Monument to the Invisible Man

An unusual monument is located opposite the entrance to Psychoneurological Dispensary No. 7. Previously, this building housed the Alexandrovskaya Hospital for Workers, established in memory of February 19, 1861. It was built on the personal initiative and entirely funded by donations from Alexander II.

Originally, a bust of Alexander II stood on the pedestal. After the tragic death of the sovereign in 1892, a sculptural composition was installed at the entrance to his "creation." It was a majestic bronze bust of the tsar, elevated on a decorated stepped base. The creators were sculptor Nikolai Akimovich Laveretsky and architect Pavel Alekseevich Samsonov. It was also noted there that the bust was erected in honor of the hospital’s founder, which was opened to commemorate the day the sovereign signed the highest Manifesto abolishing serfdom, and that it was constructed by the City Public Administration.

During the Soviet era, sculptural representations of tsars were toppled all over Russia. The bust of Alexander II was no exception; it was dismantled and disappeared. Rumor has it that it was thrown into the Fontanka River. The hospital was renamed in honor of October 25. The bust, lost to the river and to oblivion, was never searched for again. The pedestal stood proudly alone for some time. In the 1930s, a monument to the leader of the world proletariat was placed on it. But it did not remain there long either. It too disappeared, and its current whereabouts are unknown. Pure mystery.

Later, local humorists inscribed on the pedestal: “THE INVISIBLE MAN.” With this name, the object entered the history of folk monuments in Saint Petersburg. Now the Monument to the Invisible Man stands in the historic center of Petersburg, overgrown with grass and surrounded by rumors, ready to become a new fantastic story.

Sources:

https://peterburg.center/maps/pamyatnik-cheloveku-nevidimke-v-sankt-peterburge.html

https://piteronline.tv/progulki/samye-neobychnye-pamyatniki-v-peterburge