Blagoveshchensky Bridge- the first permanent crossing of the Neva. The first projects of such structures began to appear in the 1750s. However, for a long time this was too expensive and complex an engineering task. The Neva has a powerful current and great depth. Its spring ice drifts created additional difficulties. Particular difficulty was added by the need to create a drawbridge for the wire of mast ships. As a result, for a long time St. Petersburg made do with floating bridges.
The gradual development of technology made it possible by the middle of the 19th century to accumulate experience in the construction of metal crossings. In 1840, engineer N.I. Bogdanov proposed a design for a bridge across the Neva with spans of a fundamentally new system - in the form of metal lattice trusses with parallel belts. One year later, a young railway engineer, Stanislav Valerianovich Kerbedz, developed a project for a three-span chain bridge. His work was highly appreciated by the special commission, which examined it on May 22, 1841. However, engineers of those years considered the design of crossings made of cast iron arches to be more reliable. By that time, such bridges had existed for many years in St. Petersburg; Kerbedz was one of their builders. In 1842, he drew up a second project for a permanent bridge across the Neva - with cast iron arches. On October 15, 1842 it was approved.
It was decided to build the first permanent bridge in St. Petersburg between Vasilyevsky Island and the Promenade des Anglais. The nascent crossing was called the Nevsky Bridge.
On November 6, 1842, the emperor approved " Regulations on the construction of a permanent bridge across the Neva River in St. Petersburg"According to this document, a special committee was created from the highest ranks of the construction department. The committee was responsible not only for the construction of the crossing, but also for the improvement of the adjacent territory, including the construction of Konnogvardeysky Boulevard on the site of the Admiralty Canal, the construction of bridge areas. The regulations included myself detailed plan works for three years:
"1) In the autumn of 1842, arrange all temporary structures, prepare machines, tools, forest materials for the foundations of the left bank abutment adjacent to one rounding of the embankment, and an underground pipe in place of the Kryukov Canal, embankments on Vasilyevsky Island from the Imperial Academy of Arts to the bridge and from this to the 8th line and the first river bull from the English Embankment. As soon as the Neva ice is quite strong, begin constructing walls, lintels and driving piles, which will be completed before the spring of 1843. After the opening of the river, in the spring of next year, begin demolition of parts of the houses of Mrs. Kholodkovskaya and Baron Chabot, to the construction of an underground pipe and to the production of stone work on the bull, abutments and embankments, and by the fall to bring this last work to the beginning of the cast-iron arches. pavement construction new street, which should be carried out in the early summer of 1844 based on the final settlement of the embankment; 2) In the autumn of 1843, prepare materials for the right bank of the abutment, for the thick bull of the rotating bridge and for two tame bulls, in the winter from 1843 to 1844, drive the piles and in the spring begin masonry and finish it before the beginning of the arches by the fall of 1844 , moreover, continuing the laying of the bull and embankments until their final construction; 3) In the same way, from 1844 to 1845, proceed with the three remaining bulls and, moreover, finish the masonry work begun in the previous year during 1845. From the winter of 1845 to the autumn of 1846, build circular scaffolding, put in place cast-iron arches, a rotating bridge with a mechanism, and bring to a complete completion all other work on the upper structure of the bridge, so that traffic on the permanent bridge could be open until the time of raising the Neva pontoon bridges " [Quoted from: 1, pp. 134, 135].
Thus, the bridge was supposed to be built in four years. But in practice the period turned out to be twice as long. At that time, three long-term construction projects were underway in Russia: the St. Petersburg-Moscow Railway, St. Isaac's Cathedral and the Annunciation Bridge were being built. In St. Petersburg salons they said that the new crossing over the Neva would not last long, it would fall apart, the railway would be built for many more years, and St. Isaac's Cathedral would never be completed. In this regard, the following joke arose: “We will see the bridge across the Neva, but our children will not see it; railway we won’t see, but our children will, and neither we will see St. Isaac’s Cathedral, nor our children will see...
During the construction of the Blagoveshchensky Bridge, for the first time in the practice of domestic bridge construction, it was necessary to drive piles into the depths of such a fast and deep river. Work underwater was carried out using air bells. The underwater part of the coastal abutments was lined with Finnish granite, and the surface part with Serdobol granite. They were deepened into the bed of the Neva by 10 meters. The newspaper "Northern Bee" wrote on September 16, 1844:
“The construction of the bridge itself is a gigantic undertaking. Hardly in modern times has work been carried out according to such a huge plan, with such amazing precision, grace, taste and from such precious material! Mountains of granite were transferred here from Finland and, like delicate wax, obey the brilliant thought of man ! Steam engines drive piles in the middle of the fast and deep Neva, while under the water they build strong stone foundations on the ground reinforced with piles" [Cit. from: 2, p. 41].
Eight spans were built near the bridge. The drawbridge, located on the right bank of the Neva, met all the shipping requirements existing at that time. Using a mechanical adjustable mechanism, the two wings of the bridge moved apart in a horizontal plane in about 40 minutes. This principle of raising a bridge was not new. But for the first time in world practice, wings were made in the form of metal braced trusses. All metal structures of the crossing were manufactured in Russia.
