Liteiny Bridge. History and mystical legends. Liteyny Bridge Liteyny m
St. Petersburg is a mystical city. Perhaps because it was built on water. And water, as you know, is one of the most mysterious elements. About 350 bridges were built across St. Petersburg rivers and canals. Many of them are masterpieces of bridge architecture.
Each bridge is certainly unique and attracts attention with its style, architectural design, and, finally, its history. But there are also special bridges in St. Petersburg, for example Casting, which recently celebrated its 130th anniversary. It is considered one of the most mystical places of the former capital of the Russian Empire.
The Legend of Atakan
Liteyny Bridge connects the two banks of the Neva and is located in the alignment of Liteyny Prospekt and Academician Lebedev Street, and its name comes from the Liteyny Dvor, founded on the left bank in 1711.
An international competition was announced for the bridge project, which ultimately received 17 applications. The commission approved the project of engineer-colonel A.E. Struve and engineer-captain A.A. Weiss, and already on August 30, 1875, work began on the construction of a new crossing across the Neva.
Its construction lasted four whole years, which, unfortunately, was accompanied by great loss of life.
Rumors spread around the city that this place was enchanted, that at the bottom of the river - where construction was going on - there was a “bloody” boulder, popularly nicknamed the Ancient Atakan. Historians claim that in ancient times this stone was worshiped and made human sacrifices by the tribes that once lived at the mouth of the Neva. As legend has it, prisoners captured during wars were killed and their blood was sprinkled on this stone. And then the prisoners began to pray to Neva, asking her to save them from a terrible death.
And the river seemed to hear their prayers: it changed its course, and the terrible stone that had been lying on the shore now ended up at the bottom. But now Atakan began to take revenge on the people sailing above him: either the boat with the fishermen would sink, or by an absurd accident some sailor would end up overboard the ship...
Construction victims
It is not known whether Atakan was to blame, but in September 1876, semi-liquid soil broke into the caissons (structures for forming a working chamber free of water under water or in water-saturated soil), where 28 people worked. However, the work continued, and about a year later there was an explosion at the construction site, the cause of which was never determined. And again - human casualties, nine builders died. And this was not the last accident!
Fragment of the cast iron grating of the Liteiny Bridge
Today it is difficult to name the exact number of victims of the bridge construction. This figure ranges from 40 to 100 people, and all the bodies of the dead disappeared without a trace. Numerous tragedies with casualties forced bridge builders to look for an explanation for what was happening. The most fantastic versions, guesses and rumors appeared.
Black whirlpool
There is a legend that the Liteiny Bridge was supposedly built on the site where in ancient times the “werewolf bridge” stood. They said that under this “werewolf” on moonless nights a black whirlpool suddenly appeared, which sucked in people who found themselves near the river. And from the whirlpool then “all sorts of evil spirits crawled out”, which mocked passers-by, “made dirty faces and shouted shameful words.” And, like a magnet, this whirlpool of all St. Petersburg suicides attracted to itself...
No one knew the exact location of the “werewolf bridge”. But the old-timers, who knew a lot of St. Petersburg secrets, said that this bridge could be shrouded in fog in the blink of an eye and lead a lonely pedestrian to an unknown place: to other times, other lands, from where there is no return. Perhaps this bridge was the entrance to another dimension?
Ghost of Lenin
The bridge, named Alexandrovsky (in honor of Emperor Alexander II), was inaugurated on September 30, 1879 and recognized as one of the most grandiose structures of that time. All construction participants received generous rewards.
However, the name Alexandrovsky did not catch on, and later the bridge was renamed Liteiny (that’s what St. Petersburg residents called it from the day it was founded). It was reconstructed several times, and later, already during perestroika, they even began to conduct excursions along it, showing the complex structure of the bridge, its lifting mechanism and telling about the mystical events associated with this place.
Start of construction of Liteyny Bridge
Inexplicable events in the Liteyny Bridge area continue to occur in the 21st century. For example, eyewitnesses here have repeatedly seen the ghost of the leader of the world proletariat V.I. Lenin. So, one day, while walking near the bridge, in the area of Mokhovaya Street, pensioner A.P. Aleshin noticed in front of him a strange bald man with a characteristic beard and wearing a cap. At first he mistook him for Lenin’s double and decided to meet him and talk. But then he suddenly noticed some oddities in the appearance of the “double”.
A very strong wind was blowing, and passers-by had to hold their hats and coats. But “Lenin” clearly did not react to the weather: the wind did not blow his cap off his head and did not blow the tails of his coat. Aleshin followed the strange man further and, when they passed by the Big House on Liteiny Prospekt, it seemed to him that the man, so similar to Lenin, looked at this house with surprise (this is not surprising: during Ilyich’s lifetime the Big House had not yet been built). Then he went out onto the Liteiny Bridge and... disappeared. Only then did Aleshin realize that he had seen a ghost!
