Description of the palace bridge. Rules of residence in "Solo

100 great sights of St. Petersburg Myasnikov senior Alexander Leonidovich

Palace bridge

The bridges of St. Petersburg have become an integral part of the life and architectural panorama of the city. Imagine the city of Petrov without them today is probably as inconceivable as Moscow without the Kremlin, as New York without skyscrapers or Egypt without pyramids.

The Palace Bridge, raised against the backdrop of sunset, has long become a generally recognized symbol of St. Petersburg.

The Palace Bridge connects Vasilievsky Island, or rather the spit of the island, with the 2nd Admiralteysky Island.

By the way, many years before the construction of the bridge, in 1817, a self-taught tradesman Torgovanov created a project for a canal near 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 sign up so that he will not be engaged in projects in the future, but practice in the trades characteristic of his state."

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.

In a short historical period, exceptionally diverse types of bridges were created in St. Petersburg. They differ in the materials from which they are built, structural schemes, 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 dates back to 1882. Then public organizations and many homeowners turned to the City Council with a request to replace the Palace Pontoon Bridge with a permanent one. The old pontoon bridge rested on flat-bottomed ships.

However, it was only in July 1900 that the City Government proposed to the Construction Supervision Commission to draw up technical specifications for the design of the bridge through an international competition. The competition was announced simultaneously for the projects of the Palace and Bolshoy Okhtinsky bridges in 1901. According to the competitive conditions, all work must be performed from domestic materials by Russian workers and Russian engineers. Another condition of the competition was the character of the bridge decor. The decor should reflect the national characteristics of Russian architecture. The bridge should become a monument that symbolically reproduces folk traits - fabulous power, nobility and courage.

Twenty-seven draft designs of the Palace Bridge were submitted to the competition. All projects demonstrated in the City Duma, in the opinion of 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 spit ensemble of Vasilievsky Island with Rostral columns, the Stock Exchange, the Zoological Museum, the Kunstkamera, the Academy of Sciences, and the University. Each of these monuments is associated with the names of prominent architects from 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 should 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 long disputes, the project of the engineer Andrey Pavlovich Pshenitsky and the architect Roman Fedorovich Meltser was chosen, although the authors had to work on improving it for some time.

The Palace Bridge was under construction for four years, the timing of its opening was constantly postponed due to a lack of funds, which were mainly used for armaments and other needs associated with the First World War.

First of all, critics did not like the fact that the bridge almost completely blocked the historical buildings on the embankment of Vasilyevsky Island - the Kunstkamera, the Zoological Museum and the Stock Exchange and partially closed the Admiralty building from those who stood on the spit of Vasilyevsky 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 so that it obscured the view of St. Petersburgers 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 by a three-articulated arch, and the other spans - by two riveted continuous span structures with through trusses having lower curved belts. Each wing of the adjustable span was balanced by a system of counterweights suspended from its lower part on hinges. The idea of the Palace Bridge is also given by its technical characteristics: total length - 250 meters, width of the middle, drawbridge, span - 57.46 meters, useful width of the bridge - 27.73 meters; carriageway width - 21.97 meters; the width of the sidewalks is 2.82 meters.

The first pedestrians crossed 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 two-headed eagles and that after the revolution these railings were thrown from the bridge into the Neva. However, in fact, nothing like this has ever happened.

When the movement was opened, “temporarily” wooden fences were installed, which were by no means distinguished by their beauty and grace. The railing of the bridge is very modest - there were no two-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, bundles of ears and five-pointed stars. Interestingly, the plank huts that completed the middle pillars were demolished already in 1977.

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One of the most famous and beloved by guests of the Northern capital of the ferries. Everyone should see the Palace Bridge in St. Petersburg. Most often, this exciting meeting takes place at night, during the opening of the crossing for the passage of ships. In recent years, this technical procedure has evolved into a special presentation called.

Palace Bridge in St. Petersburg: history

The crossing connecting Vasilievsky Island and the central part of the city got its name in honor of the Winter Palace and Palace Embankment located nearby. 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 adjustable 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 near 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 divorced structures at once, walking from one to the other. You can find out the opening time of the Palace Bridge in 2017 from. It also refers to the layout of other crossings in St. Petersburg.