When designing the bridge, Kerbedz paid great attention to its appearance. He wrote: “Those parts of the bulls, which by their position are exposed to the action of water and ice blows, are left without any extraneous decoration; their appearance should really consist only of unshakable stability and in the correspondence of external forms to the forces acting on them. Likewise, the arches themselves, and the gift parts derive their beauty from the colossal size, but the upper parts of the bulls, railings and semicircular platforms above the bulls acquire more beauty from bronze and cast iron decorations, such as: from bas-reliefs, allegorical figures, grilles, lanterns..."[Cit. from: 4, p. 255]
The architect Alexander Pavlovich Bryullov took part in the creation of the artistic design of the bridge. He designed the cast iron railings, considered one of the finest examples of artistic casting of the time. Gas lighting lanterns were manufactured at the Ch. Byrd plant according to the design of engineer D. Tsvetkov, approved in January 1850.
It was planned to decorate the bridge with allegorical sculptures based on the drawings of P. Klodt and N. S. Pimenov. The craftsmen began to carry out this work in 1846. To decorate the left bank abutment, Klodt created a sketch of an equestrian group, but it was ordered to “postpone the project.” Pimenov conceived a whole complex of seven allegorical compositions dedicated to the conquest water element and the main cities and regions of the Russian Empire: St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kyiv, Novgorod, Siberia. It was proposed to install the sculptures on the supports of the drawbridge and on the left bank abutment. In 1849, Pimenov’s work was examined, after which the theme of the sculptural groups was slightly changed. But due to financial difficulties, such decoration of the bridge had to be abandoned.
The construction of the first permanent bridge across the Neva became a notable event in the life of St. Petersburg. Legends began to arise around the construction. Allegedly, in order to force the builders to work conscientiously, Emperor Nicholas I promised Kerbedz to reward him with a promotion in rank for each span of the bridge built. There is a legend that the crossing project was immediately reworked to increase the number of these spans. These events are actually fiction. Their chronology was as follows. On June 22, 1841, Kerbedz was promoted to major in the Railway Corps. The bridge project was approved on October 15, 1842. On December 6, 1843, Kerbedz was promoted to lieutenant colonel. The newspaper "Northern Bee" dated September 16 reports that the construction of the bridge supports has been completed. On April 11, 1850, Kerbedz was promoted to colonel. At this time, finishing work is underway on the bridge and the bridge is being prepared for commissioning. On November 21, Kerbedz was promoted to major general, and on the same day the grand opening of the bridge took place.
During the construction of the Nevsky Bridge, the area adjacent to it was also rebuilt. Blagoveshchenskaya Square (now Truda Square) with the Annunciation Church in the center appeared on Admiralty Island. It was after this church that the bridge began to be called Blagoveshchensky. When creating the square, part of the Kryukov Canal was put into a pipe, so the bridge was built strictly along the axis of the canal. On the side of Vasilyevsky Island, the embankment was significantly expanded, and a new square appeared here - Trezzini Square.
To test the carrying capacity of the Blagoveshchensky Bridge, rails were pulled onto it, which were imported by sea from Belgium, France and England for the construction of the St. Petersburg-Moscow Railway.
On November 21, 1850, the bridge was officially opened for carriages and pedestrians. The ceremony began with a prayer service, after which Nicholas I and his sons walked across the bridge to Vasilyevsky Island, and rode back in an open carriage with the heir. In other carriages followed the other sons of the Tsar and the husband of Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna, the Duke of Leuchtenberg.
The bridge became the longest in Europe (298.2 meters), its width was 20.3 meters. The weight of the metal structure of the crossing is 95,000 tons. The newspaper "Northern Bee" published poems by the famous theatergoer R. Zotov on the occasion of the opening of the crossing:
Show off, Rus', holy fatherland!
You have surpassed all the antiquities of the century!
There were seven miracles, you created the eighth,
And better, more beautiful than everyone else! The hand was strong
Who created a national monument for us,
That will was solid, like granite,
She ordered to create, build a bridge like this...
He is strong, solid, like Rus'! It will stand for centuries
Evidence of power and glory
A zealous power devoted to its kings,
To the surprise of descendants and sons.
And the chronicle of later centuries will say:
Then there was Nikolai - the ruler of Russia,
And Count Kleinmichel is a performer!
In 1854, according to the design of the architect A. I. Stackenschneider, a small chapel was built on a bull near the drawbridge. It was consecrated in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.
The Blagoveshchensky Bridge quickly became a popular landmark of the city. One of his contemporaries wrote:
“My favorite walk now is the Annunciation Bridge, the precious necklace of the beautiful Neva, the pinnacle of art in all respects! The bridge seduces in two ways. During the day it seems transparent, as if filigree, light as waves, and in the midnight light it appears as a huge mass, welding two cities together ..." [Cit. from: 3, p. 14]
The Blagoveshchensky Bridge also gained particular popularity among passers-by due to the fact that it was the only metal bridge in the city on which smoking was, as a result, allowed.
One day, driving along the Annunciation Bridge, the emperor saw a cart with a roughly knocked together unpainted coffin, accompanied only by two disabled people in soldier's overcoats. the emperor stopped his carriage and sent an adjutant to find out who was being buried. It turned out that they were burying “a retired soldier who served God, the Tsar and the Fatherland for more than a quarter of a century.” Nicholas I got out of the carriage and followed the coffin. Soon a crowd of thousands was already following him to the Smolensk cemetery.
