Memorial plaque - tribute to the memory of ancestors

Passing through the streets of small and large cities, you can see on the houses of original art monuments, which are planks with inscriptions and images. After reading the text on them, you can learn a lot about the history of the city and the lives of outstanding people. Such boards are usually called memorial. What are they and why?

What is a plaque?

The memorial plate is an architectural and sculptural work that perpetuates the memory of historical events and outstanding personalities. It is intended for installation on facades of buildings and is made of durable materials (metal, stone, bronze or cast iron alloy). Artistic reflection of the event is carried out in the form of a textual laconic inscription. The composition of the plaque can also be supplemented with a sculptural portrait or other decor elements.

The history of the appearance of memorial plaques

The "forefathers" of the memorial plaques were graffiti inscriptions on the walls of caves, tombstones or stones. Some of them have survived to this day and reflect the formation of the world outlook of society. The first commemorative memorial plaques on the houses appeared in the 18th century, after the victory in the war of 1812. First they served to indicate the level of water in floods. Later, on the walls of the Kazan Cathedral, the name of AP Voronikhin was immortalized, and at the end of May 1880, a plaque in memory of Pushkin was erected on Moyka Street 12. Only in June 1890 at a meeting of the City Duma it was decided to start installation and other commemorative plaques. So began their widespread distribution.

Criteria for installing a memorial plaque

Each memorial board is installed not just where it pleases. To begin with, a special commission determines the significance of the event, in honor of which the monument is being opened. If it highlights the merits of any person, then all achievements must be officially recognized and confirmed by archival and / or award documents.

The installation of the plaque takes place not earlier than a decade after the death of the awarded personality or the accomplished event. Restrictions on the terms of installation are removed if perpetrators of persons awarded the titles Hero of Socialist Labor, Hero of the Soviet Union, Honorary Citizen of the City, etc. are perpetuated. Sometimes, according to the decision of the commission, the terms can be reduced. However, the minimum period is still two years.

Usually within the boundaries of one city there is one memorial plaque, reflecting the memory of the person. It can be a place of work, a place of residence or other landmark places that are connected with the life and activity of a person. There are cases when the memory of a person is already immortalized in the name of a street or square, a monument or a bust is erected, then the board should not be installed. Again, under the decision of the commission, exceptions are made, taking into account the importance of merit and events.

You should know that the plaque can not be on public spectacle buildings (museum, theater, gallery, concert hall, House of Culture). Control over the safety of boards and care for them is carried out by the territorial service of the housing and communal services and the inspector for the protection of law and order. There is a strict counting of commemorative plaques, even those that are lost with time or require restoration.

What can the inscription on the memorial board say?

Memorial plaques can allocate some places in a certain city or testify about events that took place in the past. They are not only perpetuating any facts or achievements of people. There are special types of plaques on which generalized statements are written, for example, "In this house lived a veteran of the Second World War. Honor and glory to him! "

Still there are boards, installed on a "special occasion". Usually they arise on the initiative of local authorities and often do not bear any meaning at all, for example: "Here in 1904 Nikolai II was passing by."

A special tradition is the opening of the memorial plaque With the image of the patrimonial emblem or the arms of the city. Such memorable relics began to be created in the Middle Ages, when people revered knightly and noble dynasties. In modern society, such a plaque is a rarity.

Grand opening of commemorative plaques

Each memorial plaque is considered a monumental monument of painting, therefore, the process of its opening, as a rule, is solemn and symbolic. Usually it is customary to invite not only members of the bureaucracy, but also artists and people associated with the event, which is perpetuated. The people present pay a kind of tribute to memory, attach themselves to history and pass on their traditions to the future generation. The moments of opening the monument are often covered by the press.