Nelson's Column

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View across Trafalgar Square to the Nelson Column

The Nelson's Column is a monument on the Trafalgar Square in London , England .

The pillar

The column was erected between 1840 and 1843 in memory of Admiral Horatio Nelson's death in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The 5.5 m high statue of Nelson stands on a 46 m high granite plinth . The statue faces south, towards the Palace of Westminster and Pall Mall Street , where all of Nelson's ships are depicted on the tops of the flagpoles. The composite capital of the column, made according to the Corinthian and Ionic order , is decorated with bronze acanthus leaves from British cannons. The podium of the monument is adorned with four bronze panels, the material of which comes from captured French ships and the Nelsons represent four great victories.

The column was designed in 1838 by the architect William Railton and built by the Peto & Grissell company. Railton's original 1:22 stone model is on display at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich , London. The sandstone statue on top was made by E. H. Baily of the Royal Academy, and a small bronze plaque on the base commemorates him. The cost of the entire construction was £ 47,500  (around £ 3.5 million in 2004).

In 2006 the monument was refurbished for £ 420,000. The air pollution and large amounts of bird droppings were added to the building. Steam cleaning processes and gentle abrasives were used so as not to damage the building fabric. The costs were borne by Zurich Insurance , which in return was allowed to advertise for the duration of the work on the scaffolding.

Before the work began, laser measurements were taken and it was found that the structure was smaller than originally assumed, so that it is now stated to be 51.5 m high.

Others

  • Another Nelson's Column was erected in Dublin in 1808 . With a column height of 36.9 m and a four meter high statue, it was about ten meters shorter than the London monument. In 1966 it was blown up by the IRA and never rebuilt. The 121.3 meter high Tower of Light was built in its place .
  • In May 2003, a base jumper jumped from the top of the pillar to draw attention to the Chinese occupation of Tibet .
  • A poster was posted in September 2005 to celebrate London's successful bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics . It was unfolded by acrobats in a solemn ceremony.

Web links

Commons : Nelsonsäule  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 51 ° 30 ′ 28 "  N , 0 ° 7 ′ 41"  W.