They were built in the early 19th century as beacons. They are situated on the Strelks (spit) on the eastern tip of Vasilievsky island. At one time, (here where the River Neva splits in two - the Bolshaya Neva and the Malaya Neva), St. Petersburg's main port was located. The Rostrad Columns were built as beacons to guide the ships around the two channels during St Petersburg's long dark nights.
 |
| Internet photo Rostrad Columns |
The architect decided to build the towers in the style of Roman rostral columns - victory columns on which the prows (rostra) of captured enemy ships were mounted. The Latin word for a ship's beak is Rostrum.
At the base of the columns sit statues of four allegorical figures representing four of Russia's major rivers - the Volga and
Dnieper at the northern column, and the Neva and Volkhov at the southern
column. The massive 32-meter-high Doric columns are decorated with
sculptures of naiads, sea creatures and anchors. The large bowls at the
top of the columns were originally designed to hold hemp oil for
burning. Later, electric lamps were installed as beacons, but this soon
became too expensive. In 1957, the Rostral Columns were connected to the
gas supply and now, on holidays such as the City Anniversary, Victory
Day and New Year, the columns are topped with seven-meter-high tongues
of flame. Actually, I just realized we were lucky to see them lit - and they were, only because it was the City's birthday. My pic isn't really doing it justice... here's a nice photo off the internet to show you how beautiful they are.
 |
| Internet photo Rostrad Columns |
