Throughout its history, from the XII century, Tver was and remains an important transport hub and cultural center. The city was one of the largest settlements in medieval Russia, and the events of that time were reflected in numerous monuments. Tver was actively developing during the Soviet era, so many monuments are dedicated to revolutionary events and communist ideology.
The Great Patriotic War also left an imprint on the history of the city - during the war years, fierce battles took place on the territory of Tver and the Tver region. Complexes dedicated to outstanding personalities who were born or lived here, as well as heroes of the tragic events of the 20th century - repressions, the Chernobyl accident and others - also occupy a special place among the city's monuments.
Historical and modern monuments of Tver
List of popular monuments and sculptures in the city.
Obelisk of Victory
The 45-meter obelisk was erected in 1970 in honor of the twenty-ninth anniversary of the liberation of Tver from German troops. At the top of the obelisk there is a bowl of Victory Fire, which is lit only on solemn days. Also, the monument is decorated with copper plates with images of heroes of the Great Patriotic War and texts about their exploits.
"City of Military Glory"
The stele with a height of 11 meters was installed in 2011, in connection with the awarding of Tver the title of a city of military glory. On the front of the monument is the text of the solemn decree of the president, and on the back - the coat of arms of Tver. Next to the stele there are 4 bas-reliefs depicting military events from the history of the city: liberation from the German occupation, the war of 1812, liberation from the Polish-Lithuanian invaders and the Battle of Bortenevskaya.
Monument to Mikhail Krug
Soon after the death of the performer, work began on the monument, and in 2007 it was opened. A bronze figure depicting a chansonnier sitting on a bench and leaning on a guitar is installed in the hometown of Mikhail Krug, on Trekhsvyatskaya Street. On the bench, next to the figure, there is a free spot where many tourists are photographed.
Monument to Afanasy Nikitin
Afanasy Nikitin, a famous traveler who visited India long before Vasco da Gama, was born and raised in Tver. The monument was erected at the place from which, according to legend, he went to the Indian subcontinent. A stone pedestal is installed on a cast-iron boat, on which stands a bronze figure of Nikitin, 4 meters high. He holds a security certificate in his hand, and a thick purse full of money hangs from his belt.
Monument to I.A.Krylov
The famous writer was born and raised in Tver. He became a fabulist after leaving the city, and before that he worked in the provincial magistrate as a sub-chancellor. The monument includes the figure of Krylov on a pedestal and 4 small bronze steles arranged like the pages of an open book. On these steles are the heroes of the works of the great writer. The figure of the fabulist shows his relaxed character and facial features based on the memories of his contemporaries.
Monument to A.S. Pushkin
A bronze figure more than 3 meters high is installed in the city garden. The great poet's gaze is directed into the distance, into the depths of the garden. During his life, Pushkin stayed in Tver 4 times, on one of his visits he participated in a duel. In the year of the opening of the monument, 175 years have passed since the birth of Pushkin - this served as a solemn occasion.
Monument to Mikhail Tverskoy
In 2008, on the day of Slavic writing and culture, a monument to Prince Mikhail of Tver was opened. During the years of internecine wars in Russia, Mikhail Tverskoy prevailed in the struggle between the princes. But later he was summoned to the Khan of the Golden Horde and killed for refusing to accept someone else's faith. The bronze figure of the Tver prince is installed on the square, on a granite pedestal. The height of the entire monument is over 8 meters.
"Contract of a Thousand"
In 1929, in Tver, an agreement on socialist competition was signed between large textile factories - the “Agreement of the Thousands”. More than 58 thousand workers took part in it. The opening of the monument was dedicated to the 50th anniversary of this event. Bronze figures of textile workers are installed against the background of the banner. And on the face of the memorial are carved the words: “The agreement is not just a piece of paper - the agreement is a revolutionary oath. Workers of all countries unite! "
Monument to V.I.Lenin
The monument was erected in 1929. During the war, the memorial was destroyed. After the liberation of Tver, a temporary figure of Lenin, made of concrete, was installed in its place. Only in 1959 the monument acquired its modern look. A bronze figure of Vladimir Ilyich rises on a stone pedestal.
