The Alexander Railway Bridge across the Volga River near Syzran, so named after the reigning emperor Alexander II, was designed by Nikolai Belelyubsky and Konstantin Mikhailovsky. The first bridge across the Volga in its lower reaches, it was opened by Konstantin Posyet in 1880 as part of the Samara-Zlatoust Railway. It had 13 spans and was 1436 metres long, making it the longest bridge in Europe. It was renamed Syzran Bridge following the Russian Revolution. The bridge sustained damage in the Russian Civil War but was quickly restored. In 2004, the original spans of the old bridge were replaced, though its supports remain.