Drawbridge across the Neva River in St. Petersburg. The first wooden floating bridge connected the banks of the Neva near this place in 1786. In 1875-1879, a permanent crossing was built in the form of a five-span metal arched bridge with a sixth turning span, designed by A. E. Struve. In 1966-1967, the bridge underwent a global reconstruction with the replacement of supports, spans and a draw span with a vertical one, and later scheduled repairs were repeatedly carried out.
The first pontoon bridge was called Voskresensky along Voskresensky Prospekt, in the alignment of which it was located. The permanent bridge owes its name to the Foundry Yard, which was previously located on the left bank of the Neva River. In 1903, when the 200th anniversary of St. Petersburg was celebrated, the Liteiny Bridge was renamed the Emperor Alexander II Bridge. But after the revolution of 1917, in the wake of the struggle against the legacy of tsarism, the name Liteiny was returned to the bridge.
The competition for the development of the bridge project was announced in 1871, it was won by the project of English engineers "Westminster". However, the Ministry of Railways criticized the English project, so the engineer A.E. Struve developed his own project, which formed the basis of the Foundry Bridge, founded in 1875. The construction of the bridge was very difficult, in this place the Neva has a maximum depth, so the construction of the supports took a lot of time, money, and was accompanied by frequent human casualties. The bridge was completed only in 1879. The resulting bridge structure consisted of 6 spans: 5 permanent and one articulated swivel designed for the passage of ships.
Liteiny became the second permanent bridge across the Neva River (after Blagoveshchensky). With its construction, the entire Vyborg side, on the way from Russia to Sweden, received a solid connection with the rest of the city, and industrial areas - a reliable channel for transporting products.
During the construction of the Liteiny Bridge, many revolutionary engineering solutions were used: in the construction of supports (caissons), in the construction of spans and in the hinge mechanism. Also, this bridge became the world's first permanent bridge with electric lighting.
The decor of the bridge - cast-iron pillars and railing grilles - was made using highly artistic casting. In the center of the picture was a shield with the emblem of the city: a crossed scepter, sea and river anchors in the hands of two mermaids, whose tails are woven into a floral ornament, and sea animals are in the gaps of cast-iron columns.
In the middle of the 20th century, the Liteiny Bridge underwent a major reconstruction; for the convenience of the passage of massive ships, the drawbridge was moved closer to the center and the drawbridge was replaced with a rising one. In addition, the construction of the support piers and steel spans was strengthened, and granite slopes to the water were designed. At the same time, a valuable decorative grille was retained on the bridge, adding to it similar supports for lighting lanterns.
The bridge is 407.8 m long and 34 m wide.
The Fencing of the Liteyny Bridge is included in the Unified State Register of Cultural Heritage Objects (monuments of history and culture) of Russia.
Note to tourists:
A visit to the Liteiny Bridge will be of interest to tourists interested in the architecture of the 19th-20th centuries, to everyone who wants to see the drawbridges of St. Guards of the Horse Artillery, the buildings of the Military Medical Academy and the Mikhailovskaya Military Artillery Academy.
OL| Object of cultural heritage of Russia of regional significance reg. No. 781711205440005(EGROKN) object number 7802131000(Wikipedia DB) |
Name
The name of the bridge comes from the Foundry Yard, located on the left bank of the river. In 1879, at the opening of a permanent bridge, it was named Bridge of Emperor Alexander II. The name was quickly shortened to Alexandrovsky bridge, and after 1917 it disappeared altogether, without displacing the original name.
History
pontoon 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 side, and the road to Vyborg began on the other. In 1786, in the alignment of Voskresensky Prospekt, the second pontoon bridge in the city was built, which received the name Resurrection. In 1803 the bridge was moved to the Summer Garden and was named Petersburg. A new floating bridge was built in the same place, which was built until 1849. With the abolition and demolition of the Foundry Yard, a new highway - Liteiny Prospekt - became important, so the Voskresensky Bridge was moved to the route of the new prospectus and received the name Casting. The floating Foundry Bridge was built until 1875, when the construction of a permanent bridge began. The floating bridge was moved to the highway along the axis of Voskresensky Prospekt and renamed Resurrection. After the construction of a permanent bridge, the floating Voskresensky Bridge was dismantled.
