The Hermitage Bridge (russian: link=no, Эрмита́жный мост) is a bridge across the

Winter Canal Winter Canal (russian: link=no, Зимняя канавка, ''Zimnyaya kanavka'') is a canal in Saint Petersburg, Russia, connecting Bolshaya Neva with Moika River in the vicinity of Winter Palace. The canal was dug in 1718–19. It is only ...

along

Palace Embankment The Palace Embankment or Palace Quay (Russian: Дворцовая набережная, Dvortsovaya naberezhnaya) is a street along the Neva River in Central Saint Petersburg which contains the complex of the Hermitage Museum buildings (including ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, Russia. The bridge constitutes part of the Hermitage and

Winter Palace The Winter Palace ( rus, Зимний дворец, Zimnij dvorets, p=ˈzʲimnʲɪj dvɐˈrʲɛts) is a palace in Saint Petersburg that served as the official residence of the Emperor of all the Russias, Russian Emperor from 1732 to 1917. The p ...

ensemble.

Location

The bridge is between the

Hermitage Theatre The Hermitage Theatre ( rus, Эрмитажный Театр, Èrmitážnyj Teátr, ɪrʲmʲɪˈtaʐnɨj tʲɪˈatər) in Saint Petersburg, Russia is one of five Hermitage Museum, Hermitage buildings lining the Palace Embankment of the Neva Riv ...

(32, Palace Embankment) and the Old Hermitage (34, Palace Embankment). The Winter Canal separates two islands:

is on Second Admiralty island (in the west), while the

is on First Admiralty island (in the east). Automobile traffic crosses the bridge in two lanes, one in each direction. The canal waters flow from the

Neva The Neva (russian: Нева́, ) is a river in northwestern Russia flowing from Lake Ladoga through the western part of Leningrad Oblast (historical region of Ingria) to the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland. Despite its modest length of , it ...

to the

Moyka The Moyka (russian: Мо́йка /MOY-ka/, also latinised as Moika) is a secondary, in comparison with the Neva River in Saint Petersburg that encircles the central portion of the city, effectively making it an island or a group of islands ...

, while boats on the canal travel from the Moyka to the Neva. The nearest station of the

Saint Petersburg Metro The Saint Petersburg Metro (russian: links=no, Петербургский метрополитен, Peterburgskiy metropoliten) is a rapid transit system in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Construction began in early 1941, but was put on hold due to Wor ...

is Admiralteyskaya.

History

The original bridge was a three-span wooden drawbridge constructed in 1718–20 by

Harmen van Bol'es Harmen van Bol'es (Amsterdam 1689 - Saint-Petersburg 1764) was a royal master builder in Russia. Harmen's father was the travelling windmill builder, originating from a family of carpenters from South Holland, the Netherlands. Grandfather Harmen ...

, immediately after the canal near the

was completed. This bridge was narrow, allowing passage of only one cart at a time. The permanent stone bridge was built in 1763–66, in conjunction with building of granite embankments of the

Neva River The Neva (russian: Нева́, ) is a river in northwestern Russia flowing from Lake Ladoga through the western part of Leningrad Oblast (historical region of Ingria) to the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland. Despite its modest length of , it i ...

. Today, Hermitage Bridge remains the oldest stone bridge in Saint Petersburg. Originally the arch of the bridge was built from brick and

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

with granite exterior. In 1934 it was replaced with the new monolithic hinge-free

ferroconcrete Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having hig ...

arch, but the granite facade was preserved by the project of engineer A. D. Sapestein and architect K. M. Dmitriev, the adviser – professor G. P. Peredery. In 1950, the original decor of ramps was restored.

Name

On 20 April 1738, the bridge received its first official name of ''Upper Embankment Bridge'' (russian: link=no, Верхний Набережный мост) after the Upper Embankment street (today's

). However, this name didn't catch on. The name ''Winter Palace Bridge'' (russian: link=no, Зимнедворцовый мост) after the nearby

started to circulate in the middle of the 18th century. From the end of the 18th century the bridge was renamed to ''Palace Bridge'' (not to be confused with the modern

Palace Bridge Palace Bridge (, ''Dvortsoviy Most''), a road- and foot-traffic bascule bridge, spans the Neva River in Saint Petersburg between Palace Square and Vasilievsky Island. Like every other Neva bridge (except for Big Obukhovsky Bridge), it is drawn ...

). The current name was established in 1929. The Hermitage Bridge name came from the

Hermitage Theater The Hermitage Theatre ( rus, Эрмитажный Театр, Èrmitážnyj Teátr, ɪrʲmʲɪˈtaʐnɨj tʲɪˈatər) in Saint Petersburg, Russia is one of five Hermitage buildings lining the Palace Embankment of the Neva River. The Hermita ...

which was built by that time between Winter Canal and Winter Palace.

References

{{Hermitage ensemble from outside Neva Bridges in Saint Petersburg Bridges completed in 1720 Bridges completed in 1766 1720 establishments in Russia Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Saint Petersburg