In February 1855, in connection with the death of Emperor Nicholas I, the bridge was renamed Nikolaevsky.
By the beginning of the 20th century, the crossing became inconvenient for new ships. The drawbridge turned out to be narrow for them; moreover, it was located in the shallow right bank part of the Neva. In 1901, several engineering solutions were proposed for moving the draw span to the center of the channel, but none of them were implemented. The outbreak of the First World War interfered.
In 1917, the cruiser Aurora stood behind the Nikolaevsky Bridge near the Promenade des Anglais. It was from there that he fired the famous shot towards the Winter Palace. A monument located on the embankment reminds of this event. And in Mayakovsky’s lines you can read:
And from near Nikolaevsky
cast iron bridge,
like death
looks
unkind
Aurora
towers
steel.
In October 1918, the Nikolaevsky Bridge was renamed the Lieutenant Schmidt Bridge, in honor of Pyotr Petrovich Schmidt, who led the uprising on the cruiser Ochakov in 1905 and was executed for it.
By the 1930s, due to deformation of the right-bank support, the adjustable mechanism began to jam frequently. In addition, the construction of the White Sea-Baltic Canal significantly increased the transport load on the Neva. This finally determined the fate of the crossing. According to the design of Grigory Petrovich Perederia, in 1936-1939, the Lieutenant Schmidt Bridge was almost completely rebuilt. Its architectural design was carried out by the architect K. M. Dmitriev. But not agreeing with the approved compositions, he refused the work. Dmitriev was replaced by architect Lev Aleksandrovich Noskov.
The project for a major reconstruction of the crossing was adopted in 1936, work began in April 1937. New mechanisms for the bridge were manufactured at the Kirov plant. To arrange the draw span (engineer V.I. Kryzhanovsky was involved in its design) in the middle of the river, the two central supports had to be slightly expanded. They housed divorce mechanisms and control pavilions.
All that remained from the old bridge were wooden piles and cast railings by A.P. Bryullov. The piles were not replaced due to financial savings, short construction times and because of their excellent condition despite their age. The presence of such design details made the Lieutenant Schmidt Bridge different from all other St. Petersburg crossings across the Neva.
During reconstruction it was used new method connections of steel structures - electric welding. This method has already been tested during the construction of the Volodarsky Bridge, and has proven itself well here. When repairing bridge supports, the Swedish method of underwater concreting was used, which was also new in domestic bridge construction.
The length of the updated Lieutenant Schmidt Bridge was 331 meters. After reconstruction, it became 9 meters wider, its width was 24 meters. The weight of the new crossing was now 2,400 tons, that is, almost four times less than the previous one.
In place of the drawbridge on the right bank of the Neva, a stone span was built, and the middle span became drawable. The lifting of its wings began to take place in just 55 seconds. On the round towers standing in the center of the bridge, they strengthened memorial plaques, dedicated to P.P. Schmidt and the authors of the crossing project. The Chapel of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, located on the old drawbridge, was not restored. By that time it had turned into a warehouse for bridge cleaners' equipment.
The cast iron structures of the old bridge were transported to Tver, where in 1953-1956 they were used in the construction of the crossing across the Volga. Lanterns from the old bridge were installed around the Memorial to the Fighters of the Revolution on the Champ de Mars.
On September 8, 1938, the strength of the new structures of the Lieutenant Schmidt Bridge was tested. To do this, five wooden waterproof boxes one meter high and with a displacement of 900 tons were built on the concrete foundation of the right-bank roadway. They were filled with water from the Neva, which was equivalent to placing cars at the crossing close to each other in five tiers. Three hours later, the water from the boxes was released back into the river, after which the same check of the left-bank structures was carried out.
Traffic on the renewed Lieutenant Schmidt Bridge was opened on November 5, 1938. In 1976, the wooden deck of the drawbridge was replaced with metal sheets.
During the reconstruction of the Lieutenant Schmidt Bridge, the exit of the Kryukov Canal to the Neva was blocked. In its place, a granite descent to the river was built.
The question of a new reconstruction arose in 2004. Since several years were allotted for the reconstruction of the bridge, closing the crossing across the Neva for such a period would significantly complicate the transport situation in the surrounding areas. Therefore, it was decided to establish a temporary crossing nearby. Its construction began in 2005 just upstream of the river. The backup bridge was opened in May 2006.
The reconstruction of the bridge was carried out according to the design of the Stroyproekt Institute. The chief engineers were T. Yu. Kuznetsova and Yu. Yu. Krylov, the chief architect was A. E. Goryunov. Already at the first stage of design, it was decided to bring the appearance of the bridge as close as possible to the appearance it had in the middle of the 19th century. At the same time, the new crossing was supposed to become much wider, its width increased from 24 to 37 meters. This concept influenced the entire design strategy and the choice of engineering solutions.
After inspecting the structures, it was decided to preserve the old support foundations again; after more than 150 years of service, they have remained in working order. The steel structures had to be completely replaced due to wear and tear.
