Ioannovsky Brige (Saint Petersburg)

 wooden, footbridge, 1951_construction

The Ioannovsky Pedestrian Bridge connects the Ioannovsky Gate of the Peter and Paul Fortress with the Petrograd side. This is the oldest bridge, the same age as St. Petersburg.

The bridge spans the Kronverksky Strait in the alignment of the Ioannovsky Gate of the Peter and Paul Fortress, not far from Trinity Square. It is a seven-span wooden structure with a metal superstructure 74.66 meters long and 10.54 meters wide on wooden channel supports with stone arcades.

In 1703, a floating wooden bridge connected the fortress on Zayachy Island with buildings on Berezovsky (now Petrogradsky) Island. In 1706, the floating bridge was replaced by a permanent wooden one on pile supports with a lifting part in the middle. The bridge was named Petrovsky.

In 1738, it was rebuilt into a 16-span, with the lifting span preserved.

In 1801-1802, the wooden part of the bridge was replaced by an eight-span construction of a sprengel system with a single-wing lifting part. The bridge layout was carried out manually. A granite parapet was installed on the stone arcades.

In 1827, the arched spans of the right wing of the bridge were filled in due to the improvement of the entrances to the Suvorov floating bridge across the Neva (this name was originally going to be given to the current Trinity Bridge, built on the site of the floating bridge). As a result of soil deposits, the arched spans of the left wing of the bridge were gradually eliminated.

In 1887, Petrovsky Bridge was renamed Ioannovsky. The fact is that there was then a moat between the fortress and the Ioannovsky Ravelin, through which a wooden Ioannovsky Bridge was built in 1752, named after Peter I's brother. After the liquidation of this bridge, its name passed to Petrovsky.

By 1934, only one stone arched span remained on the right wing of the bridge, and three on the left, along with the dam adjacent to the Ioannovsky Gate of the fortress. In the future, all arched stone spans were filled in and laid with a rubble slab.

In 1950-1951, during the next repair of the bridge, designed by engineer V.V. Blazhevich, seven spans were blocked with metal beams. The supports were repaired and sheathed with boards. The roadway and sidewalks are covered with a boardwalk. The railings remained wooden.

In 1953, according to the project of architect A.L. Rotach, the wooden fences on the bridge were replaced with cast-iron gratings of artistic casting, floor lamps with lanterns were installed, which were at the entrances to the Suvorov floating Bridge. The type of gratings is borrowed from the railings at the entrances of the Tuchkov Bridge.

In 2001-2003, for the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg, a new overhaul was carried out. Wooden supports were repaired, the metal superstructure and the wooden flooring of the roadway and sidewalks were replaced, the abutments and arcades were lined. The inner semicircular arch of the bridge was reinforced and covered with a chemical protective compound that protects against the negative effects of water. The lanterns were restored, on which the figures of double-headed eagles were restored. Railings have been updated.

In 2016-2017, the last repair of the crossing was carried out, including the restoration of rubble masonry and arcade cladding, replacement of damaged wooden elements of channel supports and painting of the metal superstructure, restoration of cast-iron decor (railings and floor lamps). The wooden structures of the bridge and the cobblestone paving over the arcades have also been replaced.

On stilts near the Ioannovsky Bridge there is a figurine of a hare, which has received the unofficial name "The bunny who escaped from the flood". The monument was opened on May 8, 2003 in honor of the completion of the repair of the ferry and the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg. The authors of the project are St. Petersburg sculptor Vladimir Petrovichev and architect Sergey Petchenko. The 58 cm high sculpture is made of an alloy of silumin, aluminum and duralumin and coated with titanium nitride.

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