It is the oldest monument in the Russian Far East and is believed to be made between 1823 and 1826 in
St. Petersburg
. It was erected in memory of Vitus Bering, the founder of
Petropavlovsk
, who died in 1742 near an uninhabited island in
North America
. Primarily placed near the Governor's residence, the monument was moved several times and now it stands on
Sovetskaya Street, not far from the harbour from which the famous explorer started his expedition to
America.
Monument to Charles Clark
This is the only monument inRussia
which reminds about the 3rd round-the-world voyage of the famous British explorer and navigator James Cook. After Captain Cook died, his expedition was led by Captain Charles Clark. On
June 12, 1779
his ships sailed from the Avachinskaya bay to theBering Strait
, but were stopped by numerous ice-fields. On the way back to
Petropavlovsk
Charles Clark died and was buried on the site where in 1913 the British erected a monument in his memory.
Monument to La Perouse
The monument's story is as tragic as the story of Jean Francois de la Perouse in whose memory it was built. The prominent French explorer started on a round-the-world voyage in 1775, his ships were supposed to visit in 4 years North America, Japan, China, Australia and return back to France. In September 1787, after a short stay in
Petropavlovsk
, the expedition headed for Japan
, but of 242
participants of the expedition, most of them talented scientists, artists and navigators, only one survived in the violent storms in thePacific Ocean
. The remains of the ships were found in 1959. In 1843, on the request of the French Government a monument was erected to commemorate the courageous explorers, but in August 1854 it was
completely destroyed by a cannon ball from a French frigate. It was rebuilt in 1882 and since 1930 it stands on
Lenin street, in the city centre.
Memorial Complex on top of the Nikolskaya Hill
The
Monument
of
Glory
was erected in 1882 in memory of the heroic defense of
Petropavlovsk
. In 1854 the military ships of Great Britain
, who wanted to diminish Russian influence in the Far East, and its ally in the Crimea
War
, France
, entered the Avachinskaya bay. Being at that time Russia
's main Far Eastern port,
Petropavlovsk
held a 10-day defence and made the enemy retreat. With 988 people and 68 coastal
cannons against 6 frigates, 212 cannons and 2,540 people of the British and French squadron,
Petropavlovsk
garrison led by General Zavoyko repelled many attacks. Finally, when the last Russian cannon was destroyed and only 300 people were alive, the Russian troops made the final attack and on August 26 the British and French left
Avachinskaya
Bay
.
The Chapel
A small necropolis with a chapel built of stone is a sacred place in
Petropavlovsk. 35 Russian defenders are buried on the right side of the Chapel and 38 French and English sailors on the left. All people are equal before God, the fact that people who faught against each other are now buried in one place shows the spiritual generosity
ofKamchatka
's residents, who honour the dead and don't want the same tragedy to happen again. Five guns on wooden gun carriages symbolically guard the sea entrance to the city.
Monument to the Heroes of Lt. A. Maksutov's Battery
In 1954, the year of the 100th anniversary of the heroic defense of
Petropavlovsk
, a new monument was opened - the monument to the legendary 3rdBattery
under command of lieutenant A.Maksutov. This battery defended the inner
harbour
of
Petropavlovsk
and repelled the main attack of the English-French squadron.
The battery itself was reconstructed to its original appearance.
