The Devil's or Kissing Bridge, the Bridge of Lovers and the Small Bridge of Paton - these names gave the people of Kiev a bridge at the Park Alley, which connects the modern territory of the Mariinsky and Khreshchaty Park. This is one of the famous attractions of the city. The bridge of lovers in Kiev is a popular place for couples who often walk on it and hang small locks as a sign of their love and devotion. In this publication we will talk about the history and features of this beautiful place.
The bridge of lovers in Kiev: history and modernity
It is believed that this building was built according to the project developed by Eugene Paton, and it was opened from about 1910 to 1912. In this matter, the information of historians is different.
Earlier on this site there was a hollow, which had a natural earthen partition. It was there that they put the metal structure of the bridge. The land that was under it was cleaned.
As a result, a section of the Petrovskaya Alley appeared, which later connected the central part of Kiev and the Park Road, as well as the Naberezhnoye highway. The bridge has been quite popular over the past century. This trend was due to the fact that it was with his help that the territory of the two most visited parks in Kiev was connected , which were such until the 1980s. Already during the late 1960s, the Hydropark was created, which is why a large number of people began to spend their time in this place.
The summer of 1983 is the time of reconstruction of the bridge, during which it (except for the base) had to be almost completely replaced. Thus, this is not the original design designed by Eugene Paton, which not everyone thinks about.
The structure has in fact been replaced, as indicated above. However, it was decided that the old metal bridge structure should be preserved, and not discarded and scrapped. Thus, it is stored on the territory of the museum complex in the city of Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky.
Kiev traditions
This building passes directly above the territory of Parkova Alley, and also connects two popular city parks. On bridge rails it is customary to write declarations of love and hang small locks. It has become a real Kiev tradition to come here during weddings. The bride and groom hang a lock on the bridge so that their love is eternal. Not many people know that park rangers often cut them, because otherwise the design will simply collapse due to such a severity.
The bridge of lovers in Kiev (photo you can see below) is also called in another way - Devil's bridge or “bridge of suicides”. This is due to unpleasant stories that are not related to the romantic beliefs of Kiev. The bridge got its name due to the fact that on it people ended their lives by suicide, jumping from a height. However, it is customary to surround such facts with a tragic-romantic flair. It is believed that suicides also occurred because of unrequited feelings. Even these tragic stories did not prevent the Bridge of Lovers from becoming a place where couples come every day to confess to each other in love.
Monument to Eternal Love
In 2013, a sculptural composition was installed at the entrance to the bridge, which became a monument to Eternal Love. The history of the building is directly related to the love story of the Italian Luigi Pedutto and the Ukrainian Mokrina Yurzuk (a prisoner of war guy and a girl taken out for forced labor). Their acquaintance occurred during the war years on the territory of the Austrian camp. It was an institution for prisoners of war. Their feeling helped to survive in the camp, however, when the war ended, Mokrina went home, and the lovers were destined to part. The meeting between the Italian and the Ukrainian took place only in 2004 on the well-known program “Wait for me”. The authors of the monument captured exactly the moment when they again saw each other. This is the story of lovers who briefly brought together and immediately separated by fate and the bloody events of the 20th century.
How to find a bridge?
Of course, visitors are interested to look at the Bridge of lovers in Kiev. Where is this building located? The bridge can be found if you arrive at the metro station "Independence Square" or "Arsenalnaya" (the territory of Khreshchaty and Arsenalnoy Park).