Bronze Horseman Monument

Address: Senate Square (Senatskaya Ploshchad), St. Petersburg - location of the Bronze Horseman statue (public monument)

The Bronze Horseman is an equestrian statue of Peter the Great located on Senate Square in central Saint Petersburg, Russia. The monument was commissioned by Catherine the Great and unveiled in 1782.

The bronze figure depicts Peter the Great on a rearing horse mounted on a massive rock pedestal known as the Thunder Stone, and is one of Saint Petersburg’s most recognisable civic symbols. The statue is a common rendezvous and photo point on the Neva embankment and forms part of the city’s historic centre.

Sculptor Étienne Maurice Falconet created the bronze statue under commission from Catherine II; the massive stone pedestal was shaped and installed to support the monument. Over time the statue acquired literary and cultural significance and has been preserved as an important historic landmark.

Sited on Senate Square beside the Neva River, the Bronze Horseman stands in the heart of Saint Petersburg close to the Admiralty and other central historic buildings.

• Artist and date: Sculpted by Étienne Maurice Falconet and commissioned by Catherine the Great, the monument was unveiled in 1782 and quickly became a symbol of the city.

The Bronze Horseman stands on Senate Square (Senatskaya Ploshchad) in central St. Petersburg near the Neva. The monument is a short walk from Admiralteyskaya metro station and also easily reached on foot from Nevsky Prospekt (about a 10-15 minute walk from the main Nevsky thoroughfare). Local buses and trams also serve stops in the Admiralty/Saint Isaac’s Cathedral area.

• Visit at dawn or dusk for the best light and far fewer people in Senate Square-early morning is especially good for unobstructed photos of the statue against the Neva.
• Approach the monument from the Neva embankment or from the steps of St. Isaac's Cathedral to get classic compositional views and a sense of the statue's scale in its urban setting.
• Pause to read the inscriptions on the pedestal and to take in the surrounding square; many visitors view the horseman briefly and miss the broader historical context provided by the adjacent buildings and St. Isaac's.