List of bridges in Saint Petersburg

Palace Bridge drawing, an iconic sight of St. Petersburg

There are 342 bridges in the city limits of Saint Petersburg, Russia. This is a partial list of most famous ones.

Peter the Great was designing the city as another Amsterdam and Venice, with canals instead of streets and citizens skillful in sailing. Initially, there were only about ten bridges constructed in the city, mainly across ditches and minor creeks. By Peter's plans, in the summer months, the citizens were supposed to move around in boats, and in the winter months when the water froze to move in sledges. However, after Peter's death, new bridges were built, as it was a much easier way of transportation. Temporary ponton bridges were used in the summertime. The first permanent bridge of bricks and stones across the main branch of the Neva river appeared in 1850.

Today, there are 342 bridges over canals and rivers of various sizes, styles and constructions, built at different periods. Some of them are small pedestrian bridges, such as Bank and Lion bridges, others are huge transport arteries such as almost one kilometer long Alexander Nevsky Bridge. There are about 800 small bridges across hundreds of smaller ponds and lakes in public parks and gardens, and over 100 bridges in various ports, marinas, yacht clubs and private industries. The total number of bridges in Saint Petersburg is over a thousand. The nearly 100-meter-wide Blue Bridge, claimed to be the widest in the world, spans the Moyka River. There are bridges designed in various styles with such decorations as statues, lamplights, lions, horses, sphinxes and griffins, and there are modern styles lacking any decor. Thanks to the intricate web of canals, Saint Petersburg is often called the "Venice of the North" which is a popular poetic name for the northern capital.

The names of the bridges are of a great diversity as well. Some take their names from geographic locations — such as English, Italian and Egyptian bridges. Other names refer to the places such as Postoffice, Theater and Bank bridges. Many bridges are named after famous people - Alexander Nevsky, Peter the Great, Lomonosov bridges. There are "colored" bridges — Red, Green, Blue and Yellow bridges.

A familiar view of Saint Petersburg is a drawbridge across the Neva. Every night during the navigation period from April to November, 22 bridges across Neva and main canals are drawn to let ships pass in and out of the Baltic Sea into the Volga-Baltic waterway system. A calculated schedule with precise time of consecutive opening and closing for each bridge is maintained to guarantee passage of cargo ships and tankers at a precisely controlled speed, in order to have at least one bridge at a time staying connected to ensure passage for firefighters, police, ambulances and other ground transportation.

Facts by numbers

Bridges across Neva River and Bolshaya Neva

Bridges are numbered downstream, with initials to determine which distributary they cross.[2]

No.NameCrossesDrawbridge opening times !
1Big Obuhovskij BridgeNeva River
2Volodarskij BridgeNeva River
3Finland Railway BridgeNeva River
4Alexander Nevskij BridgeNeva River
5Peter the Great Bridge (formerly Bolšeohtinskij Bridge)Neva River
6Litejnyj BridgeNeva River
7Trinity BridgeNeva River
8BPalace BridgeBolšaja Neva
9BBlagoveščenskij BridgeBolšaja Neva
8MExchange BridgeMalaja Neva
9MTučkov BridgeMalaja Neva
7KSampsonievskij BridgeBolšaja Nevka
8KGrenader BridgeBolšaja Nevka
9KKantemirovskij BridgeBolšaja Nevka(2:45–3:45, 4:20–4:50)
10KBUšakovskij BridgeBolšaja Nevka
11KBThird Elagin BridgeBolšaja Nevka
10KSFirst Elagin BridgeSrednjaja Nevka
11KSSecond Elagin BridgeSrednjaja Nevka
10KMKamenoostrovskij BridgeMalaja Nevka
11KMBig Krestovskij BridgeMalaja Nevka
12KMLazarevskiy BridgeMalaja Nevka
13KMBig Petrovskij BridgeMalaja Nevka

Bridges across the Griboyedov Canal

Griffon statues on Bank bridge

Bridges across Fontanka River

Lomonosov Bridge

Bridges across Moyka River

Potseluev Bridge

Bridges across Winter Canal

Bridges across the Kryukov Canal

  • Smezhny Bridge
  • Staro-Nikolsky Bridge
  • Kashin Bridge
  • Torgovy Bridge
  • Decabristov Bridge
  • Matveevsky Bridge

Bridges across the Obvodnyi Canal

Baltic bridge across Obvodnyi canal
  • Shlisserburg Bridge
  • Atamansky Bridge
  • Nikolaevsky railway Bridge
  • Predtechny Bridge
  • Novo-kamenniy bridge
  • Borovoy Bridge
  • Ippodromny Bridge
  • Tsarskoselsky railway Bridge
  • Ruzovsky Bridge
  • Mozhaysky Bridge
  • Gazovy Bridge
  • Maslyny Bridge
  • Novo-Moskovky Bridge
  • Warsaw Bridge
  • Baltic Bridge
  • Novo-Peterofsky Bridge
  • Krasnooktyabrsky Bridge
  • Tarakanovsky Bridge
  • Borisov Bridge
  • Novo-Kalinkin Bridge
  • Stepan Razin Bridge

Bridges across the Okhta River

  • Armashevsky Bridge
  • Bolshoy Ilinsky Bridge
  • Industrial Bridge
  • Irinovsky Bridge
  • Komarovsky Bridga
  • Malookhtinsky Bridge
  • Obyezdnoy Bridge
  • Utkin Bridge
  • Shaumyana Bridge

Bridges across Okkervil River

  • Utkin Bridge
  • Zanevsky Bridge
  • Yablonovsky Bridge
  • Rossijsky Bridge
  • Kollontay Bridge
  • Podvoisky Bridge
  • Tovarischesky Bridge
  • Dybenko Bridge

Bridges across Smolenka River

  • Uralsky Bridge
  • Smolensky Bridge
  • Nalichny Bridge
  • Shipbuilders' Bridge


See also

Except bridges, in Saint Petersburg there are other kinds of crossings:

Tunnels
Ferries
  • Railway ferry line

References

  1. ↑ "The Blue Bridge (Siniy Most)". Retrieved 2006-12-22.
  2. ↑ Разводка мостов :: Справки и карты :: Мой район СПб
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