On the eve of Victory Day in Sevastopol they plan to open the restored obelisk to the hero city “Bayonet and Sail”.
“We brought the object completely in order, made lighting there, all the bas-reliefs were also put in order. Before the holiday, we plan to officially open the obelisk and allow Sevastopol residents and city guests to enter there,” – Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvozhaev said on the government TV channel.
The restoration took a long time
It took a long time to wait for the official restoration of the monument.
The obelisk was opened in November 1977 on the 60th anniversary of the October Revolution and was supposed to become part of the memorial complex that was planned to be built at Cape Khrustalny.
For more than ten years, the area adjacent to the stele has been officially closed to the public due to the disrepair of the monument. Back in 2015, experts concluded that there were cracks in the foundation of the obelisk, and even earlier, the facing tiles on it began to collapse.
In 2017, Governor Dmitry Ovsyannikov stated that the situation surrounding the repair of the obelisk is under his personal control. Money was even allocated for the restoration of the monument, but the matter never moved forward.
In 2020, then-Lieutenant Governor Vladimir Bazarov talked about the plans to begin restoring the Bayonet and Sail monument. According to him, the next order of the president is the obelisk to the hero city of Sevastopol – “Bayonet and Sail,” which we need to restore. Bazarov assured that the monument had passed an archaeological examination and was included in the examination at the estimated cost.
In February 2020, it became known that the architectural and restoration studio “Vega” (St. Petersburg) had prepared scientific and design documentation for the restoration of the Sevastopol obelisk “Bayonet and Sail”, which is located on Cape Khrustalny. The documentation has already passed historical and architectural examination.
“In order to check the design and estimated cost, we must confirm the limits (allocation of funds) for the restoration itself. The preliminary cost, according to the designers, is 255 million rubles,” – the vice-governor said at a staff meeting in the city government Vladimir Bazarov.
He suggested that it was necessary not only to restore the obelisk, but also to improve the area around it. Therefore, he proposed to transfer the object to the balance of the organization that will build a park on Cape Khrustalny.
Then still acting governor Mikhail Razvozhaev noted that you shouldn’t wait that long: “This week we will decide on the source (of funding), we will need to start making it.”
The project includes the restoration of the Obelisk itself, the retaining wall with bas-reliefs and the improvement of the observation deck. The obelisk is a cultural heritage site of regional significance. The governor emphasized that the restoration of the monument will be under his personal control.
On December 16, 2022, a subordinate institution of the Department of Municipal Affairs of Sevastopol – “Parks and Squares” – entered into a contract for 731.33 million rubles with the Sevastopol company “Sevproekmontazh” to carry out restoration work on the object “Preservation of the cultural heritage site “Obelisk to the Hero City of Sevastopol” (“Bayonet and Sail”).
In August 2023, workers during the restoration of the obelisk “To the Hero City of Sevastopol” (Bayonet and Sail) discovered the autograph of the author of the bas-relief, sculptor Stanislav Chizh.
“The restoration of the obelisk “Hero City of Sevastopol” is in full swing. Restorers confirm that one of the mistakes when creating the obelisk was the use of fasteners made of ordinary metal; now stainless steel fasteners are used during restoration. Restoration of the bas-relief by sculptor Stanislav Chizh is underway. Already now, having cleared the surface, we were able to discover the author’s autograph. The most difficult work is the cladding of the obelisk itself, whose height is over 60 m. The slabs of Inkerman stone are fragile and heavy. One slab weighs 60 kg”– the head of the region wrote in his telegram channel.
According to him, during the work a drainage system was also installed, which had not been available before, and therefore, due to the constant exposure to rain and moisture, the granite slabs also began to fall away.
“The main material is our Inkerman stone. It requires special processing, which allows the stone to become more durable and not “bloom” as it did before. In addition, there was no drainage at the site, and rain washed away the foundation for years. The granite slabs also began to come off. Now a reinforced force plate is made at the base”,” Mikhail Razvozhaev clarified.
As part of the improvement of the territory, the approach to the obelisk will also be changed: access will appear from the embankment, accessibility will be provided for people with limited mobility. In addition, it is planned to return to the obelisk terrace the cannons that were found during the construction of the monument and belonged to the Alexander Battery.
“The guns moved to the Sevastopol Defense Museum a long time ago, but cast copies of them will be installed on the obelisk.”– added the governor of Sevastopol.
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