View of the Peter and Paul Fortress through the opened Palace Bridge.
In the minds of contemporaries, drawbridges and the city on the Neva form an inextricable whole, and the wingspan of the Palace Bridge against the backdrop of the Peter and Paul Cathedral is the most recognizable symbol of St. Petersburg. It turns out that this was not always the case.
History and general information
In 2016, the Palace Bridge, connecting the center with, celebrated its centenary, which is more than strange for a city built on the islands more than 300 years ago, because its predecessor, the first to connect the banks of the Neva, the Blagoveshchensky Bridge, is not much older. Two questions immediately arise. How did city residents overcome water barriers, and why were there no bridges?
A passionate fan of navigation, Peter I did not plan bridges for his creation, believing that they would interfere with navigation. Moving on an eight-meter four-oar rope boat, he put all his associates in the boats, arranging an “inspection” of their vehicles on weekends and holidays. And for ordinary people, public boats and ferries were offered. Even Venetian gondolas plied along the river and numerous canals. In winter we rode on the ice in sleighs.
Two years after the death of Peter the Great (in 1727), the first floating bridge across the Bolshaya Neva appeared, connecting the palaces that belonged to Governor General A. D. Menshikov: one on Vasilyevsky Island (and still there), the other was on the site of the Senate building and the Synod.
The structure consisted of barque pontoons covered with wooden flooring. In the same year, His Serene Highness Prince Menshikov fell into disgrace and was expelled from St. Petersburg. The building was dismantled and a transport facility was installed in its place. Construction was resumed under Anna Ioannovna by her decree in 1732 - the growing city was in dire need of a crossing. The structure, built hastily from improvised means, could not withstand the storm and was scattered along the river, and the barges sank. But since 1733, the bridge was built every year in the spring and removed in the fall. The bridge was a drawbridge. It was named St. Isaac's in honor of the wooden church, on the site of which it was later erected. For the passage of mast ships, its two central spans were diverted to the sides. At the same time, boat transportation across the Neva operated: from the Winter Palace, Galerny Dvor, Kryukov Canal...
In 1850, the construction of the Blagoveshchensky Bridge was completed, and soon the floating St. Isaac's Bridge was moved up the river to the axis of Palace Passage and Birzhevaya Square. The crossing is called the Palace Bridge, symbolically connecting the Winter Palace, which personified the highest authority, and the main stock exchange of the country - the magnates of Russian business of that time.
Beginning in 1901, over the course of 8 years, an international competition was announced three times for the creation of a permanent engineering structure in this place, the movable structure of which had to meet high technical requirements and “beauty near the buildings located.” The final stage was won by Andrzej Pavlovich Pshenitsky, an outstanding architect, chief engineer of the St. Petersburg Bridge Management Department, graduated from the St. Petersburg Institute of Railways, author of many projects and participant in the construction of 43 bridges in the city.
The start of construction dates back to 1912; it was delayed due to flooding, which damaged the unfinished support, and a lack of funds for military needs. And the pontoon crossing, which had been here until this moment, returns again to its original place. It served until it floated down the river like fires, flaring up with a bright flame from the spark of a passing steamship - one of the barges contained a supply of kerosene for the bridge lanterns, the fuel tank caught fire, the fire, fanned by the wind, engulfed the entire structure, the cables burst. The remains of the structures were carried by the current to the Blagoveshchensky Bridge, and they smoldered near its foundations.
Anna Akhmatova described what happened this way: “... the wooden St. Isaac's Bridge, blazing, floats to the mouth of the Neva, and my companion and I look in horror at this unprecedented sight, and this day has a date - July 11, 1916...”
The Isaac Floating Bridge was not restored; the Palace Bridge, opened on December 23, 1916, became its successor. The event was extremely modest; the mayor and members of the imperial family were not present - there was a war going on, and a week ago their unofficial spiritual mentor Grigory Rasputin was killed. And the bridge itself was not fully decorated - the temporary decking and railings were wooden. A cast-iron fence with simple Soviet symbols will replace them in 1939, and during the reconstruction of 1967, a new adjustable mechanism will be installed, the flooring and lanterns will be changed.
