Monument to Peter the Great (Peter de Grote Standbeeld)
A bronze full-size sculpture of the Tsar is standing on a low, ship-shaped pedestal. The monumental figure of the Tsar “grows out” of the wind rose engraved on the uneven surface of the “deck”. The monument is decorated with two angels and two coats of arms — the emblems of Antwerp and Russia. The monument is 2.5 meters tall.
The monument stands opposite the St. Michael’s Abbey in Kloosterstraat where the Russian Tsar stayed in April 1717. The sculpture is very well located in a small public garden in a busy street (which features second-hand booksellers, antique stores and a semi-pedestrian area).
The pedestal has inscriptions in both Dutch and Russian reading: “Hier zette in 1717 de Russische tsaar Peter de Grote voet aan wal” and “На это место ступил Пётр Великий в 1717” (Peter the Great set his foot here in 1717). On the rear of the sculpture, there is the sculptor’s signature in the form of a monogram of the letters “F” and “G” and the year “1998”.
The monument was created by sculptor Georgy Frangulyan (born in 1945) coming from Tbilisi. The work was financed by Russian banks on the initiative of the Antwerp-based firm Art Group International and Belgian Slavicist Emmanuel Waegemans.
The monument was officially inaugurated on October 7, 1998. The opening ceremony was attended by the Burgomaster of Antwerp Leona Detiège, Minister President of the Flemish Government Luc Van den Brande, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Alexander Avdeev, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia to Belgium Sergey Kislyak, and numerous Russian and Belgian journalists.