Particular difficulties arose when designing a new swing span. Its width and weight increased significantly, which required a major overhaul of the corresponding supports. But this was extremely undesirable. As a result, the designers found a unique solution. The heavy wings were supported on the ends of adjacent trusses of stationary side spans. The counterweights (also a first in bridge construction) were made using lead blocks, which reduced their size to a minimum. The latest hydraulic drive system ensured smooth and rapid lifting of the wings of the draw span, each of which weighed 515 tons.
The pavilions in which the wiring mechanisms are controlled, installed here by K. M. Dmitriev, have been preserved. But due to the expansion of the roadway, they were moved on powerful consoles. The original lanterns have also been preserved. But they were made slightly higher, as the width of the bridge increased.
On August 15, 2007, the grand opening of the reconstructed crossing took place. She was returned former name- Blagoveshchensky Bridge. Car traffic was opened the next day - August 16.
It is interesting to note that along the line of the Blagoveshchensky Bridge there is a watershed between the Neva and the Gulf of Finland.
Blagoveshchensky Bridge is one of the most beautiful bridges stretching over the Neva. During the daytime it looks light and weightless, but with the onset of dusk it takes on a majestic appearance. From the embankment side, the Annunciation Bridge resembles a precious necklace placed on the beautiful Neva.
Story
Since the founding of St. Petersburg, so-called temporary bridges have been thrown across the Neva. The first designs for permanent bridges appeared in the 1750s. The construction of such crossings required a large financial investment and engineering thoughts. The spring ice drifts of the Neva added additional complexity to the construction of a permanent bridge. It was also necessary for the new permanent bridge to have a draw span. In order for mast ships to pass through it without difficulty. Thanks to all these difficulties, the city for a long time managed with floating bridges.
Over the years, bridge construction technology developed and in the middle of the 19th century it became possible to build permanent crossings across the Neva. In 1840, a group of engineers drew up and proposed a project for the construction of a permanent bridge. The main idea of the project was to construct a crossing in the form of metal lattice trusses using parallel belts.
In 1841, engineer Stanislav Valeryanovich Kerbedz presented his project for the construction of a three-span chain bridge. On May 22 of the same year, a commission was held, which was attended by bridge building specialists and engineers. The project was carefully studied and highly appreciated by specialists. But, despite this, it was not approved; according to engineers, the bridge design should have consisted of cast iron arches. Kerbedz knew firsthand about such a construction system, because it had already been used in St. Petersburg, and he himself was the author of one of such projects. In 1842, Curbeds provided the commission with a second plan for the crossing, the main fact of which was the use of cast iron arches. On October 15 of the same year, the project was approved and approved.
According to the project, the first permanent bridge in St. Petersburg was supposed to serve as a crossing between the English Embankment and Vasilyevsky Island. The future project was given the name “Nevsky Bridge”.
Construction
During the construction of the Blagoveshchensky Bridge, piles were driven to a depth of 10 meters for the first time. Underwater work was carried out using air bells.
Only domestic materials were used in the construction of the bridge. A total of eight spans were built at the crossing. The drawbridge was located on the right bank of the enchanting Neva. It was created according to all the standards of that time. As soon as the mechanism was started, the two wings moved apart in a horizontal plane. It took 40 minutes for the bridge to fully extend.
The technique for extending the Blagoveshchensky Bridge was not new in the field of bridge construction, but for the first time wings were made in the form of metal braced trusses.
The bridge was decorated with cast iron railings, which were made according to the design of Alexander Pavlovich Bryullov.
The new crossing turned out to be another architectural work of art in St. Petersburg. The grand opening of the bridge was scheduled for November 21, 1850. Notable guests were invited to this memorable day. It all started with a prayer service, then Emperor Nicholas I and his children set off on foot along the new crossing to Vasilievsky Island. He rode back with the heir in an open carriage. Following them was another carriage; the Duke of Leuchtenberg and the rest of the emperor's sons were present in it.
New name and reconstruction
In 1855 after the death of Nicholas the First. It was decided to name the crossing after him. This is how the Nikolaevsky Bridge appeared in St. Petersburg.
At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, shipbuilding began to develop rapidly. The Nikolaevsky Bridge has become inconvenient for new ships. In 1901, engineers decided to redo the crossing; the main idea was to move the drawbridge to the center of the river bed. But the implementation of the plan was prevented by the First World War.
In 1905, there was an uprising on the legendary cruiser Ochakov. Pyotr Petrovich Schmidt was the leader of this riot; he was subsequently executed for organizing a mutiny on a cruiser. In the fall of 1918, it was decided in honor of the memory of Schmidt to rename the Nikolaevsky Bridge. This is how the Lieutenant Schmidt Bridge entered the pages of history.
In 1931, large-scale construction of the White Sea-Baltic Canal began. Because of this, the traffic load on the Lieutenant Schmidt Bridge was significantly increased. Before this, in 1930, the right-bank support was deformed, and due to the additional load on the crossing, the fate of the bridge was sealed. The City Duma decided to completely rebuild the bridge. Many engineers prepared a detailed plan for the reconstruction, but in the end, in 1936, the project of engineer Grigory Petrovich Perederia was chosen.
The reconstruction of the crossing lasted for 3 years and was completed in 1939. During this time, the design of the bridge was completely changed, all parts of the mechanism were updated. All that remains of the old bridge are the famous Bryullov railings. The piles were not changed due to financial considerations. And besides, despite the time threshold, they were in good condition.
