In Kaliningrad, a monument to the Pregolsky Som was erected

The sculpture of the Pregolis catfish at the Vysoky bridge was inaugurated on August 10 by the deputy head of the Kaliningrad administration, chairman of the architecture and construction committee Arthur Krupin, general director of ABZ-DORSTROY companies Leonid Gindin. They gave the right to cut the symbolic ribbon to the young Kaliningrader Petr Zoroastrov, the winner of last year’s children’s competition for the best idea of the monument to the Pregolite inhabitant, discovered by divers during an examination of the towers of the High Bridge before its reconstruction.

The Committee for Architecture and Construction of the Kaliningrad Administration, together with the newspaper Strana Kaliningrad and ABZ-Dorstroy, held a contest “City Legend” for the best idea of a monument to the catfish that the builders of the Vysokiy Bridge met. The winner of the children’s contest was the young Kaliningrader Peter Zoroaster, who was given the right to cut a symbolic ribbon and open a sculpture.

The sculpture was made by sculptor Andrei Shevtsov taking into account children’s ideas submitted in 2017 to the contest “City Legend. “On the Fontanka - Chizhik-Pyzhik, on the Pregol there will be Som.” The Kaliningrad sculptor, inspired by the work of the children, brought their best ideas to life. The ideas that are embedded in children’s drawings, in children’s handmade sculptures - the vision of young Kaliningraders was reflected in a professional facility.

“In the conditions of crisis and lack of professional personnel in the field of construction and architecture, it is necessary to start preparing future builders and architects, designers, artists from kindergartens and schools. It is not the first year that the city administration has been paying attention to career guidance among children and adolescents, aimed at attracting new personnel in the urban construction sector in the future. One of the activities aimed at arousing interest in construction and architecture was the above-mentioned children’s competition for the best idea of the Somu monument, ”said Arthur Krupin, chairman of the Committee for Architecture and Construction of the Administration.

The idea to create a monument to giant fish, which divers found when examining the bridge supports at the beginning of construction work, belongs to ABZ-DORSTROY, which reconstructed the bridge for the World Cup. Builders from the city on the Neva decided to make such a gift to the residents of Kaliningrad..

The bronze statue is a two-meter catfish lying on a stone. A key is hanging on one of his whiskers, and a fish wraps his tail around the House of the Overseer of the High Bridge, next to which Kaliningrad divers first met him when examining the bridge supports.