Alexander Column The Alexander Column ( , " Aleksandrovskaya kolonna " ) also known as Alexandrian Column ( , " Aleksandriyskaya kolonna " ) , is the focal point of Palace Square in Saint Petersburg , Russia . The monument was erected after the Russian victory in the war with Napoleon ' s France . The column is named for Emperor Alexander I of Russia , who reigned from 1801 – 25 . Column . The Alexander Column was designed by the French - born architect Auguste de Montferrand , built between 1830 and 1834 with Swiss - born architect Antonio Adamini , and unveiled on 30 August 1834 . The monument — the tallest of its kind in the world — is 47 . 5 m ( 155 ft 8 in ) tall and is topped with a statue of an angel holding a cross . The statue of the angel was designed by the Russian sculptor Boris Orlovsky . The face of the angel bears great similarity to the face of Emperor Alexander I . The column is a single piece of red granite , 25 . 45 m ( 83 ft 6 in ) long and about 3 . 5 m ( 11 ft 5 in ) in diameter . The granite monolith was obtained from Virolahti , Finland and in 1832 transported by sea to Saint Petersburg , on a barge specially designed for this purpose , where it underwent further working . Without the aid of modern cranes and engineering machines , the column , weighing 600 tonnes ( 661 short ton ) , was erected by 3 , 000 men under the guidance of William Handyside in less than 2 hours . It is set so neatly that no attachment to the base is needed . Pedestal . The pedestal of the Alexander Column is decorated with symbols of military glory , sculpted by Giovanni Battista Scotti . On the side of the pedestal facing the Winter Palace is a bas - relief depicting winged figures holding up a plaque bearing the words " " To Alexander I from a grateful Russia " " . The composition includes figures representing the Neman ] ] and Vistula rivers that were associated with the events of the Patriotic War . Flanking these figures are depictions of old Russian armour - the shield of Prince Oleg of Novgorod , the helmet of Alexander Nevsky , the breastplate of Emperor Alexander I , the chainmail of Yermak Timofeyevich and other pieces recalling heroes whose martial feats brought glory to Russia . [ [ File : Alexander Column 2006 . jpg | thumb | 250px | Pedestal decorations of Alexander column The other three sides are decorated with bas - reliefs featuring allegorical figures of Wisdom and Abundance , Justice and Mercy , Peace and Victory , the last holding a shield bearing the dates 1812 , 1813 and 1814 . These compositions are enhanced by depictions of Ancient Roman military symbols and Russian armour . The sketches for the bas - reliefs were produced by [ [ Auguste de Montferrand ] ] . He coordinated the scale of their compositions with the monumental forms of the monument . The panels were designed to the planned size by the artist Giovanni Battista Scotti . The models were produced by the sculptors [ [ Piotr Svintsov ] ] and [ [ Ivan Lepee ] ] , the ornamental embellishments by sculptor [ [ Yevgeny Balin ] ] . The casting of the bronze was done at [ [ Charles Baird ( engineer ) | Charles Baird ] ] ' s works in Saint Petersburg . Later years . In 1952 , according to some recent reports , the authorities of the [ [ Soviet Union ] ] secretly planned to replace the statue of the angel with a statue of [ [ Joseph Stalin ] ] . A historic cast - iron railing around the column was removed during the Soviet period . The railing was restored in 2002 . See also . [ [ Category : Monumental columns in Russia ] ] [ [ Category : Monuments in Saint Petersburg ] ] [ [ Category : Buildings and structures completed in 1834 ] ] [ [ Category : Palace Square ] ] [ [ Category : Auguste de Montferrand buildings and structures ] ]