The delivery of “Bayonet and Sail” in Sevastopol was postponed until next year

As it was said, the removal of scaffolding from the restoration site is evidence that work at the site has reached the finish line. Today, sculptural reliefs depicting awards — the Gold Star medal and the Order of Lenin have been restored, the letters of the Decree on awarding the Hero City have been restored, as well as three high reliefs on the retaining wall of the middle terrace. Part of the lost inscription, as originally planned, was restored using archival documents. The contractor also reported on the restoration of the mosaic concrete terrace, re-creating the two-tone pattern, completion of the drainage system and installation of a CCTV system. People with limited mobility will now also be able to access the territory of the memorial complex.notes «Sevastopol newspaper».

According to the contractor, all that remains now is to complete the landscaping of the area and install trash cans and benches.

The issue of returning the cannons, which was originally requested by the author of the architectural project, Sevastopol architect Adolf Schaeffer, is promised to be resolved in about a month. True, we are now talking not about authentic guns, they are stored in the Museum of the Heroic Defense and Liberation of Sevastopol, but about cast copies.

Note that earlier there was talk of returning genuine guns to the site, but for some reason these plans had to be changed.

The builders promised to completely complete the work and open the obelisk in 2024, although no specific date was given. At the end of March 2023, when the start of restoration of the monument was officially announced, the obelisk was promised to be restored by the end of 2023.

We thought differently

Let us remind you that the date of construction of the obelisk, as reported in the 1983 edition of Evgeniy Venikeev’s guidebook, is 1978. The authors of this complex structure in the engineering sense were sculptors I. Makagon and S. Chizh, architects A. Bagley, E. Veresov, M. Katernoga, I. Shamsedinov and A. Sheffer.

The originality of the monument, as E. Venikeev writes, and its emotional impact, the residents of Sevastopol owe to chance. While digging a foundation pit for the monument, the barrels of two naval guns were dug up, which had lain in the ground since the time of the first defense of Sevastopol. They decided not only to preserve the find, but to lift the guns onto high carriages and install them on a platform near the obelisk. The contrast between the archaic forms of ancient cannons and the modern appearance of the obelisk was impressive, and the combination itself symbolized the connection of times and generations, the continuity of the feat.

Even then it was planned to simplify access to the monument. They talked about the construction of the second stage of the Marine Hydrophysical Institute and the demolition of warehouses around it. It was planned to build a wide grand staircase from the embankment to the obelisk itself.

The plans of the architects of that time also included the construction of a memorial that would occupy the entire cape to Martynov Bay. The complex was planned to include a museum building, several dioramas, a sculptural composition, and a staircase to the sea from the top of the cliff. The project included landscaping of the territory, convenient approaches, viewing platforms, well-groomed parks and public gardens. The memorial was planned by the large city-forming center of Sevastopol. The wide avenue was supposed to connect Cape Khrustalny with the Insurgent Square.

source: «Sevastopol newspaper»