The 1st Garden Bridge (the first Garden Bridge) is one of the bridges in the historical center of St. Petersburg.
The 1st Garden Bridge spans the Moika River along the axis of Sadovaya Street, and connects Spassky and the 1st Admiralty Islands.
The name" Sadovy " was given to the bridge because it is located along the axis of Sadovaya Street, and also, they say, due to the fact that it lies at the intersection of green spaces adjacent to it on four sides: Summer garden, Mikhailovsky Garden, the square near Mikhailovsky (Engineering) Castle and the Field of Mars. And "1st", since there is another Garden Bridge located downstream of the Moika River and the bridge, only the 2nd.
The 1st Garden Bridge has a total length of 33.9 meters and a width of 20.4 meters.
The bridge is a single-span arched structure, the superstructure of which is a steel double-hinged arch with a through superstructure.
The abutments of the bridge are massive stone on a pile base, lined with granite.
The railings of the bridge are cast iron, artistic casting. The drawing of the fences is made in the form of round openwork shields and crossed copies.
The bridge is illuminated by 4 hexagonal lanterns placed on cast-iron floor lamps, which, in turn, are mounted on granite pedestals. The floor lamps of the lanterns are made in the form of bundles of spades with overlays of shields and wreaths and are crowned with double-headed eagles.
The 1st Garden Bridge is a roadway and pedestrian.
Pedestrian sidewalks are located on both sides of the bridge.
The roadway of the bridge is separated from the sidewalks by high curbs and simple metal fences.
The history of the 1st Garden Bridge
The first bridge in this place was built in the 1710s, after the reconstruction of the Moika riverbed, when the river was straightened and connected by a canal from the Mikhailovsky Garden to the Fontanka. The bridge was a wooden drawbridge, with a lifting middle part for passing masted vessels.
In the 18th century, the bridge was named "2nd Tsaritsynsky" - according to the nearby Tsaritsyn meadow (now the Field of Mars). In 1820, the bridge was renamed "Mikhailovsky", according to the Mikhailovsky (Engineering) Castle located nearby, and on October 6, 1923, it became Sadovy-along Sadovaya Street, and finally, in 1957, the ferry received its modern name "1st Garden Bridge".
At the turn of the 18th-19th centuries, when the Mikhailovsky Castle of Paul I was being built, the entire territory around the castle, including the Garden Bridge, was also rebuilt. So in 1798-1801, a new single-span wooden bridge with a crossbar-strut span structure on stone abutments was built.
In 1835-1836, according to the project of engineers P. P. Bazin, A. D. Gotman and I. F. Buttats, a stone bridge was built, which was a single-span arched structure in the form of a gentle stone arch with facades lined with granite. Railings and lanterns were built on the bridge.
In 1906-1907, for the opening of tram traffic along Sadovaya Street, the bridge was completely rebuilt according to the project of engineer A. P. Pshenitsky and architect L. A. Ilyin. The stone vault was replaced with a steel one. It is this design that has survived to the present time. The bridge's decor and floor lamps, which had been lost by that time, were restored in 1913.
During the siege of Leningrad (World War II), the decor of the bridge was significantly damaged. After restored.
Subsequently, the bridge was subjected to restoration and repair work.
View of the Moika River and the 1st Garden Bridge
Practical information
Upstream of the Moika River from the 1st Garden Bridge is the 1st Engineering Bridge, and below - the 2nd Garden Bridge.
Coordinates of the 1st Garden Bridge: 59°56'27.0" N 30°20'07.0" E (59.940833, 30.335278).
Nearest metro stations: "Nevsky Prospekt", "Gostiny Dvor", "Admiralteiskaya" and "Chernyshevskaya".
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