167. Moscow Triumphal Gate
The Moscow Triumphal Gate (Moskovkiye Vorota) sits on Moskovsky Ulitsa in the south side of St. Petersburg, removed from most other tourist destinations in this part of the city. It's not quite as impressive (and significantly less accessible) than the Narva Triumphal Arch, but visitors are more likely to see it because it's on the driving route between Pulkovo Airport and the city center. I did not see any way to safely cross multiple lanes of traffic to walk through the Gate. There is no pedestrian underpass beneath the busy road like there is at Narva, and no cross walk from any approach that I could see. So, these gates are intended to be appreciated from a distance.
The monument was installed between 1834 and 1838, to commemorate the Russian victory in the Russo-Turkish war of 1828. I didn't know before doing some research that these two nations have fought against each other in no less than twelve wars over four centuries, so their relationship has generally been quite poor. Just 15 years after the Gate was erected, for example, they were at each other's throats again in the Crimean War (that time, Russia was on the losing side).
The Gate was dismantled in 1936, and repurposed in 1941 at the start of the Siege of Leningrad, when cast iron was in greater need for purposes other than monuments (such as for blocking Nazi tanks from entering the city). In 1958-1960, the gate was rebuilt and restored to its original specifications, and it is now the second most impressive monument south of the city center (the Monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad further south on Moskovsky Ulitsa is definitely the most visually and emotionally impactful).
The monument was installed between 1834 and 1838, to commemorate the Russian victory in the Russo-Turkish war of 1828. I didn't know before doing some research that these two nations have fought against each other in no less than twelve wars over four centuries, so their relationship has generally been quite poor. Just 15 years after the Gate was erected, for example, they were at each other's throats again in the Crimean War (that time, Russia was on the losing side).
The Gate was dismantled in 1936, and repurposed in 1941 at the start of the Siege of Leningrad, when cast iron was in greater need for purposes other than monuments (such as for blocking Nazi tanks from entering the city). In 1958-1960, the gate was rebuilt and restored to its original specifications, and it is now the second most impressive monument south of the city center (the Monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad further south on Moskovsky Ulitsa is definitely the most visually and emotionally impactful).
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