And this is not the only case when passers-by saw the figure of Lenin disappearing without a trace on the Liteiny Bridge. Other revolutionary heroes also “walk” here from time to time, and sometimes entire companies of soldiers and sailors from the Civil War march across the bridge, also suddenly disappearing into the darkness of the night.
Mysterious number
Astrologers believe that the mysticism lies in the length of the bridge, more precisely, in its numerical expression - 396 meters. If we add up these numbers in a special numerological way, then in total we get the number 9. This number corresponds to the planet Neptune, which is responsible for secrets, mysticism, everything irrational, intuition. And in mythology, Neptune is the king of the water element.
Perhaps, in order for the bridge to “take root” here, providence itself took care of its parameters matching the given area, full of mysteries. Like attracts like. Let's look at the facts. As you know, they are stubborn things.
Not only did suicides take their own lives on this bridge, but here, with enviable consistency, criminals took the lives of their victims.
One of the latest cases is striking in its cruelty. A certain crime boss “ordered” the killer from his competitor, but he confused the victim with another person and, while fulfilling the order, inflicted many stab wounds on him. The murder weapon was later discovered at the crime scene, and the murdered man, according to eyewitnesses, was thrown from the bridge by the killer (in this place, by the way, the depth of the Neva reaches 24 meters!). No matter how hard the St. Petersburg detectives tried, neither the killer nor the body of his victim were ever found.
The stories associated with the Liteiny Bridge are fascinating, mysterious, and sometimes frightening. And yet, the Liteiny Bridge is one of the architectural pearls of our city, and it is worth coming to admire it during the white nights: it is a truly bewitching, mystical sight, especially when the bridge is raised.
Ekaterina KUDRYASHOVA
At Liteyny Bridge
I caught a whale in the Neva,
Hid it behind the window
The cat ate it...
I.I. Demyanov
L
Iteyny Bridge is the most mystical bridge in St. Petersburg.
Old maps show that even before the founding of the city, in the area of the existing bridge, there was a crossing on the way from Russia to Sweden: the Novgorod road ended on one bank, and the road to Vyborg began on the other.
In 1786, the second pontoon bridge in the city was built at the site of Voskresensky Prospekt, which received the name “Voskresensky”. Then it was moved to the Summer Garden and a new floating bridge was built in the same place, which was built until 1849.
The permanent bridge owes its appearance to tragedy. On April 4, 1865, the floating crossing near Liteiny Prospekt was demolished by a stormy ice drift. A special expert commission was created to study the causes of the accident, but the need to create a permanent bridge became obvious.
However, things progressed slowly. For four years, the City Duma debated, choosing the location of the future bridge; finally, they decided that it should connect Liteiny Prospekt and the Vyborg Side, and two years later they announced a design competition.
The competition was won by the project under the motto “Westminster”, the authors received a prize, and the Duma decided to begin construction of the bridge. But... - intrigues... investigations...
A special commission of the Ministry of Railways stated that the project is too expensive. And she achieved her goal - the winning project was rejected, and engineer-Colonel A.E. was “asked” to make a new, “economical” project. Struve (on the left in the picture). Struve, by the way, was himself a member of the Special Commission. The coincidence is significant IMHO...
Struve kindly agreed and promised to complete construction within four years. And he finished, but at what cost.
Construction of the Liteiny Bridge. Bull caisson No. 3 for installing it in the ground, July 1, 1877, Goffert I.K.
Haste, as we know, primarily affects safety. On September 16, 1876, five people died during underwater work when, due to a sudden subsidence of the support, semi-liquid soil burst into the caisson. A year later, on September 9, another disaster occurred. During the construction of foundations for river supports, an explosion occurred in the caisson: nine workers were killed. The massive ceiling of the caisson was thrown tens of meters away. Work to eliminate the accident lasted about a year, but they were done on time.
On October 1, 1879, the grand opening of the bridge took place and awards were given to those who took part in the construction. Struve was awarded the rank of major general. The cost of the work exceeded the estimate by two times, and one and a half times the cost of work on the rejected Westminster project... a common thing for Russia... The bridge was a drawbridge, but rotary!
The wing spread was carried out using a gate operated by eight workers. Later it was replaced by a water turbine and the passage for ships opened in 20 minutes.
“View of the Liteiny Bridge in St. Petersburg”, P. P. Vereshchagin, 1870s.