During the reconstruction of the bridge, the electric welding method was used for the first time to connect steel mechanisms. During the repair of the bridge piers, the Swedish method of underwater concreting was used.
New bridge
The renewed Lieutenant Schmidt Bridge looked graceful; it complemented the grandeur of the Neva with its appearance. The length of the bridge was 331 meters, width 24 meters. The total weight of the crossing was 2,400 tons.
The bridge was raised using the middle span in 55 seconds. Commemorative plaques with the names of the authors of the project were installed in the center of the bridge. There was also a plaque dedicated to Pyotr Petrovich Schmidt.
The strength test of the bridge was scheduled for September 8, 1938. On this day, five huge boxes were installed near the right bank roadway. Each of them contained 900 tons. All of them were filled with water from the Neva and left for three hours. Such improvisation was equivalent to installing cars on a five-tier bridge. Three hours later, the experiment was completed and all the water from the boxes was returned to the river. Next, the same check had to be carried out on the left bank side of the structure. Traffic along the crossing was opened on November 5 of the same year.
The bridge has become one of the main decorations of the Neva River. During the daytime, he served the residents of the city like a sleeping handsome man, and with the onset of dusk, he came to life with numerous lights, and his reflection shimmered with moonlight reflections on the beautiful Neva. From year to year he stood like a knight; any crossing in the world could envy him for his strength. In 1976, the flooring of the drawbridge was replaced with metal.
Every year, like everything material in this world, the bridge gradually began to decay. In 2004, a decision was made about a new reconstruction. This process, according to experts, should have taken more than one year. The Lieutenant Schmidt Bridge was an important crossing, and it was almost impossible to close it for several years. Therefore, it was decided to construct a temporary crossing during the closure of the bridge. Construction of the backup bridge began in 2005 and was completed in 2006.
The reconstruction of the bridge was completely entrusted to the Stroyproekt Institute. According to the reconstruction project, the bridge, after completion of construction work, should look like it did in the mid-19th century. The organizers explained their decision by the fact that architectural complexes, including bridges, needed to be restored to their former appearance.
The external resemblance was preserved as much as possible, but the technical parameters were much improved. First of all, this concerned the width of the bridge; it was increased from 24 to 37 meters. The drawbridge was also changed. Its overall weight and width were increased, and therefore it was necessary to change the corresponding supports at the crossing. This required a lot of time and engineering thought.
But there was little time, so the engineers came to a different solution. The heavy wings of the bridge were supported at the ends of the side spans. For the first time in the history of bridge construction, lead blocks were used in the manufacture of counterweights. The lifting of the wings of the draw span had to be carried out using a hydraulic drive system. This method made the ascent easy and quick.
It was decided to leave the foundation supports. Even though more than 150 years had passed since they were laid, they were still in working order.
The grand opening of the bridge took place on August 15, 2007. The plans of engineers and architects were realized. Looking at the reconstructed crossing, one could mentally be carried away to the mid-19th century; the external similarity was obvious. The bridge regained not only its appearance, but also its historical name. Now the crossing was called “Blagoveshchensky Bridge”.
Today, the Blagoveshchensky Bridge never ceases to amaze with its beauty and grandeur. Despite the passage of time, it is still one of the main decorations of the Neva River. His life is inextricably linked with the city and its inhabitants.
1. According to legend, during the construction of the bridge, Nicholas the First promised Kerbedz a rank for each span of the bridge built. After these words, the project was completely redone and 5 additional spans appeared at the crossing.
2. One day, when the emperor was driving across the Annunciation Bridge, he saw a decrepit carriage, there was an unpainted coffin on it, the carriage was traveling towards the cemetery, accompanied by two disabled elderly people. Seeing such a spectacle, the emperor sent his servant to find out who was being buried. It turned out that they were burying a retired soldier who had served his entire life in the name of God, the Motherland, and the Emperor. Having learned this news, Nicholas the First got out of the carriage and followed the cart. After some time, a crowd of thousands was already following the coffin.
His popularity does not disappear. Every year, tourists from all over the world flock to it.
Where is it located and description
The Blagoveshchensky Bridge is spread between the two banks of the Bolshaya Neva - on one side it rests on Vasilievsky Island, on the other on the embankment of the Admiralteysky District. If you look deeper, it links together Trezzini Square on the University Embankment and Truda Square on the other side.
If you approach someone on the streets of the city and ask where the Blagoveshchensky Bridge is located in St. Petersburg, you may hear that it is located right on the border of the Neva Bay and the Neva. That is, practically in the Gulf of Finland. This is the first bridge in St. Petersburg.
The movement of vehicles and pedestrians is allowed on it. It has eight lanes and sidewalks for pedestrians and cyclists. For safety, they are fenced off with a metal parapet.
The unique cast iron grate of the Blagoveshchensky Bridge is known far beyond the borders of St. Petersburg. This is a project created by Karl Bryullov’s older brother, architect Alexander Bryullov. As a basis, he took images of hippocamps - sea horses with fish tails. Along with them, he added Poseidon's trident and sea shells.
