Bridges in Saint Petersburg
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Saint Petersburg is often called The City of Bridges. The city is built on what originally was more than 100 islands created by a maze of rivers, creeks, canals and other bodies of water, with Neva river being the main water way. When Peter the Great was designing the city, he meant it to become the Venice of North. This is why initially, there were only about 10 bridges constructed. By Peter's plans, in the summer months, the citizens were supposed to move around in boats, and in the winter months when the water froze to move in sledges. However, after Peter's death, new bridges were built, as it was much easier way of transportation. Today, there are more then 300 bridges of different sizes, styles and constructions, built at different centuries. Some of them are small pederstrian bridges, such as Bank and Lion bridges, others are huge transport arteries such as almost one kilometer long Alexander Nevsky Bridge. The widest bridge in the world - Blue Bridge - spans across Moyka River boasting the width of almost 100 meters. There are bridges decorated in medieval style with lions, horses and griffins, and there are modern styles lacking any decor. The names of the bridges are diverse as well. Some take their names from geographic locations - such as English, Italian and Egyptian bridges. Other names refer to the places such as Post, Theater and Bank bridges. Many bridges are named after famous people - Alexander Nevsky, Peter the Great, Lomonosov bridges. There are "colored" bridges - Red, Green, Blue and Yellow bridges. One of the most famous city's trademarks is its drawbridges. Every night during the navigation period from April to November, the bridges across Neva are drawn to let ships pass through the city. The most breathtaking views of drwaing bridges are the ones during the white nights.
[edit] Facts by numbers
- There are 342 bridges inside the city limits, 5 in Kronstadt, 54 in Tsarskoye Selo, 51 in Peterhof, 16 in Pavlovsk and 7 in Oranienbaum.
- The total length of all the city bridges is approximatelly 16 kilometers
- 22 are drawbridges
- The longest bridge is Alexander Nevsky Bridge across Neva River (909 meters)
- The widest bridge is Blue Bridge across Moyka River (97.3 meters), which is also the widest bridge in the world.
[edit] List of bridges
 Griffon statues on Bank Bridge |
 Lions on the Bridge of Four Lions |
 Sphinx on Egyptian Bridge |
 Towers on Lomonosov Bridge |
 Horse Tamers on Anichkov Bridge |
 Palace Bridge at night |
 View to the Peter and Paul Fortress through Trinity Bridge |
