There is plenty to see in Vladimir: old churches, interesting museums, green squares… But this city also has something more extravagant – the Monument to the Janitor! To a simple hard-working janitor with a broom, whom we see every day when we go to work in the morning.
The monument, symbolizing respect for this profession, was installed in 2004 on Belokonskaya Street, next to the city Housing and Utilities Administration. The sculpture depicts a modest janitor in a cap, standing and leaning on his broom, thinking about something. According to the city authorities, the statue should remind residents that order and cleanliness need to be maintained.
The authors of the Monument to the Janitor, architects Vladimir Toropov and Alexander Pakhomov, cast it from a special bronze alloy that scrap metal collection points do not buy. What touching care for their creation, isn't it?
During the unveiling of the monument, a large crowd gathered, and traditions immediately appeared – to stroke the broom for good luck and shake the janitor's hand. And the government even came up with its own tradition – from now on, the best housing and utilities workers in Russia will be awarded the “Golden Janitor,” which is a smaller copy of the Vladimir monument.