The bridge was originally named Aleksandrovsky (in honor of Emperor Alexander II). However, the name Alexandrovsky did not catch on, and later it was renamed Liteiny (that’s what St. Petersburg residents called it from the day it was founded).
The bridge passes over the deepest place of the Neva (although according to depth maps, the deepest place is not here) - the depth of the river in these places reaches 24 meters. The old bridge served for 85 years - from 1879 to 1964. Now at the bridge THE HEAVEST IN THE WORLD draw span, weighing more than 3200 tons and a length of more than 50 meters. When set, it rises to an angle of 67 degrees in two minutes. I raised this bridge and stood under the span, link to the post below.
Many mystical legends are associated with this bridge. This place was considered enchanted; according to legend, at the bottom of the river there is a “bloody” boulder, popularly nicknamed the Ancient Atakan.
Historians claim that in ancient times this stone was worshiped and made human sacrifices by the tribes that once lived at the mouth of the Neva. Prisoners captured during wars were killed and their blood was sprinkled on this stone. And then the prisoners began to pray to Neva, asking her to save them from a terrible death. And according to the legend, the river seemed to have heard their prayers: it changed its course, and the terrible stone that had been lying on the shore was now at the bottom.
According to another version, when Peter I began to build a new capital, the stone was thrown by the builders into the Neva, in the area of the Liteiny Bridge. Although why this had to be done when every stone was in opposition is not clear.
Google claims that Atakan looked something like this, but I doubt it...
But whatever the version, the main thing was that Atakan began to take revenge on the people sailing above him: either the boat would sink with the fishermen, or by an absurd accident some sailor would end up overboard the ship and the deaths of people during construction were associated with this...
Today it is difficult to name the exact number of victims of the bridge construction. This figure ranges from 40 to 100 people, and all the bodies of the dead disappeared without a trace.
Numerous tragedies with casualties forced bridge builders to look for an explanation for what was happening. The most fantastic versions, guesses and rumors appeared.
Black whirlpool. There is a legend that the Liteiny Bridge was supposedly built on the site where in ancient times the “werewolf bridge” stood. They said that under this “werewolf” on moonless nights a black whirlpool suddenly appeared, which sucked in people who found themselves near the river. And from the whirlpool then “all sorts of evil spirits crawled out”, which mocked passers-by, “made dirty faces and shouted shameful words.” And, like a magnet, this whirlpool of all St. Petersburg suicides attracted to itself...
There is a legend that the werewolf bridge was seen even before it began With construction They say one visiting coachman drowned a chaise with a master in the Neva. And during interrogation by the police, he stated that with his own eyes he saw a large stone bridge across the Neva in this place and wanted to drive across it.
They say that even the All-Russian Emperor himself saw the ghost of the bridge at this place. Old-timers who knew a lot of St. Petersburg secrets said that this bridge could be shrouded in fog in the blink of an eye and lead a lonely pedestrian to an unknown place: to other times, other lands, from where there is no return. Perhaps this bridge was the entrance to another dimension?
Ghosts. Inexplicable events in the area of Liteyny Bridge continue to occur in the 21st century. Here they saw mermaids, goblin, and various other evil spirits. We even saw dead emperors, but this is all down to historical materialism. But after the revolution, the ghost of the leader of the world proletariat V.I. was noticed here. Lenin.
One day, while walking near the bridge, in the area of Mokhovaya Street, pensioner A.P. Aleshin noticed in front of him a strange bald man with a characteristic beard and wearing a cap. At first he mistook him for Lenin’s double and decided to meet him and talk. But then he suddenly noticed some oddities in the appearance of the “double”. A very strong wind was blowing, and passers-by had to hold their hats and coats.
But “Lenin” clearly did not react to the weather: the wind did not blow his cap off his head and did not blow the tails of his coat. Aleshin followed the strange man further and, when they passed by the Big House on Liteiny Prospekt, it seemed to him that the man, so similar to Lenin, looked at this house with surprise (this is not surprising: during Ilyich’s lifetime the Big House had not yet been built). Then he went out onto the Liteiny Bridge and... disappeared. Only then did Aleshin realize that he had seen a ghost...
And this is not the only case when passers-by saw the figure of Lenin disappearing without a trace on the Liteiny Bridge.
Other revolutionary heroes also “walk” here from time to time, and sometimes entire companies of soldiers and sailors from the Civil War march across the bridge, also suddenly disappearing into the darkness of the night.
Mysterious number. Astrologers believe that the mysticism lies in the length of the bridge, more precisely, in its numerical expression - 396 meters. If we add up these numbers in a special numerological way, then in total we get the number 9. This number corresponds to the planet Neptune, which is responsible for secrets, mysticism, everything irrational, intuition. And in mythology, Neptune is the king of the water element.