Permanent bridge from 1879
The reason for the construction of a second permanent bridge across the Neva was the failure of a floating crossing on April 4, 1865 by a stormy ice drift. To study the causes of the accident of the Liteiny Bridge, a special expert commission was created. On August 22, 1869, the St. Petersburg Duma, having discussed the question “which of the floating bridges: Petersburg or Liteiny, should preferably be replaced by a permanent one,” voted in favor of the Liteiny Bridge by 84 votes against 11. Soon the first projects of the bridge were presented, drawn up by the 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 project 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 firm for the project of an arched four-span bridge with two drawbridges along both banks of the Neva under the motto "Westminster". The second prize was awarded to the engineer Ordikh, the third prize went to Pushchin & Co. On October 26, 1873, the Duma decided to award awards to the authors of the projects and proceed with the construction of the bridge according to the Westminster project.
In February 1874, the 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 Struva to develop two versions of the metal Foundry Bridge, one of which was of the arch type. On August 18, the design of the arch bridge was approved by the emperor, and in February of the following year, the Duma signed a contract with A.E. Struve for the construction of the bridge within a four-year period. One of the clauses of the contract, according to which the builder undertook to use iron ordered from England or Germany for the trusses and the upper span of the bridge, is puzzling. After all, high-quality metal was already being produced in Russia by that time (for the Nikolaevsky bridge that was being built earlier, cast iron or iron was not purchased abroad). Struve's closest assistant was engineer-captain A. A. Weiss, and the leaders of the work were: engineers Vratnovsky and Batorsky, railway engineer Mazing, civil engineer Albert.
Underwater work was fraught with great difficulties. Difficulties began already when one of the caissons was lowered 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. When immersing the caisson into the ground, he came across a large boulder stone. Less than a month later, with a sudden rise in water, the caisson was flooded. On September 16, 1876, at 9 pm, due to the sharp subsidence of the support, semi-liquid soil broke into the caisson. At that time, 28 diggers worked in the caisson. 18 people got out immediately, five more people were saved during rescue operations, five people died. A year later, another catastrophe occurred with human casualties. September 9, 1877 there was an explosion in one of the caissons. The massive ceiling of the caisson was thrown back tens of meters. 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 removed and work began on filling the chamber of the caisson with masonry.
The disasters not only delayed construction, but also caused huge additional costs. The cost of building the bridge has grown one and a half times more than originally planned. The total cost of the bridge was 5.1 million rubles.
The draw span was covered with a swivel 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 asymmetric rotary span structure consisted of 8 trusses of the diagonal system, fastened together by transverse beams and diagonal braces; it was balanced above the abutment by a system of counterweights. The bridge was drawn 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's water supply.
The abutments of the bridge are massive, made of monolithic rubble concrete on a coffered base, lined with granite. All intermediate supports are on a coffered base, lined with pink granite.
The railing of the bridge was designed by the architect K. K. Rachau. The cast iron posts and the cast iron sections in between are highly artistic castings. In the center of the railing section was a cartouche (a shield with the emblem of the city) - a crossed scepter, sea and river anchors in the hands of two mermaids, whose tails are woven into a floral ornament. In the gaps of cast-iron columns - marine animals. The railing was cast at the Kahuna factory. On the draw span, metal forged railings of a simple pattern were installed.
The Foundry Bridge became one of the engineering structures, during the construction of which innovations were applied that had not been seen before. The high strength of steel made it possible to increase the spans 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 building technology was the design of a rotary draw mechanism, more advanced than that of the Nikolaevsky bridge.
The Foundry Bridge was the first permanent bridge in the world to be lit by electricity. Shortly after the opening, electric lights with “candles” by P. N. Yablochkov were installed on it. Due to the opposition of the monopoly of gas workers, electric lighting was not widespread in the city.
In 1881, benches were installed on the bridge for passers-by to rest: two large ones (on a fat bull) and 8 small ones (on 4 river bulls). The work was carried out by the San Galli factory
Bridge reconstruction in 1966-1967
Design
The bridge is six-span, metal, steel-reinforced concrete span structures of variable height of 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. +74.1+60.8 m.
The left-bank permanent span is covered with a steel-reinforced concrete span. In cross section, the superstructure consists of ten main beams of a solid section, united by longitudinal and transverse braces. Front beams of a curvilinear outline.
