300px, The Crimean Bridge in 2017. The New of 20th-Century Art is visible behind the bridge on the right">Tretyakov Gallery of 20th-Century Art is visible behind the bridge on the right
Krymsky Bridge or Crimean Bridge (russian: Крымский мост) is a steel
suspension bridge
A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...
in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
. The bridge spans the
Moskva River 1,800 metres south-west from
the Kremlin
The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of the kremlins (Ru ...
and carries the
Garden Ring
The Garden Ring, also known as the "B" Ring (russian: Садо́вое кольцо́, кольцо́ "Б"; transliteration: ''Sadovoye Koltso''), is a circular ring road avenue around central Moscow, its course corresponding to what used to b ...
across the river. The bridge links the
Zubovsky Boulevard to the north-west with
Krymsky Val
Krymsky Val ( rus, Кры́мский Вал) is a street in the Yakimanka District of Moscow, near Gorky Park. Also near are Krymsky Bridge, Fallen Monument Park, and the Tretyakov Gallery.
Moscow Metro stations nearby are Park Kultury and ...
street to the south-east. The nearby
Moscow Metro
The Moscow Metro) is a metro system serving the Russian capital of Moscow as well as the neighbouring cities of Krasnogorsk, Reutov, Lyubertsy and Kotelniki in Moscow Oblast. Opened in 1935 with one line and 13 stations, it was the first ...
stations are
Park Kultury and
Oktyabrskaya.
The existing bridge was completed on May 1, 1938, as part of
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
's ambitious reconstruction of downtown Moscow. Designed by engineer V. P. Konstantinov and architect A. V. Vlasov, it is the fourth bridge on this site and the only suspension bridge in all of Moscow.
History
The first
pontoon Krymsky Bridge was built in wood in 1786. Subsequently, it was rebuilt as a fixed wooden causeway with a 15-metre central span for barges. Both wooden bridges were frequently damaged by ice and floods, and had to be repaired on numerous occasions.
[Russian: Носарев В.А., Скрябина, Т.А., "Мосты Москвы", М, "Вече", 2004, стр.122 (''Bridges of Moscow'', 2004, p.122) ]
The first steel bridge, built in 1873 by
Amand Struve to a design by V. K. Speyer, featured two 64-meter truss boxes, supported by the central pillar. Traffic moved inside the truss, which was congested and unsafe.
Tram
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
companies issued a rule that only one tram can be on a bridge at a time, to prevent traffic deadlocks.
During Stalin's reconstruction of Moscow, every bridge in the downtown was either rebuilt or scheduled for demolition. The Krymsky Bridge was slated to be replaced in 1935. The old bridge had to operate until the substitute was completed, because the Soviet capital could not afford interruption of service along the Garden Ring. Between 21 May and 26 May 1936, the old bridge was moved fifty meters from its site on temporary pillars. For the first time in Soviet history a 4000-ton, 128-meter structure was relocated successfully. The old bridge was in operation until the new bridge was completed on May 1, 1938.
[''Bridges of Moscow'', 2004, p.124]
Modern bridge
The bridge's total length (including approach ramps) is 668 meters, with the bridge itself being 262.5 meters and it spanning 47.25, 168, and another 47.25 meters. Its full width is 38.4 meters. The bridge has a 24-meter road (6 lanes) and two 5-meter pedestrian lanes.
The
eyebar
In structural engineering and construction, an eyebar is a straight bar, usually of metal, with a hole ("eye") at each end for fixing to other components. Eyebars are used in structures such as bridges, in settings in which only tension, and ne ...
chains are made of SDS steel (СДС, ''Steel
or the
Or or OR may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* "O.R.", a 1974 episode of M*A*S*H
* Or (My Treasure), a 2004 movie from Israel (''Or'' means "light" in Hebrew)
Music
* ''Or'' (album), a 2002 album by Golden Boy with Mis ...
Palace of the Soviets
The Palace of the Soviets (russian: Дворец Советов, ''Dvorets Sovetov'') was a project to construct a political convention center in Moscow on the site of the demolished Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. The main function of the p ...
'') rolled by
NKMZ works, each link consisting of 4-centimeter thick, 93-centimeter wide strips. Chains are carrying two girders (each over 300 meters long), with their ends anchored to massive concrete counterweights. The girders are crossed with 50-centimeter I-beams, spaced by 1.6 meters; these beams are covered with a concrete deck.
The bridge was represented on Soviet postage stamps twice: in March 1939 and December 1948. Visually unique, Krymsky Bridge is one of the least effective in terms of material costs. It consumed nearly 10,000 tons of steel, or 1 metric ton per square metre of deck (itself having a very low ratio of area usage, 24 to 38.4).
[''Bridges of Moscow'', 2004, p.125]
The bridge deck was replaced in 2001. During repairs, traffic was restricted, but never closed completely.
On March 24, 2022, in protest against the Ukrainian war and the oppressive situation in Russia, activists hung a 10-meter Ukraine flag from the Crimean Bridge at 7:00 local time. The flag read in Russian: "Freedom, truth, peace". The author of the work is Russian architect, publicist and artist Sergei Sitar. Born in Moscow in 1969, he has become known for his many years of work for the architecture journal "Projekt International" and his significant participation in the Shrinking Cities project as co-curator and artist, among other things. On March 25, he was sentenced to 15 days in prison by a Moscow court for the action.
German Art Magazin Monopol, 25.3.2022, March 27th 2022
Footnotes and references
Bridges in Moscow
Bridges built in the Soviet Union
Suspension bridges in Russia
Bridges completed in 1873
Bridges completed in 1938
Cultural heritage monuments of regional significance in Moscow
{{Roads in Moscow