Before asking a question, a short story. This story begins at an exhibition in Paris in 1907, at which Emperor Nicholas II liked two plaster sculptures made by Leopold Bernshtam. They were called: “Peter, studying ship mastery in Saardam” and “Peter, rescuing fishermen near Lakhta.” Nicholas II ordered Bernstam to make bronze castings from gypsum sculptures, which were installed on the Admiralty Embankment of St. Petersburg in 1910. The people monument, depicting Peter I with an ax, began to be called “The Carpenter King.” In 1913, a small copy of the sculpture “The Carpenter King” was installed in the Summer Garden. And now the question:
WHERE IN THE SUMMER GARDEN THE SCULPTURE “THE KING-CARPETER” STANDED?

PUZZLE ANSWER:
To begin with, we finish the story about the fate of the sculpture “Peter, studying ship mastery in Saardam” and its copies.

In 1911, Emperor Nicholas II decided to give a copy of the sculpture “The Carpenter King” to the city of Saardam in Holland. For this, a small copy of the monument was ordered from Bernstam. When the Dutch saw the gift, they politely refused, citing the fact that the sculpture was too small for the town square on which it was planned to be installed. The emperor had to order the third copy of the monument, already repeating the size of the existing one. And this sculpture was accepted with pleasure by the Dutch. Looking ahead, we recall that it was from the standing in the city of Zandam (the modern name of Saardam) that the fourth copy was made, which the Dutch presented to St. Petersburg. In 1996, it was again installed on the Admiralty Embankment.

But back in the 10s of the XX century, when the Ministry of the Imperial Court decided what to do with a small copy of the monument. In 1912, the sculptural group Nishtadt Peace was removed from the Summer Garden for a long restoration. In its place, officials from the ministry decided to install a copy of the monument. So where is it located?

At the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries, two sculptural groups stood at the swan’s pier. The first “Cupid and Psyche” stood directly on the stone slabs of the pier, the second “Nishtadt Mir” was on the lawn across the path. This is clearly seen in the photograph of 1903. When the Nishtadt Mir is transported to the restoration workshops of the Hermitage, a copy of the sculpture The Tsar the Carpenter is installed on the vacant spot in 1913. On the plan of the Summer Garden of 1914, which is stored in the KGIOP archive, the monument “Tsar Carpenter” is indicated under number X. Also, this sculpture is difficult, but can be seen in the picture taken in 1914-1917. At this place, “The Carpenter King” stood until 1934.

Now the long-awaited answer: the sculpture “Tsar the Carpenter” stood in the Summer Garden on the lawn in front of the Swan’s Groove pier, where now there is a copy of the sculpture group “Cupid and Psyche”.

The fate of the monuments “Peter, studying ship mastery in Saardam” and “Peter saving fishermen near Lakhta” after 1917 was sad. Both sculptures were dismantled in 1918 and sent for re-melting as having no artistic value. A reduced author’s copy of the Tsar the Carpenter monument stood in the Summer Garden longer. Only in 1934, she, as a vivid example of “false idealism”, “philistinism” and even “bastard patriotism”, was also sent for re-melting.

At present, the fourth copy of the sculpture “Peter learning shipbuilding in Saardam” is located on Admiralteyskaya embankment in front of School No. 225. Skeptics may say that the copy is not copyrighted, and it was not installed where it stood before. Yes it is. But the main thing is that the sculpture “Tsar the Carpenter” once again decorates St. Petersburg.

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