Initially, the bridge was supposed to be the most beautiful in the city, but throughout its existence, fate played a cruel game with it. And yet, almost devoid of architectural delights, the Palace Bridge attracts thousands of people like a magnet, especially during the white nights season.

Before the appearance of the Palace Bridge, there was no crossing over the Neva for a long time, its role was played by the Isaac's pontoon (floating) bridge located upstream. After the construction of the Blagoveshchensky bridge, the St. Petersburg Exchange Committee asked the tsar to move the floating Isaac Bridge, which had previously connected the University Embankment and Senate Square, to the Winter Palace. Moving the Isaakievsky Bridge closer to the Spit of Vasilievsky Island made it possible to create a convenient transport artery that would serve the establishments of the Commercial Port located on the Spit. Permission to move the bridge was obtained on August 5, 1853. The restructuring project was drawn up by the engineer IK Gerard.

The first floating bridge

In 1856, a wooden floating bridge near the Winter Palace connected the Admiralty Island with Vasilievsky Island. After minor cosmetic repairs, it received a new name - Dvortsovy, in honor of the Winter Palace and Palace Embankment located just a stone's throw away. But then the bridge was upstream, and only in 1896 it was moved down 52 meters - to its current place. Work on building the bridge began in the winter of 1896 and ended on December 23, 1897, when the rails of a horse-drawn railroad were laid along it. For the winter, he "disconnected" in the middle and, in order not to interfere with the ice drift, was diverted to the shores. In winter, the crossing was carried out on ice - on foot, on a Finnish sleigh, and later - by tram, the rails and supports of power grids of which were frozen into the ice.

The palace bridge of those times was unsafe. One day in the spring of 1899, the pontoons on which the flooring, which had long been in need of repair, was attached, leaked, and the ferry almost sank. After that, the question of building a capital bridge became very serious. And only 12 (!) Years later, on February 5, 1911, an agreement on the construction of the bridge was signed with the Society of Kolomna Plants. It was expected that the crossing would be put into operation on October 15, 1913, but its construction began only in 1912, no one thought about the delivery of the bridge within the specified time frame. Moreover, on April 17, 1914, a flood occurred in St. Petersburg, as a result of which one of the pillars under construction was damaged. And in August 1914, the First World War broke out, and the construction was even more delayed. 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.

New Palace

A permanent crossing in the form of a five-span metal bridge with a drawbridge in the middle was built by 1916 according to the design of A.P. Pshenitsky and R.F.Meltzer. The opening of the Palace Bridge took place on December 23, 1916. A week earlier, on December 17, 1916, a strength test was carried out: 34 trucks, each of which weighed more than 600 pounds (almost 10 tons), drove onto the bridge at the same time and sequentially occupied all of its spans.

The opening ceremony of the Palace Bridge was modest: members of the royal dynasty were not present. They were not up to it: on the one hand, there was a difficult war, on the other, the tsar's favorite Grigory Rasputin was killed the day before. Only a tenth of the guests attended the celebration. Even the mayor, Delyanov, did not come, giving the honor to cut the ribbon to his deputy.

Should Dvortsovy Be Beautiful?

Initially, it was planned to create a highly artistic work uniting the architectural ensembles of the two islands into a single unique complex. The first decoration project for the bridge included intricate railings, decorative cornices, eight lanterns with forged iron decor and four large lanterns with sculptural groups.

However, the too pompous version did not receive the support of the authorities, it was decided to confine itself to more modest decoration. But he was not destined to be embodied in reality. The decoration of the Palace Bridge was never completed until 1917: the arrangement of railings, lanterns and pavilions was completed already under Soviet rule. So, the famous cast iron railing grate appeared only 20 years later, in 1939. Until that time, there was a temporary wooden railing. The drawing of the lattice successfully combined Soviet symbolism with the traditions of St. Petersburg classicism in the composition of the railings. Lanterns and pavilions for controlling bridge mechanisms appeared in the 1970s.

