Video of the day: a snowplow in St. Petersburg demolished the monument to Stieglitz

A bronze monument to the governor of the State Bank of Russia, co-founder of the Main Society of Russian Railways Alexander Stieglitz (1814-1884) by sculptor Jan Neumann was installed on the square in Peterhof in 2009 on the initiative of the residents of the district with the support of JSC "Russian Railways".

After 14 years, the monument became a victim of the inattention of a utility worker: the driver of the snowplow did not notice it, passing it back, and accidentally dismantled it.

As the telegram channel "Base" notes, fortunately, the monument did not receive catastrophic damage when it fell from the pedestal. However, before putting the figure in place, it will have to be restored.

In addition to government and financial activities, Baron Alexander Stieglitz was widely known for his participation in charitable projects. He directed large donations to the needs of many educational institutions: the St. Petersburg Commercial School, the St. Petersburg Higher Commercial Boarding School, the Central School of Technical Drawing. He also donated a lot to the Chesma military almshouse and to the needs of the army, to support the participants of the Crimean War and the naval officers who lost their property.

According to the portal "Peterhof.ru", in the mid-1850s Stieglitz became interested in railway construction. Together with his long-time partner, Baron Feleisin, Stieglitz, at his own expense, began to build railway tracks connecting St. Petersburg with Peterhof and Gatchina with Luga, which later became part of the Baltic Railway.

Stieglitz invested 2 million rubles in this enterprise. On July 21, 1857, the grand opening of the Peterhof Railway took place. A train of 14 cars delivered 300 passengers from the capital to Peterhof in 1 hour and 10 minutes. And soon the branch connecting Peterhof and Krasnoe Selo, then the road between Peterhof and Oranienbaum.

St. Petersburg is also indebted to Stieglitz for the appearance of the Baltic Railway Station. This architectural monument, which at first bore the name of the Peterhof railway station (as well as the road that Stieglitz built), was also built at the expense of the baron in 1855-1858 by architect Alexander Krakau on the model of the famous Paris Gare de l'est.