The Admiralty in Saint Petersburg is one of the well-known and most beautiful monuments of the Northern capital. Peter I personally searched for a site for the new shipyard-fortress. Together with Menshikov, they spent a week in boats, touring all the bays and inlets of the Neva delta. The location was chosen diagonally from Hare Island and opposite Vasilyevsky Island. The new fortress-shipyard was placed where the Neva is narrowest — this would allow direct fire on the enemy. Construction began in 1704 according to Peter I’s designs on the island between the Neva and the Moika (the island was named Admiralty Island). The Admiralty was conceived as Russia’s main shipbuilding yard on the Baltic Sea; the Admiralty premises were ship workshops. The shipyard was built in the shape of the letter “P,” with the main facade 425 meters long and the side walls 213 meters. The Admiralty was built not only as a shipyard for building ships but also as a well-protected fortress, surrounded by an earthen rampart with five earthen bastions and a deep moat. The courtyard was occupied by slips for building sailing ships, with an internal canal around its perimeter (filled in 1817). Two canals were dug on both sides around the perimeter. The Admiralty canal served both defensive and transport functions: connecting with the Admiralty Canal, it was integrated into the city’s canal network, through which timber from New Holland and other building materials were delivered. To provide a view of the enemy around the building, the forest was cut down. Thus, the Admiralty Meadow appeared. The first ship from the Admiralty shipyard was launched on April 29, 1706. During the reign of Peter I, 262 warships were launched from the Admiralty slips. Shipbuilding continued until 1844. Then the center was built up.

In the Admiralty tower, built in 1711 at the center of the main facade, the idea of a vertical dominant was realized in 1719: above the gates a metal spire with a ship was installed, raised by the Dutch master Harman van Bolos. “Complete the Admiralty spire with all carpentry and joinery work and strengthen it with your skilled craftsmen, and on this spire place a globe and a ship and above it a crown, finish the windows and doors inside and on the face of this spire: balusters and stairs with all the finest and cleanest craftsmanship,” reads the order received by van Bolos from the Admiralty Board.

It is this that today is called the “Admiralty Needle” by the residents and guests of Petersburg, following Pushkin. According to legend, inside the gilded globe lies a golden casket with samples of all the gold coins minted in Petersburg; however, when the globe was dismantled during repairs in the 1970s, the casket was retrieved, but alas, no treasures were found inside. Instead, it contains messages about all repairs of the needle and the ship, names of the craftsmen involved, several 19th-century Petersburg newspapers, Leningrad newspapers, and documents about major repairs in 1929, 1977, and 1999. Among other testimonies of our time, there lies a “Message to Descendants” left by the workers who made the last report.

Today, the Ship, the Bronze Horseman, and the raised Palace Bridge against the backdrop of the Peter and Paul Fortress are symbols of Saint Petersburg. The Admiralty building and the surrounding area have been repeatedly rebuilt. Thus, from 1732 to 1738, under the direction of architect Korobov, a stone Admiralty building was constructed. The ship weather vane was raised on the spire to a height of 72 meters.

The Admiralty tower served as a fire watchtower, and after the flood of 1777, it also became a signal tower. At the corners, during rising water, flags were hung by day, lanterns by night, and cannon shots were fired. Under Catherine II, the Admiralty orchestra played daily at noon on the tower.

Since then, the Admiralty has been repeatedly rebuilt. The last reconstruction of the building was carried out during the reign of Alexander I according to the project of the “Chief Admiralty Architect” Zakharov. In spring 1806, construction work began under his supervision. In 1809, reconstruction of the main tower and facade decoration began. At the same time, a contract was signed with merchant Samson Sukhanov for the supply of Pudost stone for the tower. From it, stonemasons carved 28 Ionic order columns for the colonnade surrounding the tower in its middle part.

According to the architect’s design, the building was to be richly decorated with sculptural ornamentation, revealing the building’s direct purpose and glorifying Russia as a maritime power. In 1811, A.D. Zakharov, who had strained himself at the construction site, died but left detailed drawings of the statues and their descriptions, indicating that “the decorations on the facade must be made most elegantly and by the most experienced masters.” His idea was brought to life by the best sculptors of the Imperial Academy of Arts. The talented self-taught Samson Sukhanov also participated in creating the sculptural decoration, carving figures from Pudost stone according to working models.

The Admiralty building was decorated with 56 statues. At the base of the tower on the sides of the arch in 1812–1813, on granite Rapakivi pedestals, stand sea nymphs carrying the earthly and celestial spheres. They are assembled from several parts, and the spheres, to reduce weight, were carved hollow with a hatch on top. On the pediments of the side porticos is the Greek goddess of justice Themis, awarding warriors and craftsmen. Above the arch of the central tower are two hovering Glories with bowed banners. Above them is a bas-relief “Establishment of the Fleet in Russia,” and on the corners of the first tier, on the tower parapet, are figures of ancient heroes — Alexander the Great, Pyrrhus, Ajax, and Achilles. Above the colonnade are 28 sculptural allegories: fire, water, earth, air, the four seasons, the four continents, the muse of astronomy — Urania, the protector of shipbuilders — the Egyptian goddess Isis, and others. At the top of the central tower is a gilded dome with a clock and an octagonal lantern with a small dome transitioning into a spire 23 meters high. The nymphs and heroes were carved by Samson Sukhanov based on models by Shchedrin.

Above the upper colonnade of the tower along the cornice are twenty-eight “twin” statues made according to the models of architects Pimenov and Shchedrin. They symbolize: the four seasons – Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter; the four elements – Fire, Water, Air, Earth; the four main winds – South, North, East, West; the Egyptian goddess Isis – patroness of shipbuilding; Urania – muse of astronomy.

According to models by Demut-Malinovsky, Anisimov, and Pimenov, figures of the four continents (Europe, Asia, Africa, and America) were made, placed on granite pedestals near the two Neva pavilions; allegories of the “six most famous rivers” (Volga, Don, Dnieper, Neva, Yenisei, Lena) installed at the bases of the porticos, as well as sculptures on the four pediments depicting the twelve months of the year.

Work on the sculptures was completed by 1815, but their installation took several more years. In his last petition, Samson Sukhanov proudly mentions the sculptures he carved: “The carvings adorning the Admiralty and the Mining Corps clearly prove that an uneducated, illiterate, simple Russian stonemason can always skillfully wield the chisel no worse than the most skilled foreign artist.”

Many of these sculptures have not survived to our time. In 1860, at the request of the church and by order of Alexander II, 22 sculptures (continents, months, and rivers) were destroyed as “pagan idols,” and on the empty pedestals, cast-iron sea anchors and cannons with cannonballs were placed. Over time, the 28 figures made of Pudost stone above the colonnade of the central tower became dilapidated; 24 of them were replaced by copies made of beaten copper. Some figures were damaged during the Siege of Leningrad and were restored after the war, in 1945–1952.

Source:

https://www.spb-guide.ru/page_465.htm

https://pantv.livejournal.com/276537.html

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