The railings, lighting and pavilions of the Annunciation Bridge are protected as cultural heritage Russia and are under the tutelage of the GIOP. It has eight spans, including a two-winged, adjustable one. It is located in the very center of the structure and can be raised at an angle of 72 degrees. The distributing mechanism is jacks operating on hydraulics.
The bridge is 331 meters long, 37 meters wide, and its weight is 4.3 tons.
Interesting! In 1850, the bridge in St. Petersburg was recognized as the longest among its European counterparts. Then it was a little shorter, and its length was three hundred meters.
History of construction
The history of the Blagoveshchensky Bridge in St. Petersburg began in 1842 after the emperor’s decree on the construction of a new permanent crossing across the Neva. Its drawing was created by engineer Stanislav Kerbedz. He developed the first Russian project bridge using metal in the structure.
In 1843, the construction was started. It was planned that the work would be completed in 4 years, but it turned out differently. The term extended to eight years.
The Neva is a full-flowing river with a strong current. The job of driving piles into the bottom was not as easy as the builders had expected. It slowed down the process of building the bridge.
All metal parts of the structure were manufactured at the city plant of Ch. Byrd.
Due to construction, the area adjacent to the Neva had to be improved. Blagoveshchenskaya Square and the cathedral of the same name appeared on the left bank. The embankment on the right bank was increased.
The Blagoveshchensky Bridge in St. Petersburg was opened in 1850, and the first crossing across it was made by Nicholas I, accompanied by his family.
At the beginning of the 20th century they decided to rebuild it. The prerequisites for this existed before, but the implementation of the plans was prevented by political events in the country at that time.
The builders made it all-welded; electric welding was used during the alteration. All that remained of the old structure was the support and the cast iron fence. Excess parts were sent for the construction of other facilities, for example, cast iron structures “went” to Tver. They were used to build a crossing across the Volga.
The renewed bridge stood until the 70s, until the decision was made to carry out a major overhaul. In particular, the wooden flooring needed to be replaced, so it was replaced with a more durable metal flooring.
At the beginning of the 21st century, a new stage of design improvement began. Engineers decided to redesign the appearance of the bridge. Make it look like a distant predecessor from the 19th century. And return to what the bridge in St. Petersburg was previously called - Blagoveshchensky.
The steel structures were replaced, but the foundation of the support turned out to be strong - it was left untouched. The width of the bridge has also increased, partly due to the removal of tram tracks. The draw span also became larger, and the lifting of the bridge wings became smoother and faster due to the replacement of the draw system with a hydraulic one.
The renovated Blagoveshchensky Bridge was opened in August 2007.
Interesting! The first reconstruction of the bridge took place only 70 years after its commissioning.
Interesting facts about the Blagoveshchensky Bridge
- Huge foreign liners often moor next to it. They bring many tourists from all over the world. Their influx is especially observed during white nights.
- He holds the record for the number of titles. As soon as they didn’t call him! Initially, this name returned to him only after 152 years! It managed to be Nikolaevsky, thanks to Emperor Nicholas I, who died in 1855. In Soviet times, it was given a different name - Lieutenant Schmidt Bridge, in honor of the man who led the uprising at Ochakovo. Only in 2007 did it again begin to be called Annunciation, in memory of the cathedral on the square of the same name. Unfortunately, the cathedral was demolished in 1929.
- It took a long time to build, seven whole years. This was caused by difficulties in working at depth in places where the Neva had a strong current.
- On the inside of the racks there are images of various vessels; they wanted to add allegorical sculptures as decoration, but they did not receive funds for this from the city treasury.
- The Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was built right on it.
- For the first time in Russia, a rotary system was used during its construction.
- Near it was the well-known cruiser Aurora, from which a salvo was fired at the Winter Palace in 1917.
- Decorative details were used on other architectural buildings.
Interesting! The location for the St. Isaac's Bridge, the predecessor of the Blagoveshchensky Bridge, was chosen by Alexander Menshikov himself, a confidant of Peter I.
Blagoveshchensky Bridge: layout schedule
It is, of course, important for guests of the city to know what time the wiring starts and when the Blagoveshchensky Bridge is lowered. This helps them plan their day and route so that they have time to admire an unforgettable spectacle.
They breed it in St. Petersburg twice a day. To make information about the schedule more clear, it is placed in a table (Moscow time):
Address and how to get there
The exact location of the Blagoveshchensky Bridge: the city of St. Petersburg, English Embankment, 38.
It can be reached by metro. The nearest metro station will be Vasileolevskaya. But you can also get there from Admiralteyskaya.
If you move along the surface, then the closest stops public transport will be: “Truda Square” and “9th line V.O.”
The best way is to walk. This will give you the opportunity to get to know the city and see places where excursions don’t take you. For example, you can go to St. Isaac's Cathedral, go to one of the many cafes located on the Neva embankment.
The path will lie past the buildings of the Synod and the Senate, along the Promenade des Anglais. Here you can admire buildings from the early 19th century.
From Vasilievsky Island on the way to the bridge you can see a lot. For example, the Menshikov Palace, the University and the Palace Bridge.
If you are visiting St. Petersburg for the first time, then you should definitely see the Blagoveshchensky Bridge. The view of it is especially good from the Promenade des Anglais. And to come better in summer, during the white nights. Then the memories of this trip will stay with you for a long time.
