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

Embankment)

References

Canals of Saint Petersburg Canals opened in 1719 1719 establishments in Russia Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Saint Petersburg {{SaintPetersburg-geo-stub