During its existence, the structure has undergone more than one reconstruction, but old-timers of St. Petersburg remember the celebrations dedicated to the opening of the renovated bridge in November 1997. A volley of cannons announced the beginning of the celebration, couples in ancient costumes danced on the bridge, and music sounded. The “Palace Bridge Lights Up” event was illuminated not only by fireworks, but also by the opening of its artistic lighting.
During the last renovation work in 2013, the driveway and walkway were opened to vehicles and pedestrians.
The length of the Palace Bridge is 250 m, the 22-meter roadway is divided into 6 lanes, and the width of its sidewalks (2.8 m) allows pedestrians to admire a wonderful panorama of attractions located on the banks of the Neva. The Winter Palace, St. Isaac's Cathedral, are located on the left bank, and on the opposite side: the Exchange, - in a single mesmerizing ensemble they appear to admiring glances.
Palace Bridge at dawn.
The beauty of the shots taken during the day during a pedestrian walk along the Palace Bridge from the Spit of Vasilievsky Island is second only to night shots from a pleasure boat. The spread wings of the Palace Bridge shine with lights and look spectacular against the backdrop of the water surface and the architectural masterpieces of the Northern capital.
The opened Palace Bridge and the Hermitage (in the background).
Where is it and how to get there
The Palace Bridge is located in the historical center of St. Petersburg, near the Hermitage, Palace Square and the Spit of Vasilyevsky Island.
The nearest metro station is "Admiralteyskaya".
Nearest public transport stops:
- “Palace Square” (buses 7, 10, 24 and 191, trolleybuses 1, 7, 10 and 11);
- “University Embankment 1” (buses 7 and 24, trolleybuses 1, 10, 11);
- "Birzhevaya Ploshchad" (buses 10 and 191, trolleybus 7).
100 great sights of St. Petersburg Myasnikov Sr. Alexander Leonidovich
Palace Bridge
Palace Bridge
The bridges of St. Petersburg have become an integral part of the life and architectural panorama of the city. It is probably as unthinkable to imagine the city of Petrov without them today as it is to imagine Moscow without the Kremlin, as New York without skyscrapers or Egypt without pyramids.
The Palace Bridge, raised against the backdrop of the sunset, has long become a universally recognized symbol of St. Petersburg.
The Palace Bridge connects Vasilyevsky Island, or rather the spit of the island, with the 2nd Admiralty Island.
By the way, many years before the construction of the bridge, in 1817, a self-taught engineer, tradesman Torganov, created a project for a canal under the Neva, which was supposed to connect the Palace Embankment with Vasilyevsky Island. The project was reported to Alexander I. The Emperor got acquainted with the project and left a resolution on it: “Give Torgovanov 200 rubles from his office and oblige him to subscribe so that in the future he will not engage in projects, but will practice in the trades characteristic of his condition.”
The construction of bridges in St. Petersburg is one of the most interesting chapters in the history of bridge construction in Russia. It is important because it was here that the most progressive and economical types of bridges were created, which then received development and distribution both in the city itself and its environs, and far beyond its borders.
Over a short historical period, extremely diverse types of bridges were created in St. Petersburg. They differ in the materials from which they are built, structural designs, span sizes and many other characteristic features that distinguish them from bridges in other cities and countries. It was in St. Petersburg that bright architectural forms of bridges were born and techniques for their artistic decoration were developed.
The raised Palace Bridge has long become a symbol of St. Petersburg
The history of the Palace Bridge began back in 1882. Then public organizations and many homeowners turned to the City Government with a request to replace the Palace Deck Bridge with a permanent one. The old pontoon bridge rested on flat-bottomed vessels.
However, it was only in July 1900 that the City Government invited the Construction Supervision Commission to draw up technical specifications for the design of the bridge through an international competition. A competition was announced simultaneously for the designs of the Palace and Bolshoi Okhtinsky bridges in 1901. According to the competitive conditions, all work must be carried out from domestic materials by Russian workers and Russian engineers. Another condition of the competition was the nature of the bridge’s decor. The decor should reflect the national characteristics of Russian architecture. The bridge should become a monument that symbolically reproduces folk traits - fabulous strength, nobility and courage.
Twenty-seven preliminary designs for the Palace Bridge were submitted to the competition. All the projects demonstrated in the City Duma, according to contemporaries, “made a far from favorable impression.”
