The Russian Academy Of Arts

The first in Germany monument to the Russian Empress Catherine the Great, born Princess Sophie Auguste Friderike von Anhalt-Zerbst was unveiled in the city of Zerbst on July 9, 2010. It has been designed by the renowned sculptor, Full Member of the Russian Academy of Arts Michael Pereyaslavets.

The Russian side has paid all the expenses for the fabrication and transportation of the 4,7m high bronze monument cast in 2009. The idea of the monument to the Russian Empress was initiated in 1996 by the International Historical Society “Catherine II” basing in Zerbst and the Russian Nobility Association.

Sophie Auguste Friederike, Princess, Duchess of Anhalt-Zerbst and future Russian Empress, named Catherine in the Russian Orthodox Church, was born on May 2, 1729 in Stettin. Her father Christian Auguste, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst served for the Prussian King, but his family was considered impoverished. In 1744 the future empress together with her mother arrived in St. Petersburg. Catherine the Great ruled in Russia from 1762 till 1796.

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