The name of the bridge comes from the proximity to the Palace Embankment, Palace Square and the Winter Palace itself. In commemoration of the first anniversary of the October Revolution of 1917, the bridge was named Republican, considering the previous name too bourgeois, unusual for the new state. But in January 1944, it was returned to its historical name.

Mechanism and dimensions

Despite the low profile of the Palace Bridge, it still covers more than half of the buildings of the Kunstkamera, Stock Exchange, Admiralty. It was impossible to avoid this with such banks of the Neva and observing the conditions of navigation.

The bridge is 250 meters long and 27.7 meters wide. The middle of its five spans is a drawbridge, the rest of the spans are covered by two metal riveted continuous spans. The swing mechanism of the bridge consists of motors, multi-ton counterweights (weighing about 2800 tons) and large gears (some of which have been in operation since the day the bridge was first opened). Each span to be lifted has a weight of about 700 tons. The pillars of the bridge are lowered to a depth of almost 25 meters.

Bridge reconstruction

During its existence, the Palace Bridge has been reconstructed several times. It was overhauled in 1967, and in the 1977-1978s it was reconstructed: the draw-off part was renewed, the flooring was replaced, new lanterns were installed, and the plank cabins of the booths, 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. The bridge was the third after Troitsky and Blagoveshchensky to receive such illumination. In 1998, tram tracks were dismantled from it. And in 2013, another major overhaul was carried out.

Photo: http://www.bugaga.ru/, Bulla's Photo Studio, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Palace_Bridge_project.jpg, http://www.crazyshark.ru, https: // upload.wikimedia.org, https://i11.fotocdn.net/s12/158/public_pin_m/321/2338537629.jpg, http://topdialog.ru/, http://art1.ru

One of the main attractions of St. Petersburg is the Palace Bridge. It connects the center of St. Petersburg and Vasilievsky Island and is a drawbridge. The bridge got its name from the nearby Palace Embankment and the nearby Winter Palace. The facility was thrown across the Bolshaya Neva River.

Historical reference

Initially, the Palace Bridge in St. Petersburg was a pontoon (floating, supported by flat-bottomed vessels). In 1882, many organizations and homeowners asked the authorities to build a permanent one instead of a pontoon bridge. But the construction tender was announced only at the beginning of the twentieth century. According to its conditions, the work was to be carried out by Russian workers from domestic materials.

In addition, the character of the decor was important. It was supposed to reflect the peculiarities of Russian architecture and become a monument reproducing nobility and courage. The fight for the contract lasted ten years. As a result, in 1911, an agreement was signed with the Kolomna factories. The opening of the bridge took place in 1916, and the decoration was completed only after the 1917 revolution.

Reconstruction

During its existence, the Palace Bridge has been reconstructed several times. So, in 1939, the wooden railings were replaced by cast-iron ones with a pattern depicting the coat of arms and banners, five-pointed stars and bundles of ears, that is, Soviet symbols. In 1967, a major overhaul was carried out, and ten years later the deck and the adjustable mechanism were replaced on the bridge, new lanterns were installed.

In 1997, the Palace Bridge was renewed again, with illumination on it. The last reconstruction took place in 2013, while traffic did not completely stop during the renovation.

Peculiarities

The Palace Bridge is five-span. The middle span is crowned with a three-articulated arch, and the other spans are crowned with two continuous structures equipped with end-to-end trusses. Each wing has a system of counterweights, which are hinged at the bottom of the span.

When arranging sidewalks and roadways, a metal flooring was used, and a concrete layer was laid on top. On stationary spans, the fence is granite, on the drawbridge - metal. Cast iron railings are made with artistic casting. On the pillars of the bridge, they are crowned with granite parapets. Sixteen poles are installed for lighting and are made with architectural decor. Descent with lions at the palace bridge – one of the most famous landmarks of the structure.

