Anichkov Bridge (Saint Petersburg)

 road bridge, UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed building / architectural heritage, 1840s construction

Anichkov Bridge, spanning the Fontanka River in the alignment of Nevsky Prospekt, connects Spassky and Nameless Islands. It is a three-span structure on stone pillars lined with granite. The superstructure is made in the form of three shallow arches, laid out of brick and lined with granite.

The length of the bridge along the rear faces of the abutments is 50 meters, the width between the axes of the railing is 38.2 meters.

Anichkov Bridge (formerly Nevsky 1739-1747) is located in the alignment of Nevsky Prospekt, laid in 1711. It was at that time a large highway along which wagons moved to the city. This was the first log road in St. Petersburg, which was called the "Big Perspektivy". Simultaneously with the laying of the road in 1715, Peter I issued a decree: "For the great Neva River on the Fountain River to make a bridge." It got its name after its builder, engineer Lieutenant Colonel M.O. Anichkov. It was the first wooden bridge over the river . The Fontanka, about 150 m long, and only one cart was allowed to pass through the width. The bridge supports were piled.

In 1721, it was rebuilt under the direction of Hermann von Boles also in wood, but with a lifting part for the passage of small ships and barges. The bridge consisted of 18 arches and one lifting part. In 1741, the bridge was reinforced to allow 14 elephants to pass through it — an Indian gift to the Russian Empress from the Shah of Persia.

In 1749, it was rebuilt again with the elimination of the lifting part. The facade of the bridge was sheathed with boards and decorated with granite with painted stone rusts.

In 1785, a three-span stone bridge with an average draw span and towers on bulls was built according to the type of Staro-Kalinkin and Chernyshev (now Lomonosov) bridges. The coastal spans were blocked by stone arches. The middle span is covered with a wooden beam.

In 1841, the Anichkov Bridge was rebuilt again according to the project of engineer I.F. Buttats. The old narrow bridge was dismantled and a three-span stone bridge was built in its place, covered with gentle brick arches outlined by elliptical curves. The facades are faced with granite. A cast—iron fence of highly artistic casting with images of mermaids and hippocampus - mythological sea horses with fish tails - is installed on the bridge. (This is a copy of the lattice of the Palace Bridge over the Spree in Berlin, built by architect K.F. Schinkel). Four art groups of P.K. Klodt "The Taming of the Horse" were installed on granite monumental pedestals and abutments of the bridge in 1841-1850.

In the first years of operation of the Anichkov Bridge, deformations occurred in the arches, which were monitored. In 1843 the vaults were strengthened. By 1902, these deformations in the load-bearing elements had reached dangerous dimensions. Their occurrence was explained by the unreliability of the connection of different materials, rigid granite cladding with easily compressible brickwork of the vault, and unreliable insulation. Water flowed into the junctions of dissimilar stone materials, destroying the arches under the influence of frost, winds, etc.

In 1907-1908, in connection with the construction of tram lines, the reconstruction of the Anichkov Bridge was carried out under the leadership of P.V. Shchusev, who for the first time rebuilt the arches in sections, leaving the seams unfilled.

In 1941, the sculptural groups of horses were removed from their pedestals and buried in the garden at the Palace of Pioneers. On May 1, 1945, the sculptural groups were re-installed on the pedestals of the bridge. Granite pedestals and cast-iron fences damaged during the war were mute witnesses to the heroic defense of the city. This is recalled by a bronze plaque with an inscription, mounted on one of the pedestals in December 1972.

In 2000, the restoration of the sculptural groups was carried out. In June, 2 groups were removed from the grassroots side, in October — 2 groups from the upper side.

In 2007-2008, the superstructure of the ferry was overhauled. The general designer was NGO "Rand", and the construction work was carried out by CJSC "Pylon". As part of the overhaul, the brickwork of the arches was repaired in places of local dislocations and heavily destructed masonry zones, injection of the brickwork of the arches with cement mortar under pressure, replacement of the waterproofing of the superstructure and asphalt concrete pavement of the roadway, restoration of granite paving slabs and cast-iron railings. Traffic along Nevsky Prospekt was not closed during the repair.

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