Perhaps, in order for the bridge to “take root” here, providence itself took care of its parameters matching the given area, full of mysteries. Like attracts like. Let's look at the facts. As you know, they are stubborn things.
Not only did suicides take their own lives on this bridge, but here, with enviable consistency, criminals took the lives of their victims.
One of the latest cases is striking in its cruelty. A certain crime boss “ordered” the killer from his competitor, but he confused the victim with another person and, while fulfilling the order, inflicted many stab wounds on him. The murder weapon was later discovered at the crime scene, and the murdered man, according to eyewitnesses, was thrown from the bridge by the killer (in this place, by the way, the depth of the Neva reaches 24 meters!). No matter how hard the St. Petersburg detectives tried, neither the killer nor the body of his victim were ever found.
In 1964, in connection with the renewal of the Volga-Baltic route, the bridge was reconstructed.
There was an increase in the width of the bridge deck by 10 m, which was required by the road situation. The rotary swing span was replaced with a drop-down span and moved to a deeper location
Tanks test the strength of the bridge spans.
The railing on the permanent spans is completely used from the old bridge built in 1879, made according to a drawing by the architect K. K. Rachau.
An aluminum railing is installed on the drawbridge (to reduce weight, it is already the heaviest in the world).
“Foundry Bridge”, A. M. Semenov, 1982.
Nowadays the length of the bridge is 396 meters and the width is 34 meters. The weight of all metal spans of the bridge is 5902 tons.
Bridge after opening. In the photo, almost two thousand tons stand vertically... the largest and heaviest bridge span IN THE WORLD ever lifted by mankind.
Incidents, secrets, intrigues, investigations... On August 16, 2002, at about 4 o'clock in the morning, the dry cargo ship "Kaunas", built in 1957, en route from Nizhny Novgorod with a cargo of rolled metal, collided with a support of the Liteiny Bridge. The ship sank, but the bridge survived.
On the night of June 13-14, 2010, an art event by the art group “War” took place on the bridge. The action consisted of depicting a phallus on the road surface of the drawbridge in such a way that after the drawdown of the bridge, a 65-meter-long drawing rose in front of the “Big House” - the building of the FSB department in St. Petersburg.
These photos were given to me by Dima from Moscow dmitryl68 (who was part of the landing party) blessed memory to him...
Campaign “F*ck is captured by the FSB!” took place on the night of June 14, 2010 in St. Petersburg on the birthday of Che Guevara. Activists of the group painted a giant phallus on the Liteiny Bridge. At night, when the bridge was raised, the drawing rose in front of the FSB building in St. Petersburg.
Brief historical background:
Liteyny Bridge across the Neva is located at the junction of Liteyny Prospekt and Akademika Lebedev Street. The name of the bridge comes from the Liteiny Dvor, founded on the left bank in 1711. In 1871, a competition was announced, to which 17 projects were submitted. In 1874, the winner was engineer-colonel A.E. Struve and engineer-captain A.A. Weiss. The laying of the new bridge took place on August 30, 1875. The grand opening of the bridge took place on September 30, 1879. All participants in the construction received awards, and Struve was awarded the rank of major general. The bridge was named Aleksandrovsky in honor of Emperor Alexander II, but the name did not catch on. Five spans of the Liteiny Bridge were covered with arched riveted metal spans, and the sixth draw span, located on the left bank, was covered with a rotating lattice metal truss. When deployed, it rotated on a vertical axis located on the first wide and massive river support. The bridge was opened to allow ships to pass through using a simple device - a gate, operated by the hands of eight workers. Over time, the gate was replaced by a 36 hp water turbine. s., fed from the city water supply. This was the only bridge with such a draw span system. The bridge was fenced with two types of railings. Forged metal, simple design, light and “transparent” were installed on the draw span, on the rest of the length - heavy cast iron sections between the same cast iron racks (designed by architect K. K. Rachau). The elements of the railing were highly artistic castings. In the center of the railing section there was a cartouche depicted - a shield with the city's coat of arms - a crossed scepter, sea and river anchors in the hands of two mermaids, whose tails are compositionally woven into a figured floral ornament in the form of spiral shoots. The cast-iron columns have gaps between the side planes filled with fantastic sea animals, rapidly descending into the abyss of the water. When deployed, it rises at an angle of 67 degrees. The reconstruction changed the appearance of the bridge - the huge bull near the bank abutment, which served as the basis for the rotation of the drawbar and brought disharmony to the silhouette of the bridge, disappeared. The fences that were on the bridge before the reconstruction were retained, and the sections for the draw span were cast from light alloy. At the same time, new lanterns were installed, the design of which used the artistic features of the bridge fence. Under the bridge along the embankment there are pedestrian paths with granite slopes to the water.