Channel permanent span structures are a four-span continuous beam with a curvilinear outline of the lower belt. 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 superstructure consists of eight main I-beams connected by longitudinal and transverse braces.
The draw 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 angle of wing opening is 67º. In cross section, the superstructure consists of six main beams of a 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. Clear span size - 50 m. In the closed position, the span structure of the drawbridge rests on two supports as a free cantilever beam with an estimated span of 55 m, a cantilever 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 rebuilt. The base of the support is piled - wooden piles. The base of all intermediate supports is coffered. Reinforced concrete walls of abutments with hinged granite cladding. Channel supports with massive granite facing. The new support of the drawbridge is partly constructed on the old coffered foundation and the new sump.
The surface of the roadway and sidewalks is asphalt. The fence on stationary spans is granite 500 mm high, on the draw span metal 500 mm high [ ] .
The railing on the permanent spans, made according to the drawing of the architect K. K. Rakhau, was completely taken from the old bridge built in 1879, and is an object of cultural heritage of regional significance. An aluminum railing is installed on the drawbridge. On the left bank, the railing ends with granite parapets with commemorative plaques. For lighting and contact network, 28 poles with architectural decoration are installed on the bridge.
Exploitation
Dry cargo ship "Kaunas"
The action of the art group "War"
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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. - S. 153. - 751 p.
- , from. 23.
- , from. 129.
- , from. 91.
- , from. 130.
- , from. 131.
1851. In the second half of the 19th century, an international competition was announced in St. Petersburg for the construction of a new bridge across the Neva. Seventeen projects were submitted for the competition.
The engineer A.E. Struve won, according to the project of which in 1875–1879 the bridge was built in the alignment of Liteiny Prospekt. Its artistic decoration was made according to the drawings of the architect K. K. Rakhau. Cast-iron railings of the bridge are decorated with links with images of mermaids holding the coat of arms of St. Petersburg. There are 273 such links. Given that the coats of arms are on both sides of the bars, their total number is 546. In 1851, the bridge was named Foundry, along Liteiny Prospekt, in the alignment of which it is located.
The construction of the bridge was surrounded by mystical stories about a certain sacred boulder, or “bloody stone Atakan”, at the bottom of the Neva, to which human sacrifices were made in ancient times. According to ancient legends, this so-called philosopher's stone is slowly ripening at the bottom of the Neva. When he finally matures, the legend says, paradise will come on earth.
It is said that some mystical forces warned the builders of the bridge more than once that the ancient gods of these places would not forgive unceremonious interference in their possessions and would soon begin to take revenge. And indeed, already during the construction of supports, several dozen workers died, and a year later the construction of the bridge was unexpectedly interrupted by a powerful explosion, in which about forty more people died. But when even such a terrible warning did not work and the bridge was nevertheless completed, it became one of the most powerful poles of attraction for suicides in St. Petersburg. It seemed that some unknown force attracted them from all over the city, so that here, on this bridge, they settled scores with their lives.
1879. In 1879 the bridge was renamed. He was given the name of the reigning emperor. He became bridge of Emperor Alexander II. Sometimes on the maps of St. Petersburg you can find a less official version of this toponym: Alexander Bridge. However, neither one nor the other name took root in St. Petersburg. The bridge was called Foundry, although, as it seems to us, there were no official documents in this regard. The bridge did not undergo any renaming in Soviet times either.
The mystical properties of the Liteiny Bridge were remembered again at the beginning of the blockade. It seemed that the bridge was the only object in the city that was bombarded with amazing regularity by German artillery. It is clear that this was due to the proximity of the Finland Station - the only point of contact between besieged Leningrad and the mainland. But in the besieged city, they were sure that it was a payment for the construction of a bridge on the very place once cursed by the ancient gods. According to the testimony of the blockade, the Liteiny Bridge at that time was called Devil's.
They say that even today the largest number of large and small accidents of river vessels in St. Petersburg occurs when they pass under the Liteiny Bridge. And each of the accidents once again reminds the people of St. Petersburg of an ancient spell, allegedly associated with that same unknown underwater boulder.
