Barclay de Tolli

The monument to Field Marshal General Prince Barclay de Tolly, commander-in-chief of the Russian army, was created and erected at the expense of the citizens of Riga in 1913 on the Esplanade near the Orthodox Cathedral. The monument was erected in honour of the centenary of the victory in the War of 1812 against Napoleon. The author of the sculpture is Wilhelm Wandschneider (Germany).

The bronze sculpture weighing two tonnes and 4.77 m high was cast in Berlin and set on a pedestal of red-brown granite. The monument with a laconic inscription on the pedestal ‘General Field Marshal Prince Barclay de Tolly 1812-1912’ was opened on 13 October 1913.

With the outbreak of World War I in 1915, the bronze sculpture was evacuated to Russia, where it was lost. The pedestal was preserved until 2024.

In 2002, sculptors Alexei Murzin, Ivan Korneev and foundry worker Denis Gochiyaev, all from St. Petersburg, created a modern version of the sculpture on the original pedestal based on the original model and photographs preserved in the museum. The sculpture was commissioned, paid for and donated to the city of Riga by Jevgenijs Gombergs.

In August 1812, Barclay was removed from command as a result of court intrigue.  Leaving the army, Barclay wrote home: ‘The present is against me, and I am forced to submit.  There will come a time of cold-blooded discussion of all that has happened - and this time will give me credit. I have led the chariot up the mountain; it will roll down the mountain by itself with a little guidance. My labour, my monument is there: the army saved, supplied with everything necessary, and in front of her upset, downhearted enemy’. This idea is reflected in the sculpture: the great but misunderstood commander leaves in a proud silence.  

The sculpture was unveiled on 1 July 2002 by Martin von Hirschhausen, a descendant of the Scottish Barclay family, from which Barclay de Tolly came.

According to the decision of the Riga City Council, the monument was installed ‘with a trial period’ and after six months, according to the results of a poll of Latvian residents, it was left in place by the majority of votes.

In September 2024, the vice-mayor of Riga City Council Edvard Ratnieks, having started the election campaign for the 2025 Duma elections, lobbied the City Council to cancel the sculpture donation agreement. At the same time, with the consent of Juris Dambis, the Head of the National Office of Cultural Heritage, they agreed to demolish the Postament, a part of national cultural heritage.   

On the night of 31 October 2024, the Barclay de Tolly sculpture and the pedestal were dismantled. Riga City Council sent the pedestal to a stone warehouse, while the sculpture was returned to the family property of the donor. On 19 November 2024, the Riga City Council delivered the sculpture to Jurmala. It is installed on a 50 cm high concrete pedestal inside an earthen mound.