Bridge layout

The swing mechanism of the Palace Bridge consists of large gears, counterweights and several motors. The mechanism works stably and reliably, but sometimes unpleasant incidents happen. For example, in October 2002, one of the teeth on the gear broke, as a result of which the opening of the Palace Bridge was stopped. By 2008, the structure had reached its end of life, but the overhaul was postponed until a new bridge was erected. In 2009, the divorce was delayed due to a breakdown of the wedge mechanism. The reason was the wear of the metal - the last time the structure was repaired back in the seventies of the twentieth century.

The Palace Bridge is raised twice a day. Divorce times are from 01:25 to 02:50 and from 03:10 to 04:55. The divorce schedule was set in 2011.

Palace Bridge for tourists

Thousands of people are crossing the bridge today. Tourists come here to take pictures against the backdrop of the famous Peter and Paul Fortress or the Hermitage. Many people ask the address of the Palace Bridge and the way to get to it. There are several options. From the Admiralteyskaya metro station, turn left, walk to the crossroads, and then right to Nevsky Prospekt and left again. From the Nevsky Prospekt metro station, you will have to walk to the Palace Square and further to the bridge. Leaving the metro at Vasileostrovskaya station, you need to turn right and walk to the Makarov embankment along Sredny Prospekt, and then right to the Spit of Vasilyevsky Island. From there you will be taken to the Palace Bridge.

The bridge looks especially impressive at night. By the time of his layout, tourists are gathering here who want to see this amazing sight. Illumination makes the view of the bridge most advantageous from two angles at once. If you observe, standing opposite the Hermitage, the Kunstkamera tower is clearly visible in the rising spans. And if you look from the side of the Admiralty, the bell tower of the Peter and Paul Fortress will be visible in the distance.

Going on a journey, you strive to learn something new, see something new, or feel new feelings that you have not felt before. Yes, it's often just interesting to know how people live or survive here :) In St. Petersburg, drawbridges have become so new for me, after, of course :) The most famous drawbridge in St. Petersburg is the Palace Bridge. It looks great at night. By the way, it is he who is the symbol of the city of Petra. And the layout of this bridge is a separate song that I would like to tell you. In short, everything happened like this:

Palace Bridge is a drawbridge across the Neva River (Bolshaya Neva) in St. Petersburg. It connects the central part of the city (Admiralteisky Island) and Vasilievsky Island.

Located on the axis of the Palace passage and Birzhevaya square. The length of the bridge is 250 m (according to other sources, 255 m), width - 27.7 m. Consists of five spans.

How to get to the Palace Bridge?

Palace Bridge on the map of St. Petersburg.

The bridge got its name from the Winter Palace and Palace Embankment located next to it. With the coming of the new government in 1917, the bridge was renamed Republican, in 1944 the historical name was returned.

Raising the Palace Bridge

The entire current timeline for the layout of the St. Petersburg bridges is here:

And beautiful photos of the divorce of the Palace Bridge will be further in the text :)

History of the Palace Bridge from Wikipedia

The question of laying a pontoon bridge across the Neva on the highway connecting Admiralteisky Island with Vasilievsky Island near the Winter Palace was apparently discussed in the government back in the late 1920s and 30s of the 19th century.

In 1853, Nicholas I granted the request of representatives of the merchants to move the Isaac pontoon bridge to the Winter Palace for direct and permanent communication with the Stock Exchange and other institutions of the Commercial Port. The project for the installation of the bridge on the new route was developed by engineer I.K. Gerard. A version of the bridge with wooden bank supports and the same railings was adopted for implementation. On the bridge, artistic cast iron floor lamps with lanterns were installed, which are rods with developed bases on pedestals, crowned with lanterns in the form of truncated hexagonal pyramids. Spans were struts. The new bridge includes 3 ponds from the old St. Isaac's. The project took over three years to complete. The movement of the Isaac Bridge was completed only on December 10, 1856. During periods of ice drift and freeze-up, the bridge was raised.

In 1896, the floating Palace Bridge was moved downstream by 53.25 m to the place where the permanent bridge was later erected. The transfer was associated with the decision to create a green area in front of the western façade of the Winter Palace. Work on building a pontoon bridge, begun in the winter of 1896, ended on December 23, 1897; in a solemn atmosphere, the bridge was consecrated and opened to traffic and pedestrians.

