The Field of Mars, St. Petersburg

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The Field of Mars

The Field of Mars is one of the largest green spaces in St Petersburg’s city centre, where local people and tourists like love to stroll, relax and have picnics. The 300-year history of this elegantly laid-out garden intertwines joyous festivities and celebrations with military history, revolution and war.

History of the Field of Mars

Imperial Russia

At the turn of the 18^th century, this piece of land bordering the Neva was an overgrown, murky swamp. After the swamp was drained by Peter the Great a meadow remained, which was transformed into a military parade ground and place for festivals. One particularly spectacular celebration was organised in 1721 to honour military victory in the Great Northern War against Sweden, and was complete with fireworks and a triumphal arch erected on the meadow. In honour of this, the meadow was nicknamed Poteshnoye Pole, meaning ‘Field of Amusements’.

Mansions and palaces of the Russian aristocracy gradually filled the surrounding streets in the 18^th century, and the summer palaces of Peter the Great’s wife and daughter, Catherine and Elizabeth Petrovna, were built nearby. From 1740 onward, under Empresses Anna and Elizabeth Petrovna, the meadow was carefully landscaped with lawns, pavilions, fountains, trees and walking paths. Now more of a pleasure garden than a meadow, people flocked there for leisurely promenades and attractions on public holidays. Two theatres were erected there in 1750 – the first opera house in Russia, built by Bartolomeo Rastrelli, and the Maly Theatre (unfortunately, neither remain today).

Photo by Alex 'Florstein' Fedorov, CC BY-SA 4.0, on Wikipedia

The beauty of the garden would not last. Severe floods in 1777 damaged the ornate lawns and landscaping and military parades resumed shortly after. Following in his grandfather Peter’s footsteps, Paul I organised military parades and exercises and built barracks alongside the garden. His son Alexander I continued this tradition, and renamed the parade ground ‘The Field of Mars’ in honour of the Roman god of war. Not only did this reinforce the military image of the Russian Empire, but it forged a connection with other great European cities, emulating the Champs de Mars in Paris and the Campus Martius in Ancient Rome.

The Field of Mars remained St Petersburg’s main military parade ground from 1820 onwards, and folk festivals like Maslenitsa, Easter and the Emperor’s name day continued to take place there from 1869, celebrated with fairground rides, music, performances and refreshments. Other attractions arranged on the Field of Mars included art exhibitions, a summer cinema, reindeer rides, and a telescope to observe the solar eclipse of 1912.

Photo by I, George Shuklin, CC BY 2.5,on Wikipedia

Soviet Russia

Following the February Revolution of 1917, the follies of Imperial Russia came to an end. After discussions to decide where to bury victims of the February Revolution, the Field of Mars was chosen for the communal gravesite. However, when the families of the dead heard that the Bolsheviks planned to bury them without a funeral service, many rushed to reclaim their loved ones. In the end, 184 people were laid to rest in the Field of Mars, each coffin lowered to the sound of a cannon shot from the Peter and Paul Fortress, and 800,000 people flocked to attend the funeral. A memorial to the dead was designed by Lev Rudnev (later the architect of Moscow State University main building) with inscriptions for the mass graves written by Anatoly Lunacharsky (the People’s Commissar of Education). The Field of Mars was renamed ‘Square of the Victims of the Revolution’, and essentially became a pantheon to fallen revolutionaries up until 1933.

Photo retake by George Shuklin (talk) on Wikipedia

What can you see and do at the Field of Mars?

• Visit the Monument to the Fighters of the Revolution: in the centre of the Field of Mars are granite walls enclosing a central square, underneath which lies the communal grave of the revolution’s victims. Several famous Bolshevik revolutionaries are buried around the monument, whose names are indelibly inked on the textbook of Russian history, such as Moisey Uritsky – the first head of the Petrograd Cheka, whose murder sparked the brutal Red Terror.
• See the Eternal Flame: at the very centre of the monument is the Eternal Flame, the very first to be lit in the USSR. It was sparked from a furnace at the Kirovsky Factory in south-west St Petersburg – a hotspot of revolutionary activity. The Eternal Flames of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Red Square and the Piskarevsky Memorial Cemetery in northern St Petersburg were lit from here.
• Have a picnic: with its wide lawns and elegant landscaping, the Field of Mars is the ideal place for a summer day’s picnic. You’ll see plenty of Petersburgers here relaxing on the grass, enjoying food and drink with their friends and playing a game of frisbee.
• Take a stroll: the Field of Mars is the ideal place to visit on your exploration of St Petersburg. After pacing the paths of the historical garden you can head onto the famous landmarks, picturesque spots and green spaces which lie a stone’s throw away.

Photo by George Shuklin, CC BY-SA 1.0, on Wikipedia

What’s nearby?

• Russian Museum: home to the world’s largest collection of Russian art, housed in the Mikhailovsky Palace. Behind the museum lies the Mikhailovsky Garden which backs onto the Field of Mars.
• Church on Spilled Blood: topped with enamelled domes and with an interior entirely covered in mosaic, this church was built on the spot where Alexander II was assassinated.
• Summer Garden: the first park established in St Petersburg, lined with alleys of trees, statues and fountains.
• Neva embankment: from the Palace Embankment next to the Field of Mars you can watch the Troitsky Bridge and Palace Bridge open at night time, one of the most famous symbols of St Petersburg.