Chesmensky Obelisk is a monument in the Palace Park of Gatchina, erected in honor of the victory of the Russian fleet over the Turkish fleet in the Chesme battle on June 24–26 (July 5–7), 1770, during the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774. It is a simple marble obelisk built on the shore of the White Lake according to the design of the Italian architect Antonio Rinaldi in the 1770s, at a time when Gatchina belonged to Prince Grigory Orlov. It is one of a series of memorials dedicated to the victory in the Chesme battle, alongside other monuments, buildings, and palace interiors in the suburbs of Saint Petersburg.

The victory of the Russian fleet in the Chesme battle, which took place on June 24–26 (July 5–7), 1770, during the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774, was commemorated by several memorials in the suburbs of Saint Petersburg, reflecting the significance this victory held for the Russian Empire. In the Catherine Park of Tsarskoye Selo, the Chesme Column was erected; along the road from Petersburg to Tsarskoye Selo, the Chesme Palace and Chesme Church were built; and in the Grand Palace in Peterhof, a memorial Chesme Hall appeared. By the 19th century, one of the ceremonial galleries of the Grand Gatchina Palace became known as the Chesme Gallery.

In the Palace Park of Gatchina, the Chesme battle was commemorated by the Chesmensky Obelisk. It is one of the earliest architectural structures in the park. Its creation dates back to the first period in the history of the palace and park ensemble, covering the years 1766–1783, associated with the names of the estate owner Count (later Serene Prince) Orlov, to whom Gatchina was granted by Catherine II, and the Italian architect Antonio Rinaldi, whose designs were used during these years to build the palace, lay out the park, and erect decorative structures within it.

The Chesmensky Obelisk already existed by 1783, the year of Grigory Orlov’s death, after which the estate was bought by the treasury and gifted by Catherine to her son, heir to the throne Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich. According to the so-called “Coastal Survey Journal,” compiled by a certain navigator Krylasov, in 1783 the most significant structures in the Gatchina park were only the Chesmensky Obelisk, the Octagonal Well, and the Eagle Column. The relatively small number of architectural objects was typical for landscape parks of the mid-18th century.

The obelisk was erected in the 1770s, probably closer to the middle of the decade, based on Rinaldi’s design. It served as a family memorial for the Orlov family. The brother of the estate owner Prince Grigory Orlov, Count Alexey Orlov, commanded the Russian fleet during the First Archipelago Expedition in the Russo-Turkish War, and it was under his command in 1770 that the Chesme victory was achieved. The obelisk in Gatchina was built roughly in the same years as a similar monument — the Chesme Column — in the imperial Tsarskoye Selo.

The total height of the obelisk is 10 meters. The monument is installed at the level of the surrounding lawn, without any earthen elevation, and rests on a three-stepped stylobate made of red granite, on which lies a massive plinth of the same stone, with chamfered corners and no additional details. The lower part of the pedestal itself is a low quadrangular block of dark gray marble with a slanted cut along the top edge. The tallest middle part of the pedestal, also quadrangular, is carved from grayish-silvery Ruskeala marble. It has recessed rectangular panels on the sides. The upper, cornice part of the pedestal is heavily profiled and carved from gray marble.

Above the pedestal rises the shaft of the obelisk itself, which is quadrangular in plan. It is profiled only at the very bottom; most of its length has smooth surfaces. It rises upward, gradually tapering, and ends in a pyramid. The column of the obelisk is made of pale pink marble and is almost 6 meters tall. The proportions of the monument’s parts and the rhythm of its volumes emphasize its vertical aspiration. Art historians consider it a very successful park monument.

The Chesmensky Obelisk serves both a memorial and decorative function. In terms of color, the marbles used (mostly Olonets marble) are selected for the closeness of their shades, so from a distance the monument appears in a unified overall tone, and only up close does the difference in stone colors highlight the composition of the structure.

The obelisk is installed on the shore of the White Lake, on the tip of a long figured cape, open from different sides, and is perceived as a kind of monument-lighthouse by a small bay formed by the cape. This bay could be associated with the Chesme Bay of the Aegean Sea. Similarly, the locations for memorial objects designed by Rinaldi in Tsarskoye Selo — the Chesme and Morea Columns, dedicated to victories over the Turks during the Archipelago Expedition — were also placed near bodies of water. Not far from the Chesmensky Obelisk, in the part of the park located between it and the Grand Palace (the so-called “Countess”), there used to be the now-lost Turkish Tent — a tent-shaped structure with the flag of the Russian Imperial Navy. The tent, like the obelisk, was regarded as a kind of monument to the victories of Russian arms in the war with the Ottoman Empire.

The tall and simple-shaped obelisk is designed to be viewed from great distances. It is clearly visible from the Grand Gatchina Palace, for example, from the observation platform of the Signal Tower or from the windows of the Tower Cabinet of Empress Maria Feodorovna; from various places on the Long Island, including the cape separating the White Lake from the palace Silver Lake, as well as, through the trees, from the Eagle Pavilion located in the northern part of the island; from the paths running along the shores of the White Lake, in particular from the alleys on the western shore leading north from the area of the former Flat Bridge.

Sources:

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesmensky_Obelisk