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Henri Lois Auguste Ricard de Montferrand (or simply Auguste de Montferrand) was a French architect who primarily worked in Russia. He was the architect behind St. Isaacs Cathedral and the Alexander Column. Auguste was born January 23, 1786 and grew up in the suburbs of Paris, France. He joined the Academie d'architecture in 1806. He then served in Napoleon's Army prior to his move to Russia to pursue work as an architect following the war.
He first arrived in St. Petersburg in 1816, though his plans for St. Isaacs Cathedral were not approved until 1818. The project was reworked and the revised plans were not approved until 1825. During this time he worked with Spanish engineer, Agustín de Betancourt, on the Nizhny Novgorod Fair which had been destroyed in a fire in 1816.He also designed the Cathedral of St. Spyridon of Trimythous in the Admiralty building in 1821.
St. Isaacs Cathedral
Alexander Column
Though his plans had been approved in 1825, the St. Isaacs Cathedral project was a huge undertaking, and took over twenty-three years to complete. It was during this period that Auguste designed the Alexander Column, among other works including overseeing repairs to the Kazan Cathedral.
Augestine's design for the Alexander Column and St. Isaac's Cathedral are perhaps his best known works. The Cathedral was opened on May 30, 1858. Auguste de Montferrand died on July 10, 1858 at the age of seventy-two. He was buried in Paris, in the Cimitiere de Monmartre.
