RUSSIA ~St-Petersburg-Rostral Column-UNESCO~

St. Petersburg or The 'Venice of the North', with its numerous canals and more than 400 bridges, is the result of a vast urban project begun in 1703 under Peter the Great.


The 32 meter (105 ft.) high columns were designed by the French architect Thomas de Thomon and constructed in 1811. The brick columns were finished with dark red stucco and sit on a large granite plinth. At the foot of each column are Neptunepairs of imposing marbles sculptures, allegorical figures of mythical gods representing four major rivers in Russia: the Neva, Dnieper, Volga and Volkhov.