Saint-Petersburg Bridges

Dazzling temples, bustling markets, mouth-watering cuisine, world-class shopping, ultra-modern malls, ancient sights??¦ Saint-Petersburg is certainly a feast for all the senses - so much to see and to do in this fascinating city, but there is hardly anything more romantic than simply walking along the atmospheric embankments watching the enchanting spectacle of drawing bridges during the White nights. The stunning view of Saint-Petersburg unique collection of elegant bridges has always lured many tourists and citizens to the ???Venice of the North???.

Alexander Nevsky Bridge Alexander Nevsky Bridge with its iron-concrete support shells, improved beam span support and eight-sided columns for stronger bank abutment is not only one of the most modern and practical bridges in the city but it is also the longest bridge (905,7 meters) in the Northern Capital. Built in the 1960s, it solves the major transportation problem in St. Petersburg.

Anichkov Bridge The main city??™s thoroughfare Nevsky prospect crosses the Fontanka River by way of the 54-meter-long Anichkov Bridge built in the mid-nineteenth century, which has become a city landmark as it boasts one of the rarest architectural and decorative qualities: on each corner rears a dramatic bronze statue of a supple youth trying to control a fiery steed.

Bank Bridge The winding Griboedov Canal runs beneath the charming pedestrian (1.85 meters wide) Bank Bridge, whose suspension cables issue from the mouths of four mythological griffons with gilded wings. Built in the early 19th century by Walter Traitteur, this picturesque bridge with its cast-iron fencing got its name from the neighboring building of former Assignment Bank.

Blue Bridge St.Isaac square??™s end continues across the Blue Bridge which is so wide (99.95 meters) that you can hardly realize the Moika is flowing beneath it. Like other ???coloured??? bridges further along Moika - the Red, the Yellow and the Green, the simplistically designed Blue Bridge got its mane from the colour of its sides facing the river.

Bolsheokhtinsky Bridge A unique combination of the modernist and medieval architectural styles, the gigantic Bolsheokhtinsky Bridge is a drawbridge which has only three spans with the center elevating span bordered by Romanesque style granite towers. 128.2 meters in length and 23.43 meters wide, the bridge was opened for traffic on the 26th of October, 1911.

Egyptian Bridge The first metal bridge built in Russia was the Egyptian Bridge that carries Lermontovsky prospect across the Fontanka River. Flanked with cast-iron obelisks and 150-year old sphinxes with gilded headgear, this single-spanned chain bridge boasts handsomely styled railings decorated with quaint rosettes and brackets.

Exchange Bridge Elegantly decorated with strict columns, ornate railings with nautical themes and simple lanterns, the Exchange Bridge is a double-winged drawbridge that having a rather transparent look because of the straight steel bars, is considered to be one of the most important busy roads linking the Basil Island with the Petrograd Side.

Lieutenant Schmidt Bridge The first permanent stone bridge across Neva erected in the 1840s and rebuilt in the 1930s, the Lieutenant Schmidt Bridge (24 meters wide and 331 meters long) with its decorative pavilions and ornate cast-iron railings in the design of sea horses is a drawbridge with 8 spans which offers a stunning panoramic view of Admiralty and University Embankments.

Lions Bridge Spanning the meandering Griboedov Canal in one of the most picturesque places of Petersburg, the narrow foot Lions Bridge (2.26 meters wide and 22.44 meters long) is richly adorned with four majestic cast-iron lions, mysteriously guarding the passageway, elaborate gray railings with glimmering bronze rosettes and elegant lanterns.

Lomonosov Bridge Spanning Fontanka River, the Lomonosov Bridge (57 meters long and 14 meters wide) is particularly impressive due to four picturesque towers topped off with spherical cupolas with shiny ball-shaped golden urns. It also boasts of middle draw span and four stone obelisks with charming six-sided lamps added during the bridge restoration in 1912.

Palace Bridge The busiest bridge in the Northern capital, the world-famous Palace Bridge (250 meters long and 28 meters wide) is renowned not only for having the largest liftable span of all the seven Neva bridges, but also for the fabulous views of Basil Island with its Rostral columns, majestic Winter Palace and the architectural ensembles of Peter-and-Paul Fortress.

Red Bridge Carrying Gorokhovaya Street across the Moika River and only 400 meters from the widest bridge of the city the Blue Bridge, there is the Red Bridge ??“ one of four similar wrought-iron ???coloured??? bridges built in the nineteenth century that retains its original form featuring four granite obelisks topped with gilded spheres.

Trinity Bridge The 582-meter-long Trinity Bridge, the third permanent non-floating drawbridge built across the Neva River, nowadays serves as an important transportation artery joining Admiralty Island with the Petrograd Side. Designed in 1892, the Trinity Bridge boasts floor beautiful ornate lamps in the finest modernist style and four-sided pyramid-like obelisks.

Tuchkov Bridge Unlike other Petersburg bridges, the 900-meter-long Tuchkov Bridge with its amazing twenty spans was designed by architects Areshev and Noskov in a simple and strict style deprived of any lavish decorations. This drawbridge was the first to span the Malaya Neva River, connecting Basil Island with the Petrograd Side.