The Alexander Column, (Aleksandrovskaia Kolonna), was completed in 1834 to celebrate Russia's victory over Napoleon. Design by Auguste de Montferrand, it is an engineering masterpiece. It's 155 ft tall and the body of the column is a single, 83' piece of red granite. This 600 pound monolith was erected in less than 2 hours. Remember, no cranes in 1834 folks. It's actually a bit difficult to comprehend the scale of the monument because the plaza in which it stands is so vast.