At the southeastern edge of Catherine Park stand monumental cast-iron gates, constructed according to the design of architect Stasov in 1817 to commemorate Russia’s victory in the Patriotic War of 1812. The words placed on them – “To my dear comrades-in-arms” – belong to Emperor Alexander I, and they adorn the gates on both sides in the form of applied bronze letters. The monument consists of gates made up of four pairs of columns supporting a massive entablature. The height of these Doric columns is 6.4 meters. As noted by one architectural historian, these columns symbolize the formation of warriors, and the entablature represents the burden resting on their shoulders.

Of the three project options – made from Pudost stone, granite, and cast iron – the last was approved. Stasov wanted to decorate the gates with statues and groups of trophies, but this idea was not realized. The appearance of the majestic structure, consisting of four pairs of cast-iron Doric order columns supporting a heavy entablature, reflects the classical architect’s inclination toward austere and masculine, clear and concise forms.

The columns, 5.7 meters long, were cast at the cast-iron foundry in Petrozavodsk and transported by water to Saint Petersburg, then overland to Tsarskoye Selo. The entablature and roof of the gates were made at the Saint Petersburg State Cast-Iron Foundry. The total weight of the monument was 100.6 tons. Its assembly and installation were carried out by masters from the Petersburg factory; all work took 92 days and was completed on August 17, 1817.

In 1828, under the direction of Menelas, a cast-iron grille was added to the gates on a low granite pedestal, decorated with shields, masks, and swords. The models for casting the ornamental details of the fence were carved from wood by master carver Sheibe.

The monument was built in 1817 in just 92 days within the enclosure of Catherine Park, opposite the Lyceum boarding school. But in 1821, they were relocated and installed in the fence of Catherine Park opposite the Reserve Palace. The gate sections consist of rods cast in the shape of spears and are decorated with cast-iron semicircular shields with Medusa heads. The concise yet very powerful appearance of the gates in the Empire style seems to say that the Russian Empire was matched in greatness and glory of military victories only by the Holy Roman Empire throughout all times.

Sources:

https://www.tzar.ru/objects/ekaterininskypark/landscape/gates

https://pushkin.spb.ru/encycl/parks/lyubeznyim-moim-sosluzhivtsam.html