Status:
Local listed building
Sights of the object:
An arched metal bridge across the Neva, erected in 1879 instead of a pontoon bridge, connects the city center with the Vyborg side. Built according to the design of engineers A. Struve and A. Weiss. The bridge has 5 arched metal riveted trusses and one single-wing rotary draw span 55 meters long. The length of the bridge is 396 meters, width is 34 meters.
Basic mythological facts:
A long time ago, on the banks of the Neva there lived a warlike tribe. They carried out raids, killing and ruining their neighbors. Captive men were sacrificed on a huge boulder called Atakan. For many years, the blood of the victims washed the granite stone. And one day, suffering, fear and blind worship created a miracle - the stone came to life. As they would say now: “a destructive egregor has formed.” He began to demand more and more victims. All the tribes in the area were exterminated, but the stone needed more blood and then the leaders began to choose victims from their tribe. Then the women prayed and turned to the Great River. They asked to rid people of the cursed stone. Neva heard them and took pity on the stupid people. A strong storm began, it rained for many days, and nature went wild, and when everything calmed down, people saw that the river bed had changed, and the stone ended up at the bottom. The exact number of victims of the construction of the Liteiny Bridge has not been established, because not all bodies were found. According to various estimates, this number varies from 50 to 100 people. After its opening, the Liteiny Bridge gained a “bad” reputation among residents. Suicides and murders were often committed on the bridge. People often disappeared and are still going missing in the area. By the way, the river itself in this place has the greatest depth (about 25 meters) and a very complex and unpredictable flow. Perhaps this is why a belief arose about the Black Funnel, which suddenly appears near the bridge trusses and can “absorb” a passing boat or small boat. It is not known whether this is fiction or not, but in 2002 the cargo ship Kaunas crashed into one of the supports of the Liteiny Bridge and sank.
1. Full name of the object (if the object was renamed, for example, street, then the original name). Liteyny Bridge
2. Historical events associated with the object (dates of construction, foundation). The laying of the new bridge took place on August 30, 1875. The grand opening of the bridge took place on September 30, 1879.
3. Location of the object (actual full address). Russia, St. Petersburg, Liteiny Bridge
4. Description of the object (brief description of external features, author, date of construction, material of manufacture, dimensions, texts of inscriptions on the monument). An arched metal bridge across the Neva, built in 1879 instead of a pontoon bridge, connects the city center with the Vyborg side. Built according to the design of engineers A. Struve and A. Weiss. The bridge has 5 arched metal riveted trusses and one single-wing rotary draw span 55 meters long. The length of the bridge is 396 meters, width is 34 meters.
5. Sources of information about the object and events associated with it (bibliographic description of literary and archival materials). Antonov B. I. Bridges of St. Petersburg. - St. Petersburg: Glagol, 2002.
Bunin, M. S. Bridges of Leningrad. Essays on the history and architecture of bridges in St. Petersburg - Petrograd - Leningrad.. - L.: Stroyizdat, Leningr. department, 1986. - 280 p.
Punin A.L. The Tale of Leningrad Bridges. - L., Lenizdat, 1971.
6. Distinctive features of the object, degree of uniqueness. the first bridge in St. Petersburg that was illuminated by electric lights
7. Condition of the object and degree of preservation. Good condition
8. Protection of the monument (by whom and how it is protected). Local, Administration of St. Petersburg
9. Basic legend/myth Once upon a time, on the banks of the Neva there lived a warlike tribe. They carried out raids, killing and ruining their neighbors. Captive men were sacrificed on a huge boulder called Atakan. For many years, the blood of the victims washed the granite stone. And one day, suffering, fear and blind worship created a miracle - the stone came to life. As they would say now: “a destructive egregor has formed.” He began to demand more and more victims. All the tribes in the area were exterminated, but the stone needed more blood and then the leaders began to choose victims from their tribe. Then the women prayed and turned to the Great River. They asked to rid people of the cursed stone. Neva heard them and took pity on the stupid people. A strong storm began, it rained for many days, and nature went wild, and when everything calmed down, people saw that the river bed had changed, and the stone ended up at the bottom. The exact number of victims of the construction of the Liteiny Bridge has not been established, because not all bodies were found. According to various estimates, this number varies from 50 to 100 people. After its opening, the Liteiny Bridge gained a “bad” reputation among residents. Suicides and murders were often committed on the bridge. People often disappeared and are still going missing in the area. By the way, the river itself in this place has the greatest depth (about 25 meters) and a very complex and unpredictable flow. Perhaps this is why a belief arose about the Black Funnel, which suddenly appears near the bridge trusses and can “absorb” a passing boat or small boat. It is not known whether this is fiction or not, but in 2002 the cargo ship Kaunas crashed into one of the supports of the Liteiny Bridge and sank.