Since childhood, I went to St. Petersburg on all my holidays. From an early age I loved him with all my heart. 10 years later I live in the city of my dreams. Writing articles about St. Petersburg is an unspeakable joy and happiness for me.
Lieutenant Schmidt Bridge
(in 1850-1855 Blagoveshchensky, until 1918 Nikolaevsky, in honor of Emperor Nicholas I), the first permanent bridge across the Bolshaya Neva, connects Truda Square (formerly Blagoveshchenskaya) with the 7th line of Vasilyevsky Island. Named in honor of P.P. Schmidt. In the area of the future bridge there was a floating St. Isaac's Bridge. In 1843-50 a permanent bridge was built (engineer S.V. Kerbedz, architect A.P. Bryullov(?) with the participation of engineer M.G. Destrem). It had 7 spans, covered with cast-iron ribbed arched spans, and one drawbridge on the right bank, covered with two rotating cast-iron spans. Rubble masonry supports with granite cladding. In 1936-38, the bridge was reconstructed (engineer G. P. Perederiy, V. I. Kryzhanovsky, architect K. M. Dmitriev, L. A. Noskov). The cast iron arches were replaced by 3-span continuous beam all-welded steel structures. A drop-down 2-wing span is located in the middle of the bridge. A reinforced concrete vault lined with granite was built on the site of the former drawbridge. On the permanent spans, old cast iron gratings with seahorses have been preserved. The length of the bridge is about 365 m, width 24 m. The removed cast iron arches, reinforced with a reinforced concrete slab of the roadway, were installed on the bridge across the Volga in Kalinin (Tver) in 1953-56. Near the bridge, downstream, on October 25 (November 7), 1917, the cruiser Aurora stood (memorial stele on the Red Fleet embankment; 1939).
Saint Petersburg. Petrograd. Leningrad: Encyclopedic reference book. - M.: Great Russian Encyclopedia.Ed. board: Belova L.N., Buldakov G.N., Degtyarev A.Ya. et al. 1992 .
LIEUTENANT SCHMIDT bridge
The Lieutenant Schmidt Bridge is the first permanent bridge across the Bolshaya Neva. At the beginning of the 18th century, crossing the Neva was carried out by boats, and in winter on ice. In 1727 the first floating bridge was built. It was called St. Isaac's, as it led from St. Isaac's Church, located near the Admiralty, to Vasilievsky Island, to the palace of A. D. Menshikov. Later, other floating bridges were built across the Neva. Before the freeze-up they were dismantled and rebuilt in the spring. Since the end of the 18th century, the question of building a permanent bridge across the Neva has arisen more than once. At the end of 1842, the design of an eight-span cast iron bridge by engineer S.V. Kerbedz was approved. They decided to build a bridge where the Kryukov Canal flowed into the Neva. Therefore, part of the canal was enclosed in a pipe and filled up, after which Blagoveshchenskaya Square (now Truda Square) was formed in front of the bridge on the left bank of the Neva. On the right bank of the Neva, the embankment was expanded for convenient access to the bridge. The first permanent bridge across the Neva was completed in 1850. About 50 thousand people attended its opening ceremony. St. Petersburg newspapers called the bridge “the precious necklace of the beautiful Neva”, “the height of art.” Indeed, its construction was the highest achievement of engineering thought and technology of that time. Initially the bridge was called Blagoveshchensky, and since 1855 - Nikolaevsky. The current name - Lieutenant Schmidt Bridge - was assigned in 1918. This name immortalizes the memory of the hero of the first Russian revolution, the leader of the uprising on the cruiser "Ochakov", lieutenant of the Black Sea Fleet Pyotr Petrovich Schmidt (1867-1906). In 1936-1938, the Lieutenant Schmidt Bridge was reconstructed. The reconstruction was carried out according to the project and under the leadership of academician G. P. Perederia and architect L. A. Noskov. The cast iron arched spans were replaced with steel structures. The width between the railings has increased from 15 to 24 meters. The weight of the entire span was 9500 tons, and after renovation - 2400 tons. Connecting the central part of the city with Vasilyevsky Island, the Lieutenant Schmidt Bridge (its length is 331 meters) has become a more modern and advanced structure.
Why are they named like that? On the origin of the names of streets, squares, islands, rivers and bridges in Leningrad. - L.: Lenizdat.Gorbachevich K. S., Khablo E. P. 1967 .
On the repeating pattern you can see traditional symbols of the water element: Neptune’s trident, a shell and two hippocampi (that’s what the water horses from Neptune’s team were called in Greek mythology - with fish tails and webbed hooves).
Famous sculptors P.K. Klodt and N.S. Pimenov made sketches - sculptural groups similar to those that stand on the supports of the Anichkov Bridge were to decorate Blagoveshchensky Bridge. But, unfortunately, no money was allocated for this - the construction already immeasurably devastated the treasury. Perhaps that is why the bridge supports were left without decoration: “their appearance should really consist of nothing but unshakable stability.”