"To the legendary crew of Stepan Gorobets"
The tankman, junior lieutenant Gorobets, became famous for his brave and decisive actions during the liberation of Tver, then called Kalinov. The lieutenant was posthumously awarded the Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union. The memorial was opened at the initiative of the Tver veterans of the Great Patriotic War. The faces of the tankers - members of the legendary crew are carved in the stone.
Monument to Soldiers-Internationalists
The memorial was opened in 2006. In the center of the exposition there is a model of the globe, on which zones of military conflicts are marked. They were attended by Soviet soldiers born in Tver from 1956 to 2006. The monument is dedicated to those who died in hot spots. Most of the names mentioned on the memorial belong to soldiers killed during the conflict in Afghanistan.
Monument to M.E.Saltykov-Shchedrin
From 1860 to 1862, Saltykov-Shchedrin was the vice-governor of Tver, which was reflected in his work. The monument is dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the birth of the writer. The figure of Saltykov-Shchedrin, sitting in a carved armchair, is cast in bronze and installed on a pedestal of polished gray graphite. Near the pedestal, on the granite platform, there are stone benches and decorative lamps.
Monument to M. Kalinin
After the revolution, Tver was renamed Kalinov - in honor of one of the political leaders of the RCP (b). Later, in 1955, a monument dedicated to him was erected here. In 2014, the monument was moved due to archaeological excavations. The bronze figure of Kalinov is installed on a 4-meter stone pedestal, the total height of the monument is more than 8 meters.
Monument to submariners
A memorial to submariners who died in the service was erected on the Afanasy Nikitin embankment. The monument is cast from bronze, in the center of the composition there are 2 sailors. One of them lifts a comrade who has fallen unconscious to the wheelhouse. In front of the figures are two ship anchors, and in the back - images of submarines with flags of the Russian Federation and the USSR. The monument was erected on the initiative of the Tver veterans-submariners.
"Friendship of Peoples"
A monument dedicated to the unity of the peoples and nationalities of the Soviet Union was erected on Peace Square in 1959. The memorial includes 3 figures: a white man, an Asian girl and a black boy. They are holding in their hands a globe and doves - symbols of peace and harmony between the peoples living on the territory of the USSR.
Golovinskaya column
The head of Tver, A.F. Golovinsky, erected a city rampart that protected residents from floods. The shaft was popularly christened Golovinsky - the column was named after him. In 1867, in memory of the construction and the head of the city, a small memorial was erected at the expense of residents. It is a granite column with a square top and a ball mounted on a platform on top. A memorial plaque is fixed under the ball. The monument changed its location several times.
"Smolenskoe burial"
Initially, on the site of the Smolensk burial, there were two mass graves with separate steles. But in 2010, the memorials were merged. A granite slab is installed in the center, to which high reliefs adjoin on both sides.The names of the inhabitants of Tver who died during the Great Patriotic War are engraved on them. In memory of the victims, an eternal flame was erected and solemnly lit at the memorial.
Monument to G.K. Zhukov
The legendary war hero, Marshal Zhukov, served in Tver as a private. In 1995, the figure of Georgy Konstantinovich was installed in front of the building of the aerospace defense academy. The monument is intended to set an example for the students of the Academy and remind them of the great compatriot who previously served in Tver.
"To the liquidators of the Chernobyl Catastrophe"
More than 2,000 specialists were sent from Tver to eliminate the consequences of the Chernobyl accident. In 2006, 20 years after the disaster, a memorial was erected in one of the city squares. In the center is a man, one of the liquidators. He stops dangerous radiation with his arms outstretched wide. After 2 years, the square in which the monument was erected was renamed into the “Square of the Heroes of Chernobyl”.
"In memory of victims of repression"
The memorial was erected in 1997 in the Kazakov public garden and is dedicated to the innocent victims of the 1930s. The monument depicts a man with his head bowed, kneeling, with a hole in his chest. The place for the opening of the memorial was not chosen by chance - at the beginning of the 20th century, a branch of the NKVD was located here. According to some reports, prisoners were shot there.