On April 21, 1899, several pontoons of the bridge sank, the repair of the bridge continued until May 13 of the same year:

On April 21, at 9½ o'clock in the morning, a leak appeared in the grooves of ponds No. 11 and 12 of the Palace Bridge, after which driving on the bridge was stopped and water was pumped out of the aforementioned ponds; however, in spite of the timely measures taken, after ¼ hours pontoon No. 11 sank, from which it was necessary to close the pedestrian traffic on the bridge; to save the rest of the sinking ponds of the bridge, steamers with drainage pumps were called in, but all efforts were unsuccessful: at 1½ o'clock. day pontoons No. 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 sank. The Palace Bridge was raised from the water, and only on May 13, carriage and pedestrian traffic was restored along it.

In 1912, after the start of the construction of the permanent bridge, the floating bridge was moved to Senate Square, where it was until 1916, when it was burnt out by the spark of a tug passing along the Neva.
In 1882, public organizations and many homeowners asked the City Council to replace the Palace Pontoon Bridge with a permanent one. The extremely responsible position of the bridge in terms of town planning, difficult hydrogeological conditions of the bridge crossing and the requirements of navigation created a complex set of problems, the solution of which caused great difficulties.

The Commission of the Society of Civil Engineers, which was instructed to correct the competition conditions developed by the St. Petersburg Council, noted that "the immediate task of competitors should be to create a work of art worthy of the environment and the significance of this point in the Russian capital, provided that the design is rational in all respects." In April 1901, a competition was announced for the construction of two permanent bridges at once, Palace and Bolsheokhtinsky. The competitive commission of expert judges included the leading bridge engineers: N. A. Belelyubsky, S. K. Kunitsky, G. N. Soloviev, N. N. Mitinsky, V. E. Timonov. The Academy of Arts was represented by Professor of Architecture A. N. Pomerantsev

The competition received 27 draft designs of the Palace Bridge and one out of competition project of the architect A.I. Kovsherov, but not a single project was accepted by the commission. The competition was extended until May 1904. An additional 19 projects were submitted. At the same time, the new versions took into account the comments of experts - the rejection of the spans with a ride from the bottom and the placement of a drawbridge in the middle of the river. The most successful was the project of the Batignol Society (according to the project of which the Trinity Bridge was built) - a symmetrical five-span bridge with a drawbridge located in the middle of the river. The side spans were covered with cantilever-beam trusses with curved outlines of the lower chords. The Russo-Japanese War, the 1905 Revolution and subsequent events caused a break in the design of the Palace Bridge.

In April 1908, the question of the route of the bridge was discussed. For the new bridge, the route of the Isaac pontoon bridge was proposed, opposite the arch of the Admiralty building; opposite the source of the Winter Canal (having previously enclosed it in an underground pipe) with an entrance to the bridge under the arch of the Hermitage Theater; along the axis of Moshkov lane. etc. However, this discussion yielded no real results.

By the spring of 1908, a commission of experts had developed new "technical conditions for drawing up a project for a permanent Palace Bridge." A significant difference between the new "Technical conditions for the drafting of a permanent Palace Bridge", approved by the City Duma on September 24, 1908, from the 1901 competition program was, firstly, that they clearly indicated the location of the drawbridge in the "middle part rivers "and its width was set at least 42.67 m (in the competition program of 1901, the placement of the divider was not limited, and the width was required only 32 m). Secondly, the requirement that the bridge should correspond to the “beauty near the located buildings” was significantly corrected by the fact that the choice of a constructive solution was limited: “The bridge must be driven on top” (in the competition program of 1901 it was stated that “the bridge system is represented on discretion of the designers ").

9 projects were submitted to the competition. The projects were provided by the boards of the companies of the Kolomenskoye, Putilovskiy, Sormovskiy factories; the architect of the Imperial court A. N. Benois, in collaboration with the architect M. M. Peretyatkovich (from the St. Petersburg metal plant); Society "Batignol".