The main problem was that, after all, the bridge had to be built in the very center of the city, in the very historical part. It was supposed to connect such architectural monuments as the Admiralty, Winter Palace, Palace Square, with the ensemble of the Spit of Vasilyevsky Island with the Rostral Columns, the Exchange, the Zoological Museum, the Kunstkamera, the Academy of Sciences, and the University. Each of these monuments is associated with the names of outstanding architects of different eras.
The second round of the competition was announced in the same 1901, and only domestic enterprises took part in this round.
The struggle for a lucrative contract for the construction of the Palace Bridge lasted about ten years. Finally, in 1911, an agreement was signed with the Kolomna Plants Society. Kolomna factories met the requirement that all work on the construction of the bridge must be carried out from domestic materials by Russian workers and Russian engineers. The original version of the six-span bridge, which suffered from significant shortcomings, was rejected due to protests from architects and bridge builders. In the end, after much debate, the project of engineer Andrei Pavlovich Pshenitsky and architect Roman Fedorovich Meltser was chosen, although the authors had to spend some time improving it.
The Palace Bridge was built over the course of four years; the date of its opening was constantly pushed back due to a lack of funds, which were mainly used for armament and other needs related to the First World War.
Critics did not like, first of all, the fact that the bridge almost completely blocked the historical buildings on the embankment of Vasilievsky Island - the Kunstkamera, the Zoological Museum and the Exchange and partially blocked the Admiralty building from those who stood on the spit of Vasilievsky Island. However, this position of the bridge is largely due not to the mistakes of the architects, but to the too low banks of the Neva in this place. The bridge could well have turned out to be even higher, but in fact the architects and builders did everything possible to ensure that it obscured the view of St. Petersburg residents as little as possible.
The design of the bridge is simple and clear. It consists of five spans, the middle of which, quickly opening, is covered with a three-hinged arch, and the other spans are covered with two riveted continuous spans with through trusses having lower curved chords. Each wing of the draw span was balanced by a system of counterweights suspended from its lower part on hinges. An idea of the Palace Bridge is also given by its technical characteristics: total length - 250 meters, width of the middle draw span - 57.46 meters, usable width of the bridge - 27.73 meters; width of the roadway – 21.97 meters; The width of the sidewalks is 2.82 meters.
The first pedestrians walked across the Palace Bridge on Christmas Day - December 25, 1916. Thus, the Palace Bridge became the last bridge built in the Russian Empire.
Under Soviet rule, the Palace Bridge was called Republican for some time, but then its original name was returned to it. Towards the end of the twentieth century, it was partially reconstructed, and its drawbridge was rebuilt. New times required new technical solutions.
There is a legend that the railings of the Palace Bridge were decorated with images of double-headed eagles and that after the revolution these railings were thrown from the bridge into the Neva. However, in reality nothing like this ever happened.
At the opening of traffic, wooden fences were installed “temporarily,” which were by no means distinguished by their beauty and grace. The bridge railings are very modest - there were no double-headed eagles or other images on them, and only in 1939 they were replaced with cast iron gratings with Soviet symbols: coat of arms, banners, bunches of ears of corn and five-pointed stars. It is interesting that the plank shacks that completed the middle supports were demolished already in 1977.
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The Palace Bridge is located between Dvortsovy Proezd and Birzhevaya Square on Vasilyevsky Island. Its length is 260 meters, width - 27.8 meters. The middle of its five spans is a two-winged, adjustable span. The remaining spans are covered by two metal riveted continuous spans with through trusses having lower curved chords.
Each wing is balanced by seven counterweights. The weight of the metal structures of the Palace Bridge is 4868 tons, and the counterweights are 2800 tons.
It is considered one of the symbols of the city. Perhaps this is the most beautiful bridge in St. Petersburg. And the most famous.
On the site of the modern Palace Bridge, long before its appearance, there was no crossing over the Neva for a long time - its role was played by the Isaakievsky pontoon (floating) bridge located upstream. After the construction of the Annunciation Bridge, the St. Petersburg Exchange Committee turned to the Tsar with a request to move the floating St. Isaac's Bridge, which previously connected the University Embankment and Senate Square, to the Winter Palace. Moving the Isaac Bridge closer to the Spit of Vasilievsky Island made it possible to create a convenient transport artery that would serve the institutions of the Trade Port located on the Spit. Permission to move the bridge was received on August 5, 1853. The reconstruction project was drawn up by engineer I.K. Gerard. The crossing was given a new name - Palace Bridge, after the nearby Winter Palace and Palace Embankment.
