The Kuzminsky Gate (it is the historical name) is the bright incarnation of the Egyptian theme. It has caused the rename of the Kuzminsky Gate in the second half of the 20th century. The Ancient Egyptian plots sculpture decorations of the cast iron coating of facades are harmonized with the pyramidal form of the three-storied stone pylons – guardhouses. In the facades ornamental design there are Egyptian hieroglyphs, genre scenes of the Ancient Egyptian life, motifs of a lotus flower and stalk, snake, scarabs, sphinxes, herms that are typical to the Egyptian art. According to the design of A.A. Menelaws of 1826 the gate was supposed to install in the Alexander Park at the gateway to Tsarskoye Selo Boulevard. On Nicholas I’s order “out of respect for Kuzminsky Road is a great way” in 1827 the gate was begun to build at the entry into the town. The artist Vasily Dodonov drew hieroglyphs, their plaster models were made by the sculptor V.I. Demut-Malinovsky. The coating was produced at the Saint Petersburg Alexander Iron Foundry. In the 1830s the Kuzminsky Gate became the zero reference point of versts ( 1 verst = 3500 ft. ) on the way from Tsarskoye Selo to Saint Petersburg. Dadonov, Vasily
Demut-Malinovsky Vasily Ivanovich
Menelas Adam Adamovich
Nicholas I, Emperor
Oktyabrsky Boulevard/Pushkin, town
Pushkin, town