(Source: http://ruskarta.net)

St. Petersburg is famous for its bridges. We will tell about the most impressive bridges in this article.

1. The Lomonosov Bridge is a three-span structure with four towers that are quite high. The bridge was built in the late XVIII century by the architect Perrone at the site of the old wooden bridge. The official name is Ekatherininskiy Bridge, in honor of the Empress. This name was changed by Chernyshev, as there was a manor of General-in-Chief Chernyshev near the bridge. Initially the central span of the bridge was wooden and bascule and there were lifting gears in the turrets.

Later it was replaced by a stone bridge, and the chains of lifting gears became decorative. They wanted to remove the turrets at the beginning of last century in order to make trams functioning on the bridge. But the Academy of Arts had insisted on preserving the historical monument.

Lanterns near the bridge are made in the form of granite obelisks topped with golden balls and decorated with sculptures of seahorses with gilded manes. The length of the bridge is 57.2 m and its width is 14.7 m. Note that the bridge is not perpendicular to the coast, and it is situated a bit obliquely. A picturesque panorama of the Fontanka River is opened from this bridge:  Anichkov Bridge on the one hand and the blue dome of the Izmailovsky Cathedral from another side.

The Street of Architect Rossi starts behind the Square of Lomonosov. Lomonosov Street leads to the five corners. Often the bridge is called by an old name as Ekatherininskiy or Chernyshev Bridge

2. Palace Bridge connects two islands: of Admiralty and Vasilevsky. One end of the bridge is located between the Admiralty and the Winter Palace, the other is located on the arrow of the Vasilevsky Island, where previously the Stock Exchange of the Russian Empire was located. Palace Bridge was opened at the end of 1916, and its decoration was continued after the revolution.

The bridge consists of five spans. And only one of them is designed in the form of two steel wings, opening upwards: the central span over the middle of the river bed has the width of about 55 meters. It is that causes the greatest admiration. The creator of the project, the engineer A.Pshenitsky, made a low bridge in order to prevent closing the panorama of the Neva embankments. 

However, despite all the efforts of architects, the Palace Bridge partially closes the view of the building of the Kunstkamera, the Admiralty and the Stock Exchange. It was impossible to avoid this due to the low banks of the Neva. Opening of the artistic illumination of the Palace Bridge was celebrated in 1997. It became the third Bridge (after the Trinity and the Annunciation Bridges) that received such lighting decoration. However, according to the residents of the city, compared to other bridges of St. Petersburg, the lighting of the Palace Bridge is one of the most "poor". 

The most advantageous view of the Palace Bridge is during its "separated state" – that happens at night and in the early morning hours. There are many souvenir shops and stalls not far from the Palace Bridge in the Palace Square and the Nevsky Prospekt. Street stalls with the calendars, badges, magnets with views of the city are located, in particular, in the park next to the Palace passage, as well as next to the arch of the General Staff building.
3. The Annunciation Bridge (Blagoveshensky Most) is the first permanent bridge across the Neva. The Bridge of eight spans was built by the architect Stanislav Kerbedza in 1843-1850. The bascule span, later rebuilt, was not in the center, and it was at the right river side. Decorative items were made by Alexander Bryullov: maritime symbols - tridents, shells and seahorses are repeated in the pattern of iron railing. Smoking is allowed on the stone Annunciation Bridge, but in order to prevent fires, smoking was prohibited for a long time even in the streets of the capital.

After the death of Emperor Nicholay I the bridge was called Nikolaevsky Bridge. Then the complete renovation was carried out with the replacement of a movable mechanism. Only the old wooden piles stayed without any changes. The lanterns of the Nicholaevskiy Bridge moved to the Field of Mars. In 1917, the cruiser Aurora came up to the raised Nikolaevskiy Bridge.

The seamen seized the bridge and closed it. After the Russian Revolution the Nicholaevskiy Bridge was renamed in honor of the hero of 1905 revolution - Peter Schmidt. The first historical name was returned in 2010 after major repair and restoration of the bridge. It became safer for drivers and three meters wider. Its length is 331 m and its width is 24 m.

4.Troitskiy Most (Trinity Bridge) is the third permanent bridge across the Neva River. The Company of A.G. Eiffel participated in the tender announced for bridge design. 

The bridge consists of five spans. First two central spans were bascule, and they were opened in the horizontal plane. During the post-war reconstruction they were replaced by a span of about 100 m in length, which rises vertically. Troitskiy Most may be considered as a French gift for bicentenary of St. Petersburg, laid down with participation of the President of French Republic. The bridge was built by the Batignolles Building Company in cooperation with the Russian engineers and architects.  It is oriented along the axis of Pulkovo meridian. 


Before the Russian Revolution it had been the longest bridge on the city (more than 500 m). Its length is  felt  nowadays too while walking through it. In 1917 it was renamed as Bridge of Equality, and after the death of Sergey Kirov it was called Kirov Bridge.  The eagles on the obelisks of the fence were replaced by five-pointed stars. Its historical name and setting was returned in 1994.  The length of the bridge is 582 m and its width is 23.4 m.

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