St. Petersburg is a city deservedly named Northern Venice.
It lies on 42 islands, between which nine dozens of canals and streams flow. Stormy life circulates through them, as if in small capillaries, and 342 bridges hold the city together, like steel and cast-iron hoops. And although each of them has its own history and age, but together they constitute a single architectural ensemble.
An interesting fact is that the founder of the city, Peter the Great, strictly forbade such constructions in his brainchild in order to instill in the townspeople a love of maritime affairs. Then, after all, it was allowed to build such only as temporary crossings, but they took root, from wooden steel to metal or stone.
Drawbridges
Of course, the process of raising a multi-ton steel block or stone block is very spectacular. This is why hundreds of thousands of tourists travel annually to the city on the Neva. White nights in summer, aurora borealis in winter, many canals and actual drawbridges of St. Petersburg, photos with names and descriptions of which are placed in this article, are what create the appearance of this magnificent city. Without them, Peter would have lost the lion's share of his splendor.
But initially the drawbridge of St. Petersburg arose, rather, from basic needs, and not for the sake of beauty. The fact is that the city on the Neva was built as a port, which was supposed to receive many ships. Therefore, during the day, the bridges of St. Petersburg served to connect parts of the city, and at night they rose, passing high vessels. Back in 2008, 21 of them participated in this magnificent night action, which is akin to a fairy tale, but now there are only 13 of them.
And what are the famous bridges of St. Petersburg, photos with the names of which are placed below?
The symbol of the city
The Palace Bridge across the Neva was built in 1916 to connect the Admiralteysky and Vasilievsky Islands, where at that time the administrative (Winter Palace) and the economic center of the city (Main Exchange) were located. The construction was in danger of collapsing twice: in 1914, at first the flood ruins one of the pillars, and then the First World War makes its own corrections. The bridge consists of 5 spans, one of which is adjustable. It stretches 260 meters in length and 27.8 meters in width; cars in 6 lanes can move there. The weight of the entire structure is 7.7 tons.
Bridges of St. Petersburg: Annunciation
He underwent many transformations of appearance, the name also changed: during the time of Nicholas II he became Nikolaevsky, in 1918 he was named after Lieutenant Schmidt to please the new authorities, and in 2007 everything returned to normal. This bridge, opened in 1850, was the first permanent in the city; all the previous ones were temporary dies. Heavy cast iron was used as material, and before World War II, in 1936, it was replaced with lighter steel. After the reconstruction of 2007, its length is 331 m and its width is 37 m. The structure has 8 spans. Initially, the last of them was adjustable, which adjoined the right bank of the Neva, now the central part of the bridge rises. From 1918 to 2005, a tram ran on it.
Bridges of St. Petersburg: horse epic
Anichkov bridge is located on Nevsky Prospect. With his name, he immortalized the name of the colonel, whose regiment built it. The bridge was once the first wooden in the whole city, and it was clad in stone at the end of the 18th century. First of all, he is famous for his famous sculptural composition in 4 guises, which is called "Conquest of the horse by man", depicting the different stages of this process. It is interesting that at first only two of them standing on the western part of the bridge were poured out of bronze, and only their plaster copies decorated the eastern part. But as soon as the sculptor created the bronze statues, they were taken to Berlin as a gift to the king of Prussia. The next couple left for Sicily. Then the sculptor gave life to statues that do not copy the first, but continue the plot. They still adorn Anichkov bridge .
Place of lovers
Kissing the bridge on the background of St. Isaac's Cathedral over the granite banks of the Moika River is one of the favorite places for dates (the name requires, although it most likely comes from the name of the owner of a nearby inn, which was there in the 18th century). At first it was intended only for pedestrians, and in 1768 the stone arched structure became a transport crossing. Further, in 1908, a tram route was laid along it . This bridge is non-movable, and this fact attracts newlyweds who believe that a kiss on this bridge promises a happy marriage that will not result in a divorce.
First outboard
Panteleimon Church gave the name to the bridge, which lies nearby. It arose during the construction of the fountains of the Summer Garden, since an aqueduct was needed to transport water. He served until the flood of 1777. 48 years later, the first suspension bridge in Russia, built on stilts, is being built at the same place. True, they called him Chain. Its decoration in the ancient Egyptian style was truly luxurious: friezes decorated with gilded ornaments, cornices with lions, lights, sockets. The suspension structure held tightly to the iron chains, and the bridge could swing very much. It was a curiosity to the townspeople, and they liked this attraction. He survived the first reconstruction from 1905 to 1914. Then it was renamed Panteleimonovsky. Also appeared lanterns, floor lamps, cast-iron railings entwined with ribbons and decorated with shields. In approximately this form, he still stands, delighting with his luxury in the style of classicism.
Variety of architectural forms
Where to start if you want to see firsthand the most iconic bridges of St. Petersburg? Photos with the names of the erected structures through the Neva can be found in almost every city guide. No less interesting are those that connect the shores of the Fontanka and the Moika. For example, the Peter the Great Bridge has towers in the form of lighthouses that glow at night. Trinity is considered one of the most beautiful in the city. Some of them got their name because of the color - Red, Green, Yellow, Blue - and the width of the latter reaches almost 100 m. The Hermitage drawbridge is made of stone. Bolshoi Obukhovsky has no equal in length - 2824 m. Kantemirovsky is the youngest of the drawers.
And these are just some facts about the bridges of St. Petersburg. Photos, of course, cannot convey even half of the grandeur of these monumental structures, many of which open their arms at night for ships.