According to Petersburgers, the Liteiny Bridge is more often than others closed to pedestrians and vehicles. It is either reconstructed or repaired. Maybe this is the case with all city bridges, but it was Liteiny that suddenly turned out to be the hero of a paradoxical announcement born in the captious minds of Petersburgers: “Liteiny Bridge is closed. Use the services of Aeroflot.
The fate of Petersburg toponymy in urban folklore.
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Brief historical background:
The Liteiny Bridge across the Neva is located in the alignment of Liteiny Prospekt and Akademika Lebedev Street. The name of the bridge comes from the Foundry Yard, founded on the left bank in 1711. In 1871, a competition was announced for which 17 projects were submitted. In 1874, engineer-colonel A.E. Struve and engineer-captain A.A. Weiss became the winner. 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 Alexandrovsky in honor of Emperor Alexander II, but the name did not take root. Five spans of the Liteiny Bridge were covered with arched riveted metal spans, and the sixth draw span, located near the left bank, was covered with a swivel lattice metal truss. During wiring, it rotated on a vertical axis located on the first wide and massive river support. The layout of the bridge for the passage of ships was carried out using the simplest device - a gate, driven by the hands of eight workers. Over time, the gate was replaced by a 36 hp water turbine. with., fed from the city water supply. It was the only bridge with such a draw span system. The bridge was fenced with railings of two types. Forged metal, simple pattern, light and "transparent" were installed on the draw span, the rest of the length - heavy cast iron sections between the same cast-iron racks (designed by architect K. K. Rakhau). The elements of the railing were highly artistic casting. In the center of the section of the railing was a cartouche - a shield with the coat of arms of the city - 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. At the cast-iron columns, the gaps between the side planes are filled with fantastic marine animals, rapidly descending into the watery depths. When wiring, it rises at an angle of 67 degrees. The reconstruction changed the appearance of the bridge - a huge bull disappeared near the bank abutment, which served as the basis for the rotation of the adjustable part and introduced disharmony into the silhouette of the bridge. The railings that were on the bridge before the reconstruction were preserved, and for the draw span, the sections were cast from light alloy. At the same time, new lanterns were installed, in the design of which the artistic features of the bridge fence were used. Under the bridge along the embankment there are walking paths with granite slopes to the water.
Status:
local monument of architecture
Attractions of the object:
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 project of engineers A. Struve and A. Weiss. The bridge has 5 arched metal riveted trusses and one single-wing turnable draw span 55 meters long. The bridge is 396 meters long and 34 meters wide.
Basic mythological facts:
A long time ago, a warlike tribe lived on the banks of the Neva. They raided, killing and ruining their neighbors. Captured men were sacrificed on a huge boulder called Atakan. For many years, the blood of the victims washed over the granite stone. And one day, suffering, fear and blind worship did 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 save people from the cursed stone. Neva heard them and took pity on stupid people. A strong storm began, it rained for many days, and nature was rampant, and when everything calmed down, people saw that the riverbed had changed, and the stone was 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 the opening, the Liteiny Bridge gained a "bad" reputation among the residents. Suicides and murders were often committed on the bridge. People often go 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 that is why there was a belief about the Black Funnel, which suddenly appears near the bridge trusses and can "absorb" a passing boat or a small boat. Fiction or not, it is not known, but in 2002, the cargo ship Kaunas crashed into one of the pillars of the Foundry Bridge and sank.
1. Full name of the object (if the object was renamed, for example, street, then the original name). Foundry 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 project of engineers A. Struve and A. Weiss. The bridge has 5 arched metal riveted trusses and one single-wing turnable draw span 55 meters long. The bridge is 396 meters long and 34 meters wide.
5. Sources of information about the object and events associated with it (bibliographic description of literary and archival materials). Antonov BI Bridges of St. Petersburg. - St. Petersburg: Verb, 2002.
Bunin, M. S. Bridges of Leningrad. Essays on the history and architecture of the bridges of St. Petersburg - Petrograd - Leningrad .. - L .: Stroyizdat, Leningrad. department, 1986. - 280 p.
Punin A.L. The Tale of the Leningrad Bridges. - L., Lenizdat, 1971.