OL| Object of cultural heritage of Russia of regional significance reg. No. 781711205440005(EGROKN) object No. 7802131000(Wikigida DB) |
Name
The name of the bridge comes from the Liteiny Dvor, located on the left bank of the river. In 1879, when the permanent bridge opened, it was named Emperor Alexander II Bridge. The name was quickly shortened to Alexander Bridge, and after 1917 it disappeared completely, never replacing the original name.
Story
Dashboard Bridge
Old maps show that even before the founding of the city, in the area of the existing bridge, there was a crossing on the way from Russia to Sweden: the Novgorod road ended on one bank, and the road to Vyborg began on the other. In 1786, the second pontoon bridge in the city was built at the site of Voskresensky Prospect, which was named Voskresensky. In 1803, the bridge was moved to the Summer Garden and received the name Petersburg. A new floating bridge was built in the same place, which was built until 1849. With the abolition and demolition of the Liteyny Dvor, a new highway - Liteyny Prospekt - gained importance, so the Resurrection Bridge was moved to the route of the new prospect and received the name Casting. The floating Liteiny Bridge was built until 1875, when construction of a permanent bridge began. The floating bridge was moved to the route along the axis of Voskresensky Prospekt and renamed Voskresensky. After the construction of the permanent bridge, the floating Voskresensky Bridge was dismantled.
Permanent bridge 1879
The reason for the construction of the second permanent bridge across the Neva was the disruption of the floating crossing by stormy ice on April 4, 1865. A special expert commission was created to study the causes of the Liteiny Bridge accident. On August 22, 1869, the St. Petersburg Duma, having discussed the question “which of the floating bridges: Petersburg or Liteyny, should preferably be replaced by a permanent one,” voted in favor of the Liteyny Bridge by 84 votes to 11. Soon the first bridge designs were presented, drawn up by the company Pushchin and Co., engineer S. V. Kerbedz, as well as English engineers C. Lancaster and C. de Berge. Taking into account the complexity and responsibility of the structure planned for construction, on April 22, 1871, the City Duma announced an open competition for the design of the Liteiny Bridge. The expert commission included V. A. Lvov, Ts. A. Kavos and N. L. Benois; A.G. Veidenbaum was appointed secretary of the commission. 17 projects were presented. The first prize was awarded to an English company for the design of a four-span arched bridge with two drawable parts on both banks of the Neva under the motto “Westminster”. The second prize was awarded to the engineer Ordikh, the third - to the company Pushchin and Co. On October 26, 1873, the Duma decided to issue prizes to the authors of the projects and begin construction of the bridge according to the Westminster project.
In February 1874, a Special Commission of the Ministry of Railways made a number of comments on the Westminster project. On February 15, a new commission was created, which included engineer A.E. Struve. Soon the commission decided to instruct Struve to develop two versions of the metal Liteiny Bridge, one of them of the arch type. On August 18, the project of the arched bridge was approved by the emperor, and in February of the following year the Duma entered into a contract with A.E. Struve for the construction of the bridge within a four-year period. One of the clauses in the contract is puzzling, according to which the builder was obliged to use iron supplied from England or Germany for the trusses and upper span of the bridge. After all, by that time high-quality metal was already being produced in Russia (for the previously constructed Nikolaevsky Bridge, cast iron or iron was not purchased abroad). Struve's closest assistant was engineer-captain A. A. Weiss, and the work managers were: engineers Vratnovsky and Batorsky, railway engineer Masing, civil engineer Albert.
Underwater work was fraught with great difficulties. Difficulties began already when lowering one of the caissons to the bottom of the Neva - in the place where, according to the project, one of the supports was supposed to stand, there was a sunken barge with a stone. While plunging the caisson into the ground, it came across a large boulder stone. Less than a month later, due to a sudden rise in water, the caisson was flooded. On September 16, 1876, at 9 pm, due to a sudden subsidence of the support, semi-liquid soil burst into the caisson. At this time, 28 diggers were working in the caisson. 18 people got out immediately, five more people were saved during the rescue work, five people died. A year later, another disaster occurred with human casualties. On September 9, 1877, an explosion occurred in one of the caissons. The massive ceiling of the caisson was thrown tens of meters away. Nine workers on top of the caisson were killed by the explosion. Silty soil instantly rose into the caisson and flooded the people working in it. Work to eliminate the consequences of the disaster lasted about a year. In the summer of 1878, the bodies of 20 people were recovered and work began on filling the caisson chamber with masonry.