Family monument
The composition was established in 2016 and is dedicated to family and family values. Figures of parents - a father and a pregnant mother - are cast in bronze. With them - three children - two daughters and a son. The image of the family turned out to be collective and traditional - the man is slightly taller than the woman, the faces of the children express happiness and fun. At the request of tourists and residents of the city, the monument was turned so that the faces of the figures were facing the circus building, and their backs were facing the fountain. This was done because the vacationers did not like photographs against the background of the city circus.
Monument to the fisherman
The bronze figure of a man fishing was installed in 2016 and quickly became popular with the townspeople and tourists. From a distance, the monument is difficult to distinguish from a living person - it looks so natural. The figure of a man with a fishing rod and a bucket full of fish was installed with private funds, and its author remains unknown.
Monument to the poets of the sixties
Many famous poets and singers attended the opening of the monument. It is dedicated to cultural figures of the Soviet period and has the shape of a bookshelf. It contains books by famous authors - Voznesensky, Vysotsky, Yevtushenko and others. The height of the monument is about three meters. The solemn occasion for the opening was the 88th anniversary of Andrei Dementyev, the famous Tver poet.
Monument to employees of internal affairs bodies
The memorial is dedicated to the employees of the internal affairs bodies who died during the Great Patriotic War. Soon after the opening, the monument became a place of remembrance for all the employees of the internal affairs bodies who died during the execution. The memorial is erected on gray granite slabs, with a commemorative inscription carved in the upper part. There are plaques along the perimeter with the names of the victims.
Monument to Cyril and Methodius
Bronze sculptures of Cyril and Methodius with the Slavic alphabet in their hands are installed on a stone pedestal in the park of the philological faculty of Tver University. The opening took place in 2014, and the creation of the monument began in 2009, when Tver became the center of the celebration of the Day of Slavic Literature and Culture. The monument was unveiled at the VI Festival of Slavic Poetry "Singing Letters".
"To the fallen fighters for world October"
A mass grave is located on Revolution Square. 11 of the most active revolutionaries of Tver who died during the Civil War are buried in it. Since 1927, a monument has been erected here. The memorial is a granite slab with a black marble column on it. At the top there is a bowl with a five-pointed star and the inscription: "1917 - 1927". A laurel wreath and a memorial plaque with the names of the deceased are carved at the tombstone. Chains are stretched through the pylons at the corners of the tombstone.
Monument to Karl Marx
The bust of the German philosopher and ideologist of communism was installed in Tver in 1919. The sculpture is located on a one and a half meter pedestal, on which the inscription is engraved: "Workers of all countries, unite." In 1991, the original bust was broken, later restored and moved to an art gallery. There he is to this day. A copy of the original bust is installed on the pedestal.
"Aircraft MiG-23 MLD"
The monument was opened in honor of the veterans of the Great Patriotic War who served in the anti-aircraft troops and the Air Force. A reduced copy of the MIG-23 aircraft was installed on the territory of the Research Institute of Information Technologies in 2009. There is a memorial plaque next to the plane. The passage to the monument is difficult, since it is located in a closed area.
Memorial stele to the 110th anniversary of the founding of TVZ
The monument was erected in 2008 and symbolizes the breakthrough developments of the Tver Carriage Works. In the 1970s, a railway train using jet engines was created here. The jet-powered train was accelerated to 267 km / h. But the model was found unsuitable for mass use due to its high cost and strong noise. It was she who became the basis for the monument - a train with an aircraft jet engine.
"Tank-T34"
The monument was erected on the outskirts of Tver and is dedicated to the feat of the crew of junior lieutenant Gorobets. The tank brigade, which included Gorobets, was tasked with reconnaissance in force. Gorobets's tank was one of the first to go into battle. Having lost contact with the rest of the tank forces, Gorobets raided the city and the suburbs. The crew returned from the mission in full force. The monument was opened for the 25th anniversary of the liberation of Kalinov - the legendary "thirty-four" was installed on the pedestal.