But then the bridge was located upstream, and only in 1896 was it moved down 52 meters - to its current location. Work on building the bridge began in the winter of 1896 and ended on December 23, 1897: when the rails of the horse-drawn railway were laid along it. For the winter, it was “disconnected” in the middle and, in order not to interfere with ice drift, was moved to the shores. In winter, the crossing was carried out on ice - on foot, on Finnish sleighs, and later - by tram, the rails and power poles of which were frozen into the ice.
The Palace Bridge of those times was unsafe. In the spring of 1899, for example, the pontoons on which the decking, which had long been in need of repair, was attached, began to leak, and the crossing almost sank. After this, the question of building a capital bridge became very serious.
Back in 1882, public organizations and many homeowners approached the City Council with a request to replace the Palace Deck Bridge with a permanent one. And only in April 1901 a competition was announced, and simultaneously for two bridges - the Palace Bridge and the Peter the Great Bridge (Bolsheokhtinsky). 27 draft designs were submitted to the competition, including 13 from St. Petersburg authors. All of them were demonstrated in the Alexander Hall of the City Duma and, according to contemporaries, did not make the most favorable impression.
A special commission declared them generally unsuitable and impracticable - with the exception of the preliminary design of the French company Bitagnol. But the cunning French refused to sell the preliminary design, and offered the city to sign an agreement for the construction of the bridge for 4 million 700 thousand rubles! It was too expensive.
The second round of the competition was announced. As a result, in 1909, the project of engineer A.P. Pshenitsky, a graduate of the St. Petersburg Institute of Railway Engineers, was accepted. The architectural design of the bridge, by order of the President of the Academy of Arts, was entrusted to the architect R. F. Meltzer
12(!) years later, on February 5, 1911, an agreement on the construction of a bridge was signed with the Kolomna Plants Society. It was expected that the crossing would be put into operation on October 15, 1913, but its construction began only in 1912, since Pshenitsky’s design had to be redone. Now no one thought about the completion of the bridge within the specified time frame. Moreover, on April 17, 1914, there was a flood in St. Petersburg, as a result of which one of the supports under construction was damaged. And in August 1914, World War I broke out, and construction was delayed even more. In addition, delays in the supply of metal structures became more frequent, a shortage of labor began to be felt, and a lack of funding affected.
The Palace Bridge was opened only on December 23, 1916. A week before, on December 17, 1916, a strength test was carried out: 34 trucks, each weighing more than 600 pounds (almost 10 tons), drove onto the bridge simultaneously and sequentially occupied all its spans.
The opening ceremony of the Palace Bridge was modest: members of the royal dynasty were not present. They had no time for that - on the one hand, there was a difficult war going on, on the other, the Tsar’s favorite Grigory Rasputin was killed the day before. Only a tenth of those invited arrived for the celebration. Even the mayor Delyanov did not come, leaving the honor of cutting the ribbon to his deputy.
The decoration of the Palace Bridge was not completed until 1917: the installation of railings, lanterns and pavilions was completed under Soviet rule. Thus, the famous cast iron railing grid appeared only twenty years later, in 1939! Until that time, there were temporary wooden railings there. Well, when looking at the new working people of the city, Lenin could admire the design, which “successfully combined Soviet symbolism with the traditions of St. Petersburg classicism in the composition of the railings.” To commemorate the first anniversary of the October Revolution of 1917, the bridge was named Republican, but in January 1944 its historical name was returned to it.
The Palace Bridge was overhauled in 1967, and in 1977 it was reconstructed: the drawbridge was updated, the decking was replaced, new lamps were installed, and the wooden huts of the watchmen, which had been preserved since 1916, were removed from the middle supports. In the summer of 1997, another reconstruction was carried out, and the crossing was illuminated. It became the third bridge after Troitsky and Lieutenant Schmidt to receive such illumination.
Despite the architects’ desire to “bring the crossing closer” to the water, the bridge still covers more than half the height of the Kunstkamera, Stock Exchange, and Admiralty buildings. It was impossible to avoid this given the low banks of the Neva and compliance with navigation conditions.