The disasters not only delayed construction, but also caused enormous additional costs. The cost of building the bridge has grown one and a half times more than the originally planned amounts. The total cost of the bridge was 5.1 million rubles.
The swing span was covered with a rotating lattice metal truss. When deployed, it rotated on a vertical axis located on the first wide and massive river support, located near the left bank. The asymmetrical rotary span structure consisted of 8 trusses of a braced system, fastened together by transverse beams and diagonal braces; it was balanced above the abutment by a system of counterweights. The bridge was opened manually - four and then eight workers rotated the manual gate. Over time, the gate was replaced by a 36 hp water turbine, powered by the city water supply.
The bridge abutments are massive, made of monolithic rubble concrete on a caisson foundation, lined with granite. All intermediate supports are on a caisson base, lined with pink granite.
The bridge railings were made according to the design of the architect K. K. Rachau. The cast iron posts and the cast iron sections between them are highly artistic castings. In the center of the railing section was a depiction of a cartouche (a shield with the city's coat of arms) - a crossed scepter, sea and river anchors in the hands of two mermaids, whose tails are woven into floral patterns. In the gaps of the cast iron columns are sea animals. The railing was cast at the Kahuna plant. Forged metal railings of a simple design were installed on the drawbridge.
The Liteyny Bridge became one of the engineering structures in the construction of which innovations that had not been seen before were used. The high strength of steel made it possible to increase the span of the bridge by one and a half times compared to the cast iron arches of the Nikolaevsky Bridge. A further step in the development of bridge construction technology was the design of a rotary adjustable mechanism, more advanced than that of the Nikolaevsky Bridge.
Liteyny Bridge was the first permanent bridge in the world illuminated by electricity. Soon after the opening, electric lights with “candles” by P. N. Yablochkov were installed on it. Due to opposition from the gas industry monopoly, electric lighting did not become widespread in the city.
In 1881, benches were installed on the bridge for passers-by to rest: two large ones (on a thick bull) and 8 small ones (on 4 river bulls). The work was carried out by the San Galli plant
Reconstruction of the bridge in 1966-1967
Design
The bridge is six-span, metal, with steel-reinforced concrete spans of variable height, continuous beam system. The length of the bridge is 394 m, the width of the bridge between the railings is 34 m, of which the width of the carriageway is 28.0 m and two sidewalks are 3.0 m each. Span layout: 41.6 + 61.0 + 74.6 + 82.8 +74.1+60.8 m.
The left bank permanent span is covered with a steel-reinforced concrete span. In cross section, the span structure consists of ten main beams of solid section, united by longitudinal and transverse connections. Curvilinear façade beams.
Channel permanent spans are a four-span continuous beam with a curved outline of the lower chord. The size of the river spans was determined by the position of the existing supports, which were used in the reconstruction of the bridge. In cross section, the span structure consists of eight main beams of I-section, united by longitudinal and transverse connections.
The swing span is covered by a single-wing span of a drop-down system with a fixed axis of rotation and a rigidly attached counterweight. The maximum design wing opening angle is 67º. In cross section, the span structure consists of six main beams of solid section with a curved lower chord, united by a ribbed roadway slab, transverse beams, longitudinal and transverse braces. The weight of the draw span is a record in world practice - 3225 tons. The size of the draw span in the clear is 50 m. In the closed position, the span structure of the draw span rests on two supports as a free cantilever beam with a design span of 55 m, a console length of 3 m and a width of 34 m.
The left bank abutment is massive, made of monolithic reinforced concrete, on a pile foundation. The right bank abutment was completely used, with only the upper part being reconstructed. The base of the support is pile - wooden piles. The base of all intermediate supports is caisson. Reinforced concrete abutment walls with suspended granite cladding. Channel supports with massive granite lining. The new support for the draw span is partially built on the old caisson foundation and a new drop well.
The roadway and sidewalks are covered with asphalt. The fencing on the stationary spans is granite, 500 mm high, on the draw span, metal, 500 mm high [ ] .
The railing on the permanent spans, designed by architect K. K. Rachau, is entirely taken from the old bridge built in 1879, and is a cultural heritage site of regional importance. An aluminum railing is installed on the drawbridge. On the left bank, the railing ends with granite parapets with memorial plaques. For lighting and contact networks, 28 supports with architectural decoration were installed on the bridge.
