These two columns are as much a symbol of St. PetersburgюFor over two centuries, they have formed an integral part of the city's central panorama over the River Neva.On big public holidays, torches are lit on top of them.
Once,during the planning of Birzhevaya Ploshchad in 1810 the decision was taken to install two beacons indicating the two channels. Jean-Francois Thomas de Thomon, the architect of the Old Stock Exchange, decided to build the towers in the style of Roman rostral columns - victory columns on which the prows ("rostra") of captured enemy ships were mounted.
At the base of the column are statues of four figures, representing the four main rivers of Russia - the Volga and the Dnieper in the northern column, the Neva and the Volkhov in the southern column. The figures of the Dnieper were sculpted by Joseph Cumberlein of Antwerp, and the other three sculptures were by Jacques Thibault, with the help of which the famous Russian serf sculptor Samson Sukhanov. De Tomon's massive 32-foot Doric columns are adorned with sculptures of naids, sea creatures and anchors. The large bowls at the top of the columns were originally designed to contain hemp oil for burning. Later electric lamps were used as beacons. In 1957, the Rostral Columns were connected to the gas supply.