The best were the project of the Batignol Society and the project of the Kolomna Plants Society, drawn up by a prominent St. Petersburg engineer A. P. Pshenitsky. A member of the expert commission, professor of the Academy of Arts, architect A. N. Pomerantsev, wrote about Pshenitsky's project: “The general impression of the entire bridge line is calm. The architectural treatment of the bridge abutments is simple, serious and good "

The version of the Kolomna Plants Society was adopted for the construction. Architectural design by order of the President of the Academy of Arts was entrusted to the architect R. F. Meltser. He developed a very lush and pompous design: intricate railings with "double-sided embossed decorations made of thick sheet iron", decorative cornices with "cartouches made of thick iron", eight lanterns with forged iron decor, etc. It was planned to put four large lanterns-beacons 14 fathoms high on the wide supports of the drawbridge, which included lifting machines for people and balconies around the lanterns. The base of the lanterns was decorated with intricate sculptures, ornaments, cartouches, and imperial eagles.

On February 5, 1911, an agreement was signed with the Kolomna Plants Society, according to which the construction of the bridge and its tests were to be completed by November 15, 1913. It was stipulated that all work should be performed from domestic material by Russian workers and Russian engineers.

Despite the "highest approval" of the project, discussions about the architectural design of the bridge continued. The panel of experts rejected the large tower lanterns proposed for the draw-span bulls. Architect A.E. Zhiber expressed fears that the conceived towers, "forming a new architectural mass among the free space above the river, which determines the calm and majestic view of the granite embankments in connection with the surrounding architectural situation," may thereby have an adverse effect on it ... According to AI von Gauguin, such towers "due to their extraordinary colossal character, are much higher than all the surrounding buildings, not excluding the Winter Palace", they will turn out to be "incongruously large and beyond the scale of all other parts and surrounding structures." It was also noted that the lanterns (eight low and four "colossal") created extremely uneven illumination of the bridge. After repeated discussions, the option of installing oversized lanterns on the bulls without sculptural decoration was agreed upon. This version was approved by the Expert Commission, and then on December 29, 1915 received "the highest approval."

Construction of the bridge began at the end of 1911. Cast iron arches made by the Kolomensky Zavod arrived by water and were installed on site.

The established deadline for the completion of the construction of the bridge (November 1913) could not be met for many reasons (a later start of work, a delay in the supply of metal for the arches and difficulties in the delivery of finished arches, a protracted solution of architectural issues). In 1914-1916, the pier with lions was moved from the route of the bridge to the axis of the eastern pavilion of the Main Admiralty. On April 17, 1914, during a flood, one of the pillars under construction was damaged. The outbreak of the First World War slowed down construction altogether. Only by the end of 1916 was the entire engineering structure of the bridge ready.

In October 1916, at a meeting of the City Duma, it was decided to open the Palace Bridge for passage and passage in an unfinished state, erecting "temporary" wooden railings and installing standard cast-iron poles for hanging lanterns and wires for the tram. The covering on the permanent spans is an end pavement, and a wooden deck was laid on the drawbridge. A wooden railing was installed on the bridge, the upper parts of the supports were sheathed with wood, and plywood was installed on the supports and abutments instead of granite parapets. On December 17, 1916, the bridge was tested for strength: 34 trucks, each of which with a load had a mass of more than 600 poods, simultaneously drove onto the bridge, occupying all its spans. The bridge was opened to traffic on December 23, 1916. At the grand opening (unlike other bridges built across the Neva), only ten percent of the guests attended. Even the mayor, Delyanov, did not come, leaving his deputy Demkin to cut the ribbon.

Cast iron railings appeared only in 1939. These lattices were cast by the sculptor I. V. Krestovsky after the drawing of the architect L. A. Noskov. The large eagle-decorated lampposts on the pillars of the bridge, envisaged by the project, were never installed.

The bridge underwent a major overhaul in 1967. In 1977 it was reconstructed according to the project of architects Yu. I. Sinitsa and M. V. Vinnichenko and engineers T. D. Ivanova, V. I. Botvinnik. The lanterns, the flooring, the wiring section were reconstructed. In 1997, the bridge was reconstructed under the supervision of engineer Yu. Petrov. In 1994 the tram tracks were removed.

