Why are there so many lions in Saint Petersburg?
The lion adorns the coats of arms of 29 countries, including those where this predator lives. But the northern city of St. Petersburg boasts the largest number of lion sculptures. The sculptures are seated, reclining, resting—they're literally everywhere, as if guarding the city.
All lions are different. The lions at the Admiralty rest their paws on balls, symbolizing eternal wakefulness: if a paw slips, the ball will fall, and the lion will awaken. On Petrovskaya Embankment stand Chinese "Shi-tsza" lions, donated to the city at the beginning of the 20th century. They symbolize good luck and protection from evil spirits. And on the Bank Bridge, there are not just lions, but griffins—winged guardians. These are mythical creatures from ancient Greek legends, in which griffins guarded gold.
Lions, on the one hand, are symbols of strength, bravery, and courage. On the other, they are a symbol of the sun, and therefore of God, who protects his flock. In any case, the lion carries a protective function. Images and sculptures of lions were popular in Europe. There, they were ubiquitous, either as bas-reliefs or as doorknobs with rings in their noses. Peter the Great, who built St. Petersburg as a "window to Europe," adopted the lion trend, and they began appearing throughout the city.
The first lion appeared in St. Petersburg in 1726, and it didn't represent strength, but rather the defeated goddess of Victory. The sculptural composition symbolized the victory over Sweden. The mass fashion for lions came to St. Petersburg at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries.
The largest concentration of lions is in one place near Bezborodko's dacha. There are twenty-nine of them, a large number even for such a "lion" city. No one knows for sure why there are so many. It's believed that this is a kind of signature of the architect Nikolai Lvov. Moreover, instead of a signature, he used a seal with a lion, and the king of the beasts can be seen in his other works.
According to unofficial estimates, there are 200 lion sculptures in St. Petersburg, but rumors suggest there are more. Some lions are well-known and stand in prominent locations, while others are less so. Alexander Pushkin mentioned the St. Petersburg lions in his poem "The Bronze Horseman," and they practically became the main characters in the mid-1970s comedy "The Incredible Adventures of Italians in Russia." In it, several treasure hunters search for a treasure hidden beneath one of the lions and heartily criticize their sheer number.
