Chesme Column
The Chesme Column is a rostral column in Catherine Park of the former Russian royal residence of Tsarskoye Selo, a suburb of Saint Petersburg, Russia, that commemorates three Russian naval victories in the Russo-Turkish War, 1768-1774, specifically the Battle of Chesma. It was constructed in the Large Pond of the Landscape Park of the Catherine Palace to Rinaldi's designs over the years 1774-78. The column should not be confused with the Chesme Obelisk in Gatchina.
The monument is a Doric rostral column of white-and-pink marble, decorated with ship bows rostra and crowned by a bronze figure of an eagle trampling a crescent. The column stands on a grey marble pedestal lined with bronze bas-reliefs illustrating the Russian victories: these were destroyed by the Germans during World War II and subsequently restored from old photographs. The pedestal rests on a stepped pyramid-like granite platform.Gallery
