Rostral-Säule

(autotranslated, could have mistakes)

Many people are familiar with the Rostral Columns on the Spit of Vasilyevsky Island in St. Petersburg. They were built according to the design of J. F. Thomas de Thomont simultaneously with the building of the Exchange in 1805-1810. At the tops of the columns there are metal tripods with bowls: in the 19th century. oil was poured into them, which was lit at dusk. One of the columns was a lighthouse for ships on the Malaya Neva, the other pointed the way to the Bolshaya Neva. The lighthouses served until 1885. Nowadays, fires are also lit on the rostral columns, but this only happens during special celebrations. One of the last was the celebrations on the occasion of the finish of the Volvo Ocean Race in June 2009. Today, instead of oil, gas is used, which is supplied to metal tripods through a special pipe.

When decorating the square in front of the Exchange, Thomas de Thomon installed two powerful Rostral columns-lighthouses, the bases of which are decorated with two female and two male figures carved from Pudost stone. According to the official legend, these stone sculptures are symbols of Russian rivers - the Volga, Dnieper, Neva and Volkhov, although St. Petersburg residents call them differently: either Vasily and Vasilisa, or Adam and Eve. The figures were carved by the wonderful stonemason Samson Sukhanov. He also owns other fragments of the design of the Spit of Vasilyevsky Island: bas-reliefs of the western and eastern facades of the Exchange, as well as powerful stone balls on the slopes to the Neva. According to legend, Samson Sukhanov carved these geometrically perfect balls without any measuring instruments, by eye.