Exploitation
Bulk carrier "Kaunas"
Action of the art group “War”
| External images | |
|---|---|
| Action of the art group “War” | |
Notes
- Vladimirovich A.G., Erofeev A.D. Petersburg in street names. The origin of the names of streets and avenues, rivers and canals, bridges and islands. - M.: AST, 2009. - P. 153. - 751 p.
- , With. 23.
- , With. 129.
- , With. 91.
- , With. 130.
- , With. 131.
St. Petersburg is not without reason called the city of bridges, because there are about 350 of them. Many of these structures are masterpieces of world architecture. Each has its own unique style and history. Liteyny Bridge is perhaps one of the most elegant examples of architectural art not only in Russia, but throughout the world. In addition, there are many legends and beliefs about it, thanks to which the bridge has gained the reputation of being the most mysterious and mystical in the city.
A little history
Construction of the bridge began in 1875 and took place in very difficult conditions, since the depth of the Neva in this place is 24 meters. A.E. Struve was appointed chief engineer. What is noteworthy is that during the construction of the bridge, the caisson method was used, as well as other technical innovations that did not exist at that time anywhere in the world. The essence of the method was that metal boxes were sank to the bottom of the river and water was pumped out of them under pressure. Workers then descended into the caissons and worked, digging and driving piles.
Liteyny Bridge went down in history as the first architectural monument illuminated by electricity. This is due to the fact that Russian physicist Pavel Yablochkov invented the world's first electric light bulb. And the contractors who built the bridge decided to try his invention.
Despite many obstacles and tragic events that constantly occurred on the bridge, it was completed on time and inaugurated in 1879. During the period of its existence, it was renamed several times, only after the revolution of 1917 the name Liteiny Bridge was finally assigned to it.
Artistic casting
Despite the fact that the artistic qualities of the structure are not so great, it is worth noting its extraordinary beauty of the railings. Some of them are made of metal with a light pattern, and some are made of cast iron using highly artistic casting according to the design of the architect K. K. Rachau. In the center of each lattice are depicted two mermaids holding a shield with the coat of arms of the Northern capital. There are 546 such images in total. On both sides of the mermaids, the side gaps between the cast-iron gratings-columns are filled with images of unprecedented sea animals. Every tourist will be interested in visiting the Liteiny Bridge and examining and photographing such an unusual casting.
Mystical Bridge
This building attracts not only with its external beauty, but also with its mystery, because many mystical legends and strange incidents are associated with it. So, according to legend, the place near the bridge was considered enchanted. Once upon a time, in ancient times, there was a pagan temple here. And at the bottom of the Neva there was the Atakanu boulder, which was worshiped and sacrificed by the tribes who lived at the mouth of the river. It was believed that the stone took revenge on the people sailing above it: barges sank, “by accident” sailors suddenly fell overboard, the death of people during construction is also associated with its impact.
There is a mysterious pattern associated with the fact that the Liteiny Bridge in St. Petersburg attracts people who decide to commit suicide. Divers who annually search for drowned people say that most often those who decide to commit suicide jump from this structure.
Old-timers who knew many St. Petersburg secrets said that in this place there was once a bridge leading to other dimensions. It instantly enveloped the pedestrian in a thick fog and led him into unknown lands from where there is no return.
Liteyny Bridge in St. Petersburg: interesting facts
- The bridge fencing is included in the Unified State Register of Cultural Heritage Objects.
- The pattern of the structure's latticework has become one of the symbols of St. Petersburg.
- Once upon a time, the drawbridge span was opened manually. In the mid-20th century it underwent major reconstruction. The lifting mechanism has become lifting for the convenience of passage of massive ships. Lanterns with images similar to those cast on the gratings were added to the decor of the bridge.
- One of the spans was pierced by an aerial bomb that hit it. This happened during the Great Patriotic War. Fortunately, it didn't explode.
Raising the bridge
Since the city is located on islands, bridges here are not just decoration, but an urgent necessity. Many of them have become the calling cards of St. Petersburg. Including the Liteiny Bridge (photo presented in the article). The raising of bridges is an amazing spectacle that everyone should see. The best place to watch the process is in the city center. All bridges are opened one by one, with an interval of approximately 10 minutes, adjusting to the traffic of ships. The Liteiny Bridge is raised at approximately 01.40 at night, although only one section is raised. This, of course, does not look as impressive as the construction of, for example, the Palace Bridge.
Today, despite the 130th anniversary of the building, its appearance is quite modern. Its spans are reinforced with steel beams and have the shape of semicircular lines. The supports are dressed in soft pink granite. In general, this is a classic engineering structure of the era of capitalism, when even such large-scale projects were not subject to high artistic demands.