The capital of Russia is not only a huge metropolis, but also a city in which about 40 rivers flow. And only some of them today have an open, that is, a land channel. These are Yauza, Skhodnya, Ichka, Ochakovka, Setun, Ramenka, Chechera and, of course, the most full-flowing, having the same name as the city itself.
Bridges over the Moscow River
The Moskva River, originating on the Smolensk-Moscow Upland, acquired stone shores of concrete and granite, dams and many bridges within the capital. The length of its metropolitan area is 80 km, its width reaches from 120 to 200 m. It is considered the widest at the Luzhniki Stadium, and the narrowest at the walls of the Kremlin.
More than three dozen bridge structures are called upon to connect the banks of a rather full-flowing river. Moreover, some of them have a history of several centuries. Most of them were erected already in the days of the USSR.
One of the largest metropolitan structures to cross the river is Moskvoretsky bridge. Having been in Moscow, one should not miss the opportunity to take beautiful photographs both against the background of the bridge, and from it. After all, it offers wonderful views of the towers of the Kremlin - Beklemishevskaya and Spasskaya, St. Basil's Cathedral.
Historical reference
The history of the Moskvoretsky bridge is more than five centuries. It was erected on the site of one of the crossings, which also existed for many years. The crossing was one of the closest and most convenient to the Kremlin. The first structures were gradually erected. At the end of the 15th century it was a floating structure, at the end of the 18th - wooden on stilts.
The bridge received stone foundations in 1829. But these were only bulls, which were the support for the still wooden 28-meter spans. At the end of the 19th century, all wooden elements were badly damaged during a major fire, after which they were replaced with metal ones.
In 1935, all the metropolitan bridge structures underwent some changes. The modern look of the city was formed, and their canvases were slightly rotated along the axis to create fan-shaped diverging streets from the heart of the capital. The Moskvoretsky bridge was considered as the head section of these works. He took a modern look in 1938.
Bridge Features
The bridge along its entire length has two lanes for pedestrians and a fairly wide canvas for two-way traffic. In its composition, it has two parts - the Big and Small Moskvoretsky bridge. Both of them look as a single unit and are most often perceived as one structure.
The main structure is 554 meters long and 40 meters wide. It is a monolithic reinforced concrete structure of arched type. It has three spans. The central one rises above the river to a 14-meter height. Under the side pass roads. The large bridge has viewing platforms located by our central supports. The side walls have small hatchways, slightly lightening the entire structure.
The smaller structure is the same width, but only 32.5 meters long. This is only one span of monolithic reinforced concrete. Crosses the design of the drainage channel.
Modern history
Moskvoretsky bridge is famous not only for the history of its creation and beautiful views. In 1987, it ended the flight of the notorious Rust, who made his "call for peace." The impudent trick of the young man, who made so much noise, led to numerous rearrangements in the defense industry in the country at that time. Even he himself still can’t precisely formulate why he committed it.
In 2015, the bridge again attracted the attention of the world. The politician B. Nemtsov was killed on it. After which the bridge almost got a new name. But the initiative to rename it did not find support from either the authorities or the general public. Therefore, the construction remained with its historical name.
Both events caused widespread global resonance and attracted attention to the bridge as well. Many foreign tourists visit it not only to see the walls of the Kremlin from the best angle, but also for this reason.