Finally, in 2001, the Palace Bridge became the center of the solemn meeting of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium.
The spread wings of the Palace Bridge are one of the symbols of St. Petersburg. During festive events, they are sometimes used as screens for projecting documentaries.
One of the most famous and beloved crossings by guests of the Northern capital. Everyone should see the Palace Bridge in St. Petersburg. Most often, this exciting meeting occurs at night, during the opening of a crossing for the passage of ships. In recent years, this technical procedure has evolved into a special performance called.
Palace Bridge in St. Petersburg: history
The crossing connecting Vasilyevsky Island and the central part of the city received its name in honor of the nearby Winter Palace and Palace Embankment. The total length of the Palace Bridge in St. Petersburg is 260 meters. It consists of 5 metal spans, one of which is a two-wing movable span. The width of the Neva at the Palace Bridge is about 28 meters. The height of the vaults is 6.3 m, and in the extended position - 30 meters. The depth of the Neva in the area of the Palace Bridge is about 20 meters. The river reaches its maximum depth (24 meters) where the Liteiny Bridge is located - next to the Palace Bridge.
In the evening, it is especially interesting to admire several separated structures at once, walking from one to another. You can find out the opening time of the Palace Bridge in 2017 from. It also talks about the construction of other crossings in St. Petersburg.
The Palace Bridge is a unique architectural structure created many years ago. To this day it is one of the majestic bridges in St. Petersburg. How it was created, what events preceded its appearance, we will learn all this by taking a time machine through the pages of history.
Walking along the Neva embankment you can see a unique architectural structure - the Palace Bridge. Even from a fleeting glance, the bridge surprises with its beauty and grandeur. In the old days, there was a boat transport facility on the site of the bridge. In 1850, a great event took place in the life of St. Petersburg; the Blagoveshchensky Bridge was built. This fact led the Exchange Committee to write a letter to Nicholas the First. It contained a request to move the St. Isaac's Bridge to the Winter Palace. In 1853, the request was granted, all construction work was carried out according to the design of Ivan Kondratievich Gerard. Construction of the new bridge was completed on December 10, 1856. The crossing began to bear the name – Palace Bridge.
Bridge construction
In 1880, there was a great need for a permanent ferry between the Admiralteyskaya and Universitetskaya embankments. However, a collective letter to the city government was written only in 1882. The request to build a permanent crossing was rejected.
In 1896, a picturesque square was created near the western facade of the Winter Palace. Therefore, it was decided to move the Palace Bridge 53.25 meters down the Neva. Construction work took place from 1896 to 1897. At the same time, a horse-drawn railway appeared at the crossing.
By the spring of 1859, the pontoons of the Palace Bridge sank due to their unsuitability. This incident gave impetus to the decision to build a permanent Blagoveshchensky Bridge. But only in 1900 it was decided to replace the temporary bridge and build a permanent crossing. That same summer, a special commission was tasked with developing and designing a project for a permanent bridge across the Neva. It is worth noting that it was this commission that controlled the construction of the Trinity Bridge.
In 1901, a competition was announced for the construction of the Palace Bridge. A total of 27 works were submitted, of which 13 projects were the creation of St. Petersburg authors. The City Duma carefully studied all the proposed projects, but, unfortunately, none of them was approved. But also, the projects were reviewed by the competition commission, their opinions with the city duma practically agreed, with the exception of one project. This “lucky one” turned out to be the project of the Batignolles company. It was decided to buy out the full rights to this project, but the company flatly rejected this idea. They offered to draw up and sign a contract for the construction of a permanent bridge. According to the estimate, the total amount of the contract would be 4,700,000 rubles. In turn, the commission did not like this idea, and it was decided to hold a second round of the competition.
After the completion of the first round, it was decided to slightly alter the conditions of the competition. Now, it was necessary to draw up a project, taking into account the fact that the drawbridge span would be located not near the shore, but along the central part of the channel.
Only domestic enterprises took part in the second round. At the end of the tour, a special commission checked the projects. In their opinion, all participants of the competition coped with the technical task.