6. Distinctive features of the object, the degree of uniqueness. the first bridge in St. Petersburg, which was illuminated by electric lights
7. The state of the object and the 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 A long time ago, a warlike tribe lived on the banks of the Neva. They raided, killing and ruining their neighbors. Captured men were sacrificed on a huge boulder called Atakan. For many years, the blood of the victims washed over the granite stone. And one day, suffering, fear and blind worship did 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 save people from the cursed stone. Neva heard them and took pity on stupid people. A strong storm began, it rained for many days, and nature was rampant, and when everything calmed down, people saw that the riverbed had changed, and the stone was 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 the opening, the Liteiny Bridge gained a "bad" reputation among the residents. Suicides and murders were often committed on the bridge. People often go 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 that is why there was a belief about the Black Funnel, which suddenly appears near the bridge trusses and can "absorb" a passing boat or a small boat. Fiction or not, it is not known, but in 2002, the cargo ship Kaunas crashed into one of the pillars of the Foundry Bridge and sank.
The Foundry Bridge, built at the end of the 19th century (1879) by engineer A. Struve on the site of an old floating bridge, gained gloomy mystical fame even during the construction period. It seemed that an unknown force was interfering with the work. The old-timers warned that "the place here is not good", and after the construction they tried to bypass the bridge.The legend of the mystical bridge is also described in the diary of great-great-grandfather.
Foundry bridge at the end of the 19th century. Rice. P. Vereshchagin
The first bridge in the world to be illuminated by electric lights
189* year
From the diary of Nikolai Verbin
I returned late in the evening, enjoying the last warm evenings before autumn.
It got dark, fog fell on the Neva. Passing by the Liteiny Bridge, I noticed the silhouette of a young lady standing at the railing. Worried that it was dangerous for a lady to walk in the evening, I went to her in order to offer help. The fog thickened, even the light of the lanterns became barely noticeable. Finally, I approached the stranger. The features of her pretty young face were barely visible in the thick fog. 
View of the Liteiny Bridge today (my photos)
You are a friend of Mr. K *, - she said joyfully. Why doesn't he come? There was resentment in her voice. - Tell him that I'm waiting on the bridge, as we agreed ...
With these words, she hastily left me, hiding in the fog.
I turned back and to my surprise found that the fog had lifted.
The young lady's face seemed familiar to me. Soon I remembered where I could see these features. The stranger turned out to be strikingly similar to the daughter of the famous industrialist H *, who disappeared a week ago. Probably, everyone in St. Petersburg has already seen a photo of the young lady N * after her disappearance ...
Bridge and promenade (and it started to rain again)
The foundry bridge at the beginning of the 20th century had another name - "Alexandrovsky bridge"
The next day I paid a visit to my friend Alexander K*, who met me in a very depressed mood.
- I'm in love with Olga, - he said right after the greeting, showing me a photo of the missing girl, - We were supposed to meet on the Liteiny Bridge, but when I arrived, I didn’t find her ... Was Olga really the victim of a murderous villain? I'm scared to even think about the misfortune...
Young people fell in love with each other against the interests of their families. They belonged to the names of two noble industrialists who silently disliked and avoided each other for many years. The lovers hid their meetings from their families. Alexander told me that he and Olga decided to run away from parental anger in order to be together. It may seem that such a story is impossible in our progressive age, but centuries pass, and people do not change.
Liteiny Bridge in the late 19th-early 20th century.
Of course, I told my friend about my strange meeting on the bridge with a young lady who was strikingly similar to his bride.
Alexander said thoughtfully:
- Sometimes at night appears over Liteiny - a ghost bridge - a road to another world. Olga got lost, and now she is waiting for me to take me away... I am ready to follow my dear Olga...
If I had not encountered mystical phenomena, I would have thought that my friend was mad with grief.
“Olga is waiting for me,” Alexander repeated. Thanks for the good news...
On this we parted. A friend said goodbye to me as for the last time.
Bridge railing ornament. "Classic plot - mermaid" :)
Stories about how another bridge appears in the fog at night on the site of the usual Foundry Bridge - a ghost bridge, appeared long ago. Unsuspecting townspeople step onto the "ghostly bridge". For a moment, a mystical path opens, stepping on which will no longer return to the living...
I remembered that after a conversation with the young lady, I turned back. Really, I, too, could perish if I decided to cross to the other side?
bridge construction
That night I had a dream, how Alexander and Olga, holding hands, were moving away along the bridge beyond the foggy horizon. As they left, they turned around, as if thankful that I had helped them meet. Their blurry silhouettes vanished into the mist...