The bridge at that time was a European record holder - not in total length (the Charles Bridge, built in 1380 in Prague, for example, has a length of 520 meters), but in span length. In addition, contemporaries were fascinated by the adjustable mechanism, which spread two wings in a horizontal plane in less than forty minutes. The crossing was considered (at least in St. Petersburg) the eighth wonder of the world:
“Beauty, Rus', holy fatherland! You have surpassed all the antiquities of the century! There were seven miracles, you created the eighth, And better, more beautiful than all! The hand that created the people’s monument for us was strong, that will was firm, like granite, that ordered to create, to build a similar bridge,” wrote the same “Northern Bee”.
Legends of St. Petersburg
How the emperor buried a simple soldier
One day, driving across the Annunciation Bridge, the emperor saw a funeral procession: two soldiers were seeing off their comrade on his last journey, lying in a rough, unpainted coffin. The emperor stopped his carriage and sent to find out who was being buried. It turned out that he was a retired soldier who served God, the Tsar and the Fatherland for more than a quarter of a century and died in poverty and useless to anyone. Nicholas I became emotional, went out and followed the coffin. Soon a crowd of thousands was already following him to the Smolensk cemetery. And the next day, all of St. Petersburg discussed the monarch’s extraordinary act, admiring the breadth of his soul.
The cast iron bridge has become the city's most popular landmark. People from the provinces came to the capital to admire it. One of his contemporaries wrote:
“My favorite walk now is the Annunciation Bridge, the precious necklace of the beautiful Neva, the height of art in all respects! The bridge seduces in two ways. During the day it appears transparent, as if filigree, light as waves, and in the midnight light it appears as a huge mass, welding two cities together...”
In addition, it was the only place in the city where smoking was allowed at that time. On all other bridges, which were mostly wooden, as well as on the city streets, smoking was strictly prohibited due to the danger of fires.
According to the project, a marble chapel was erected on the bull near the drawbridge, which was consecrated in May 1854 in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. The author of the project is the famous A.I. Stackenschneider, who built the Mariinsky Palace on St. Isaac's Square. By the way, the old bridge with a chapel and a horizontal draw mechanism can be seen in Eisenstein’s film “October” about the events of 1917 (the chapel is clearly visible in this picture).
“And from under the Nikolaevsky cast-iron bridge, the unkind steel of the Aurora towers looks like death...” Mayakovsky wrote: it was behind the Nikolaevsky (Blagoveshchensky) bridge near the English Embankment that the cruiser Aurora stood. From there the famous shot to the side was fired Winter Palace. A monument on the embankment commemorates this event.
Reconstruction 1936 - 1938
The Lieutenant Schmidt Bridge was built with high quality. But - not for centuries. By the 1930s, it became clear that the bridge was morally and physically obsolete. For ships that began to cross the Neva along the White Sea-Baltic and Volga-Baltic waterways, the drawbridge was narrow. The adjustable mechanism jammed every now and then. In addition, deformation of the abutment on the right bank was discovered. During the first large-scale reconstruction (project by architects K. M. Dmitriev, L. A. Noskov, engineers G. P. Perederia and V. I. Kryzhanovsky), the supports were strengthened, the width of the bridge was increased by 4 meters, the draw span was rebuilt, and now the bridge began to open vertical and in the center. A new stone span was built in place of the old drawbridge. The lights were removed from the bridge and were used on the Champ de Mars (they still stand there). The chapel of St. Nicholas, which after the revolution had been a warehouse for household equipment, was demolished. The old cast iron arches were dismantled and subsequently used on the Novovolzhsky Bridge in Tver.
Actually, only wooden piles remained from the old bridge - they were in good condition and cast iron gratings with fish horses.
During that reconstruction, electric welding was used - a new method of connecting steel structures, which had already been tested during the construction of the Volodarsky Bridge. And when repairing bridge supports, the Swedish method of underwater concreting was used, which was also an innovation in Soviet bridge construction.
Reconstruction 2006 - 2007
The question of a new reconstruction of the oldest St. Petersburg crossing became acute at the end of the 20th century: the wear of wooden structures was approaching a critical level. From Kerbedz’s heritage, it was decided to leave only the foundations of the supports, which had been preserved in working order for more than 150 years of service. Everything else had to be replaced - steel structures, the adjustable mechanism. During the renovation, a backup bridge was erected nearby, which immediately became popularly known as “the son of Lieutenant Schmidt” (it would later be used in the reconstruction of the Palace Bridge).
As a result, the crossing was restored to the appearance of the arched Blagoveshchensky Bridge, changed during the previous reconstruction. A modern automated hydraulic drive was installed on the drawbridge, and the width of the roadway was expanded to 37 meters. In addition, tram rails were dismantled and automatic barriers were installed.
The reconstruction cost the city almost 4 billion rubles.
Toponyms of St. Petersburg
Named Nikolai or Lieutenant Schmidt?
The bridge has survived not only two reconstructions, but also many renamings. When designing, the crossing was called the “Nevsky Bridge”. Later, the bridge received its name from the Annunciation Church of the Horse Guards Regiment, located on the square of the same name (modern Labor Square). But just five years later, after the death of the emperor in 1855, the bridge officially became Nikolaevsky. After the revolution, when they were actively building " new world", the crossing was given the name of Lieutenant Schmidt, who rebelled on the cruiser "Ochakov" and was shot for it. And after the last reconstruction, the bridge was returned not only to its original appearance, but also to its former name - Blagoveshchensky.
