Field of Mars (Saint Petersburg) - History

History

The history of Field of Mars goes back to the first years of Saint-Petersburg. At that time it was called Grand Meadow. Later there were organised solemnities in the honour of the victory in the Great Northern War and the Field was renamed Pleasure Field (Poteshnoe Pole). In the 1740s Pleasure Field for a short while was turned into a walking park with paths, lawn and flowers. Its next name – Tsarina’s Meadow – appears after the royal family commissioned F.B. Rastrelli to build the Summer Palace for Empress Catherine I. But near the end of the 18th century Tsarina’s Meadow became a military drilling ground where they erected monuments commemorating the victories of the Russian Army and where parades and military studies took place regularly.

In 1799 the Rumyantsev obelisk was placed in the center of the Field and in 1801 the monument to A. Suvorov was placed in the south section by M. Kozlovsky. A great military leader was represented as Mars (Roman god of war). In 1805 Tsarina’s Meadow was officially renamed Field of Mars. After the suggestion of Carlo Rossi the monument of A. Suvorov was moved to Suvorova Square. After the February Revolution in 1917 the Field of Mars finally lost its significance as a military drilling ground and became a memorial. In summer 1942 the Field of Mars was completely covered with vegetable gardens to supply the besieged Leningrad.