Description
in 1836 the St. Petersburg-Warsaw tract was being built, passing through Daugavpils, Zarasi, Ukmerge, Kaunas, Marijampole, Suwalki and other areas of Lithuania. It was an object of strategic importance for the Russian Empire, both in terms of communication and military logistics, as it had to improve the movement of army units through the occupied territories of Lithuania and Poland. in 1836 after the completion of the construction work, Russian Emperor Nicholas I went to inspect the newly created infrastructure. While visiting Zarasai, he liked the area so much that he decided to rename the town to Novoaleksandrovsk (in honor of his father or son) and moved the county center here. Since then, the transport of goods, mail and passengers has increased, the city has grown rapidly, and has acquired the layout it is today. in 1845 In Zarasai, in front of the road guard barracks, a monument dedicated to the Kaunas-Daugpilis section of the St. Petersburg-Warsaw tract was built - an 11.1-meter-high cast iron obelisk with a stepped plinth. On the front plane of the monument there were 2 metal plates with inscriptions in Russian and the coat of arms of the Russian Empire. The builder of the monument is the industrialist Piotras Antonis Steinkeler (1799-1854). in 1932 the obelisk was repainted, the symbols of the former empire were removed, and in their place a metal Vytis and new plates with patriotic inscriptions were attached. Lithuanian symbolism was destroyed already in the first years of the Soviet occupation, and in 1961 a composition made of stainless steel strips was attached to the obelisk, depicting a man rising into space (removed in 1987). Currently, a plate with the inscription "Kaunas-Daugpilis road built in 1830 - 1836" is attached to the obelisk, testifying to the fact that the road was built as an important event for the development of the city.
