Winter Canal (russian: link=no, Зимняя канавка, ''Zimnyaya kanavka'') is a canal in
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, connecting
Bolshaya Neva
The Great Neva or Bolshaya Neva () is the largest armlet of the river Neva. It starts near the Spit of Vasilievsky Island
Vasilyevsky Island (russian: Васи́льевский о́стров, Vasilyevsky Ostrov, V.O.) is an island in St.& ...
with
Moika River
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 ...
in the vicinity of
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 ...
.
The canal was dug in 1718–19. It is only long, which makes it one of the shortest canals in the city. The width is about .
The granite embankment was built in 1782–84, and railings designed by sculptor I.F.Dunker were added at the same time. The special picturesqueness to the canal is added by the
arch
An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it.
Arches may be synonymous with vaul ...
connecting
Old Hermitage and
Hermitage Theater, built by architect
Yury Felten
Yury Matveyevich Felten (russian: Ю́рий Матве́евич Фе́льтен, german: Georg Friedrich Veldten) (1730–1801) was a Russian Imperial architect who served at the Empress's Catherine the Great court.
Yury Felten was born Georg ...
next to the
Hermitage Bridge.
Names
Originally the canal was named ''Old Palace Canal'' (russian: link=no, Старый Дворцовый канал). From 1780 it was called either Winter House Canal (russian: link=no, Зимнедомский) or Winter Palace Canal (russian: link=no, Зимнедворцовый). Townspeople started to call it simply russian: link=no, Зимний канал (meaning Winter Canal), and in 1828 the canal was officially renamed to its current name – ''Winter Canal'' (pronounced in Russian as ''Zimnyaya Kanavka'', literally meaning ''Winter Groove'').
[
]
Bridges
There are three bridges across Winter Canal:
*
Hermitage Bridge (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 ...
)
*
First Winter Bridge (along
Millionnaya Street
Millionnaya Street (russian: Миллионная улица), a street on the left bank of the Neva in the Central District of St. Petersburg in Russia, runs - parallel to the Palace Quay - from the Swan Canal to the Palace Square. Significan ...
)
*
Second Winter Bridge (along
Moika River
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 ...
Embankment)
References
Canals of Saint Petersburg
Canals opened in 1719
1719 establishments in Russia
Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Saint Petersburg
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