The story of a single monument.

So, the city in which I live is so rich in all sorts of historical events that I just can not run out of topics for posts.

This post will be dedicated to the monument to Pavel Nakhimov, an outstanding admiral who became famous in the Crimean War of 1853–55, first as the winner in the Sinop naval battle with the Turkish fleet, and then as the head of the defense of Sevastopol

It is interesting that at the end of the nineteenth century, in Russia a competition was announced for the best sketch of the monument, where retired military general Alexander Bilderling won. By the way, he was a self-taught artist, drew more for himself.

At the opening of the monument came Nicholas II, the blessing that at this time rested in Livadia. Even then there were tough debates about how to properly put a monument - facing the sea or the city. They counted, since he was an admiral, then to the sea. This was the first version of the monument, photographs of which are on old photographs and postcards.

Please note that in the old monument on the side of Nakhimov hangs a sword. It has its own history and belonged to Osman Pasha, the commander of the Turkish fleet. But after the defeat in Sinop, she passed on to Nakhimov in the form of an honorary trophy.

After the revolution, in the 20s, they decided to demolish the monument, since Nakhimov for the new government was primarily a royal officer. Admiral's figure was demolished, and in its place hoisted the magnificent Lenin. But already back to the sea, but facing the city, in the sense of the people.

By the day of the liberation of Sevastopol in World War II, a dozen buildings remained intact in the city. Everything was in ruins, but the bronze Lenin also survived, having got rid of scratches.

Next to this square is the central city hill. The city leadership considered that the leader should stand on its top, and the monument was moved there in the late 50s. But the old pedestal remained. Someone had a brilliant idea to put a bust of the leader on an old pedestal, but more modest in size.

It looked unnatural and ugly. And here again they remembered about the admiral.

True, the personality of Nakhimov itself by this time was long since separated from tsarism. Only his heroism and patriotism remained. Especially since the medal of his name was instituted in the war. It was then that a new monument was erected, the work of the famous sculptor Nikolai Tomsky.

But the heroic saber Osman - Pasha disappeared somewhere. And he took a position that looks at Lenin, and not at sea. Bronze high reliefs were remade in a new way, using old drawings, so it was very beautiful.

The upper high relief refers to the moments of the battle of Sinope.

This one is called the Fourth Bastion.

The third and last - "Admiral's conversation with the sailors"
These high reliefs standing on the sides of the pedestal are very beautiful. I highly recommend to take a closer look at them if you are in these places.
That's the whole story of this monument, survived the repression but the survivor.

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