 |
Thriumphal arch of Glory (Pervomayskaya st.) |
|
|
Thriumphal arch of Glory (Pervomayskaya st.) |
|
|
|
Mogilev has its own Arc de Triomphe, or Arc of Glory. It is dedicated to the memory of Soviet soldiers, but its history is much richer and more interesting. The arc was built in 1780 in honor of the arrival of Empress Catherine II in the city. Here she met with Austrian Emperor Joseph II. And it is associated with one of the fateful events in the history of Belarussian lands. Here the Empress and the Austrian Emperor Joseph II decided the fate of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Arc is a rectangular structure with two ledges, which is completed with a wide cornice and a broken triangular pediment, balanced at the ends by two columns. In the centre of the façade there is a large niche. With the establishment of Soviet power, they wanted to demolish the triumphal Arch. However, they later changed their minds and decided to install a memorial plague on it, as well as bas-reliefs with images of V. I. Lenin and the coat of arms of the USSSR. All this resulted in architectural absurd-the neighborhood of the imperial style with communist slogans. |