In 1911, on February 5, an agreement was signed on the construction of the Blagoveshchensky Bridge as a permanent crossing. Based on the results of two rounds, the Kolomna Plants Society won. According to the contract, they were required to deliver the completed crossing on November 15, 1913. Also, one of the clauses of the contract stated that only domestic materials and labor should be used during construction.
Although the contract was officially concluded, there was no final plan for the construction of the bridge. The author of the original project from the Kolomna Plants Society was Andrey Pavlovich Pshenitsky. The idea of the project was to build a six-span bridge, but, unfortunately, it was rejected by architects and bridge builders, since the crossing did not have its own design, and Andrei Pshenitsky proposed to completely copy the design of the Trinity Bridge. There was also a project whose goal was to build 28-meter towers with lifting mechanisms at the crossing. But such an idea was immediately stopped by the Academy of Arts.
In addition to Andrei Pshenitsky, Leonty Benois, Marian Peretyatkovich and Robert Meltzer also took part in the design of the bridge. According to engineers and bridge builders, the permanent Blagoveshchensky Bridge was the most difficult in engineering terms of all the crossings located in St. Petersburg.
Construction of the bridge began in 1912. In 1914, on April 17, there was a severe flood, one of the crossing supports was completely destroyed. This fact slowed down the construction of the bridge, because creating a new support required time and effort. In addition, a problem arose in the supply of metal structures. The First World War was to blame. There was also a gradual shortage of labor. As a result, all deadlines for commissioning the crossing were missed.
New bridge
Before putting the bridge into operation, it was necessary to test its strength. In 1916, on December 17, a special commission carried out test work. To do this, 34 trucks with a total weight of 20,000 pounds entered the crossing. The bridge successfully passed the test, and the commission gave the go-ahead to open the bridge. On December 23, traffic on the crossing was opened. But, nevertheless, the construction of the bridge was not completed, because the crossing was virtually without decoration. Temporary railings and decking were used when the bridge opened.
The opening of the bridge was not as solemn as planned. The war was to blame for everything, and Grigory Rasputin was killed a week before. The opening ceremony was attended by the royal family. Of all the invited guests, only a few came. Also, the head of the city himself was not at the event; in his place, the symbolic ribbon was cut by his deputy.
In appearance, the crossing turned out to be majestic. The total length was 260.1 meters, with a width of 27.75 meters. The weight of the bridge also inspired respect; the metal structure weighed 4,868 tons. The adjustable mechanism was thought out by the best engineers of that time. The Palace Bridge has become another symbol and decoration of the majestic St. Petersburg.
In 1918, on the anniversary of the October Revolution, the city authorities decided to rename the crossing. This is how the Republican Bridge entered the life of the city. With this name, the crossing passed through the pages of the city’s history until 1952. It was in that year that the Palace Bridge reappeared.
In 1939, it was decided to replace the wooden bridge railings with cast iron ones. Symbols such as five-pointed stars, ears of corn, coat of arms and banners were used as decoration. The author of the design of the crossing was Igor Krestovsky, one of the best sculptors of that time. And all architectural work was led by Lev Noskov.
In 1967, it was decided to carry out a major overhaul of the bridge. And in 1977, during the reconstruction of the bridge, the decking and draw mechanism were completely replaced. It was also decided to install decorative lights along the entire perimeter of the bridge.
In 1997, the Palace Bridge was completely renovated. All construction work was carried out under the leadership of Yuri Petrov. The ceremonial event to mark the opening of the renewed crossing took place on November 13, 1997. It all started with a cannon salvo from the Peter and Paul Fortress. Then a colorful performance began on the bridge. Ladies in lush ball gowns and gentlemen in camisoles twirled in a slow dance. Instrumental music was heard from the shores. At the end of the celebration, a grandiose fireworks display was displayed over the Palace Bridge.
After the renovation, the bridge acquired night lighting. Therefore, many tourists and city residents like to stroll along the embankment at dusk. At this time of day, the Palace Bridge takes on a different life, thanks to the flickering of numerous lights.
In 2013, a minor reconstruction of the crossing was carried out. During which some parts of the mechanism were replaced.
Today, the Palace Bridge remains one of the main symbols of the city. With its beauty and grandeur it continues to serve the city and its residents. According to many tourists and local residents, the lifting of the Palace Bridge is one of the most exciting spectacles in St. Petersburg.
