rostral column
architecture
Quick Summary
Vasilyevsky Island: former Exchange building and Rostral Column
The former Exchange building and Rostral Column, Vasilyevsky Island, Saint Petersburg.
A rostral column is a memorial column that commemorates a naval victory. In architecture, a column is a vertical element, typically with a shaft, capital, and base, that can serve as a support or be used decoratively as a freestanding monument. Classical Greek and Roman architecture prominently featured columns, with various orders like Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. While columns can be structural, a rostral column specifically is decorated with a ship's prow (rostrum) to function as a naval monument.123
Summary created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
3 Britannica Sources
Ask Britannica AI about this topic
Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.
