famous "Wax Person" by Italian sculptor Carlo Bartolomeo Rastrelli in 1725. Statue work Shemyakin even repeats pose a wax copy of the emperor - he sits on the throne, his hands on the armrests. However, St. Petersburg, accustomed to the "Bronze Horseman", did not immediately took a piece of art of the late twentieth century, and fierce debate revolved around the new monument. Especially the audience confused unusual proportions of the figure of the king: the natural size of the head is enough to accurately represent the true appearance of Peter, torso and limbs are highly elongated, their length is increased by 1.5 times, which, according to some critics, gives the sculpture a grotesque character and makes its perception contradictory.

"Today we can say that this sculpture, a statue of work Shemyakin is not a monument to Peter, but rather a sculpture park with commemorative value, it is blended into the landscape of the fortress and became a part of it, though talk of it going on" - says Shcherbina. According to her, these days people see this sculpture as an artifact associated with Peter, also located near the Peter and Paul Cathedral, where he is buried, and the guides necessarily show it to tourists.

Statue of Peter - one of the most photographed objects of the fortress, and that its popularity, according to the guardian, creates the greatest risk to her safety. "For many years tourists was common habit to be photographed on the lap of the statue of Peter, and sometimes on the statue were collected simultaneously in groups. This led to the museum staff anxiety and concern of the citizens, accustomed to a more serious towards monuments of them began to receive treatment. Two years ago, around the statue was put fencing, since then climb on it became less frequent, but there were two new tradition for sculpture and unsafe ", - said the agency interlocutor. The first of these traditions - coins on a pedestal, the second is related to the invented in the sign of the people is that if you rub turns little fingers on both hands the bronze king, you will certainly come to success and wealth. As a result, polished to a shine fingers of the statue stand out against a dark patina and shine in the sun, but the protective layer on the museum staff estimates, while not damaged.

It is believed that the author of the idea of ​​a statue of Peter I by his death mask was Vladimir Vysotsky, who was a friend Shemyakin. Work on the statue was carried out for 8 years. Casting was performed in the United States. The fortress monument proposed to establish Anatoly Sobchak, then held the post of Chairman of the Leningrad City Council. The sculpture was installed June 7, 1991, two days before the 319th anniversary of the birth of Peter I and a few days before the referendum in which the people of Leningrad decided to return the historical name of the city of St. Petersburg.