The next day, news appeared in the newspapers about the disappearance of the industrialist's son, K*. He was last seen at the Liteiny Bridge.
I hoped that my friend was talking nonsense, and he himself agreed in advance with the young lady on the date of the meeting. It is quite reasonable to disappear with the bride on different days, so as not to incur suspicions about a joint escape. But then why did Olga appear to me, asking to be reminded of what awaits? And how could she know that I knew Alexander? And this strange dream - how they went beyond the horizon ...
Our days
I remembered a story from my great-great-grandfather's diary when one night I was driving by a taxi past the Liteiny Bridge. The taxi driver turned out to be a sociable uncle. He used to work as a tour bus driver and knew a lot of funny stories about Peter.
When we drove to the embankment, a heavy fog descended around.
A black silhouette flashed through the fog on the Liteiny Bridge. The taxi driver also noticed him and added speed. We rushed along the embankment past the bridge.
Exit from the bridge to Liteiny Prospekt. Day off, free movement.
On weekdays, traffic jams on the bridge all day
In general, you don’t need to walk near the Liteiny Bridge when it gets dark,” he said. - Especially in the fog...
The story of Alexander and Olga flashed through my memory.
Can a foundry bridge lead to another world? And if there is an entrance from our world, perhaps there is an exit from another... I remembered a black silhouette. Guests from the other world go to the bridge to admire the night Peter?
The bridge offers beautiful views of the Peter and Paul Fortress...
...and on the Cruiser Aurora
I know stories when people went missing, - the taxi driver continued. - One of my friends disappeared. The last time his car was seen on Liteiny Prospekt. He loved ghost stories and dreamed of seeing something supernatural. His Foundry Bridge seemed to lure. I thought my friend's hobby was nonsense until he disappeared ... And then I found out that people began to disappear in this place since the 19th century.
At first I thought that the uncle wanted to play a joke, retelling familiar stories, and waited for him to start giggling, but the taxi driver remained serious.
Embankment views
I was told how at night the waters of the river under the bridge begin to boil, - he added. - A whirlpool appears. From the whirlpool, a tornado arises, like thick black smoke, which envelops the bridge and drags passers-by.
I heard a story about the magic stone Atakan, to which in ancient times prisoners were sacrificed. The blood of the unfortunate gave the stone strength. Once the captives prayed to the gods for salvation from death. The gods heard their prayers - the river burst its banks and flooded the Atakan with its waters. But the gloomy stone takes revenge on people, dragging new victims into mystical whirlpools.
If the ghostly bridge is the road to the afterlife, then it’s terrible to imagine where the black tornado, created by the cursed sacrificial stone, is dragging you.
As the old folklore said - from the whirlpool "all sorts of evil spirits come out, which make filthy faces, but shout shameful words".
And everyone knows about the suicide bombers on the bridge, - the taxi driver reminded, - no, I won’t go across this bridge at night.
The memorial plaque was erected in the 60s of the 20th century
The Foundry Bridge, as a place of suicides, is mentioned in Chernyshevsky's novel What Is to Be Done?
According to the plot of the novel, in the summer of 1856, a note is found in a St. Petersburg hotel room: “I leave at 11 pm and will not return. I will be heard on the Liteiny Bridge, between 2 and 3 o'clock in the morning. Don't have any suspicions."
At the time of Chernyshevsky, on the site of the current bridge, there was another bridge - a floating one, but rumors had already appeared about the "cursed place of suicides".
View of the bridge from the embankment
Tragedies of the past summer
Tragic events took place on Liteiny Bridge this summer.
On July 29, on Sunday night, a car fell into the river from a raised bridge. The bodies of two dead were found - a male driver and a female passenger. The cause of the tragedy - the driver, ignoring the barriers, drove onto the bridge.
On July 8, late in the evening, a man jumped from the bridge.
The words of an eyewitness: “He surfaced. He waved his arms. He didn’t say anything. People tried to jump. Others stopped them somehow. They said that there was a rather heavy current here. He went under water, then surfaced. Three times somewhere like this.”
counting
At the Liteiny Bridge
I caught a whale in the Neva
Hid behind the window.
The cat ate him
Two cats helped...
Now there is no whale!
You don't trust a friend?
Get out of the circle!