By 2008, according to Mostotrest, the Palace Bridge had exhausted its resource. However, its overhaul was postponed until the construction of a new bridge to Vasilievsky Island across Serny Island, the construction of which was frozen at the behest of the new governor.

On the night of September 27, 2009, the opening of the bridge at 1.25 was delayed by 50 minutes due to a breakdown of the swing mechanism. The incident was a consequence of "metal fatigue", because the last time the bridge was repaired back in the 70s ...

Thus, the repair of the Palace Bridge began on October 21, 2012, without the construction of temporary crossings, which significantly complicated the already tense transport situation on Vasilievsky Island. On October 19, 2013, it was inaugurated after reconstruction.

Construction of the Palace Bridge

The five-span metal bridge with a drawbridge in the middle. Permanent spans are covered with two-span metal riveted through girders of the continuous-beam system, with curved belts. The weight of steel structures is 7770 tons (including 2800 tons - counterweights of the movable part of the bridge).

The length of the bridge is 250 m (255.05 m), the width of the bridge between the handrails is 27.73 m, of which the width of the carriageway is 22.0 m (3 lanes for traffic in each direction) and two sidewalks of 2.85 m. breakdowns into spans: (38.63 + 47.12) + (9.20 + 58.60 + 9.20) + (47.12 + 38.63) m. Navigation gauge 22.0 × 6.3 (30 , 00) m.

Stationary span structures - two-span metal riveted end-to-end trusses of the continuous-beam system - 38.63 + 47.12 m. The section of the belts is box-shaped, the braces and struts are I-beams. The distance between the main trusses is 3.6 m. All trusses are connected in pairs by cross beams and wind ties. The carriageway and sidewalks are made in the form of a metal flooring (trough iron), attached to the upper chords of trusses and crossbeams, on top of which a layer of concrete and a roadway covering are laid.

A two-wing adjustable span, of an opening system with a hinged counterweight and a fixed axis of rotation, with an electromechanical drive and a clear opening of 56.6 meters. In the guided position, the superstructure works according to the three-articulated arch scheme. Each wing of the adjustable span is balanced by a system of counterweights suspended from its lower part on hinges according to the Strauss system. When laying the bridge, the counterweights are lowered into the wells of the supports, which are located at a depth of up to 6.0 meters below the ordinary water in the Neva. In cross-section, the span consists of eight main trusses of the brace system with descending braces and a curved bottom chord. Sections of elements are H-shaped and box-shaped. Within the wing length, the main beams are interconnected by longitudinal and transverse ties. Wing weight - 700 tons, counterweight weight - 1400 tons. The unique swing mechanism of the bridge consists of motors, large gears (some of which are cast, preserved from the opening of the bridge) and thousand-ton counterweights.

The foundations of the left-bank abutment and all intermediate supports were built on caissons, lowered to a depth of 23.5-25.89 m from the ordinary and filled with concrete chambers. The body of the supports above the edge of the caissons is concrete and reinforced concrete masonry with granite cladding of pure teska.

Right-bank abutment on a wooden pile foundation. The body of the support is higher than the edge of the grillage - rubble masonry with granite facing of pure teska. On the openings of the right-bank abutment, from the upstream and downstream sides, there are slopes to the water with platforms faced with granite.

Fencing on stationary spans is granite with a height of 450 mm, on a movable span it is metal with a height of 400 mm. The road surface on spans is fine-grained asphalt concrete. Coating of sidewalks on spans with fine-grained asphalt concrete. On the spans of the bridge, a cast-iron railing of individual art casting is installed. On the supports and abutments of the bridge, the railings are completed with granite parapets. For lighting and catenary, the bridge has 16 supports with architectural decor and 4 catenary supports on the drawbridge.

During festive events, the wings of the bridge are used as a screen.
The Palace Bridge is recognized as a monument of the history and culture of Russia and is included in the corresponding register (objects of cultural heritage of the Russian Federation).

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