Liteiny Bridge (Emperor Alexander II Bridge). Foundry bridge. History and mystical legends Foundry bridge history

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. long 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 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 magic stone Atakan, to whom in ancient times captives 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.

Memorial plaque was set 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!

St. Petersburg is called the city of bridges for a reason, because there are about 350 bridges in it. Many of these structures are masterpieces of world architecture. Each has its own unique style and history. The Liteiny 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 received the fame of the most mysterious and mystical in the city.

A bit of history

The 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. Remarkably, during the construction of the bridge, the caisson method was used, as well as other technical innovations that did not exist anywhere else in the world at that time. The essence of the method was that metal boxes were immersed to the bottom of the river and water was pumped out of them under pressure. Then the workers descended into the caissons and worked, digging the ground and driving the piles.

The Foundry Bridge went down in history as the first architectural monument illuminated by electricity. This is due to the fact that the Russian physicist Pavel Yablochkov invented the world's first electric light bulb. And the contractors who built the bridge decided to try out his invention.

Despite many obstacles and tragic events that constantly took place on the bridge, it was commissioned on time and solemnly opened 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.

art casting

Despite the fact that the artistic qualities of the building are not so great, it is worth noting its extraordinary beauty of the railing. Some of them are made of metal with a light pattern, and some are made of cast iron by highly artistic casting according to the project of architect K. K. Rakhau. In the center of each lattice are two mermaids holding a shield with a coat of arms. northern capital. In total, there are 546 such images. On both sides of the mermaids, the side gaps between the cast-iron lattice columns are filled with images of unprecedented marine animals. It will be interesting for every tourist to visit the Foundry Bridge and take a picture of such an unusual casting.

mystical bridge

This building attracts not only with external beauty, but also with 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, in ancient times, a pagan temple was located here. And at the bottom of the Neva there is a boulder "Atakan", which was worshiped and sacrificed by the tribes that lived at the mouth of the river. It was believed that the stone took revenge on the people who sailed over it: barges sank, "accidentally" the 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 have decided to commit suicide. Divers who annually search for drowned people say that most often it is from this structure that those who decide to commit suicide jump.

The old-timers who knew a lot of St. Petersburg secrets told that there was once a bridge in this place leading to other dimensions. He instantly enveloped in thick fog and led the pedestrian into unknown lands, from where there is no return.

Foundry bridge in St. Petersburg: interesting facts

• The bridge fencing is included in the Unified State Register of Cultural Heritage Objects.
• The lattice pattern of the structure has become one of the symbols of St. Petersburg.
• Once upon a time, the drawbridge span was opened manually. It underwent a major renovation in the middle of the 20th century. The wiring mechanism has become rising for the convenience of the passage of massive ships. Lanterns with an image similar to the casting on the gratings were added to the decor of the bridge.
• One of the spans was pierced by an aerial bomb that fell into it. It was during the Great Patriotic War. Luckily, it didn't explode.

bridge draw

Since the city stands on islands, bridges here are not just decoration, but an urgent need. Many of them have become hallmarks of St. Petersburg. Including the Liteiny Bridge (the photo is presented in the article). The drawing of bridges is an amazing sight that everyone should see. It is best to observe the process in the city center. All bridges are raised in turn, with an interval of about 10 minutes, adjusting to the movement of ships. The layout of the Foundry Bridge is carried out at about 01.40 at night, however, only one section is raised. This, of course, does not look as impressive as the divorce, for example, of the Palace Bridge.

Today, despite the 130th anniversary of the construction, its appearance quite modern. Its spans are reinforced with steel beams and have the shape of semicircular lines. Supports are dressed in pale pink granite. In general, this is a classic engineering structure of the era of capitalism, when even to such large-scale projects high artistic demands were not made.

Foundry bridge

Foundry bridge

The bridge connects Liteiny Prospekt with Akademika Lebedev Street on the Vyborg side. The length of the bridge is 396 m, width - 34 m. The name of the bridge comes from the Foundry Yard, founded on the left bank in 1711. In the area of ​​​​the bridge, the Neva has the greatest depth - 24 m.

In 1786, a second floating pontoon bridge was built across the Neva from Voskresensky Prospekt (now Chernyshevsky) to the Vyborg side. The bridge was named Resurrection. In 1803, this bridge was placed opposite the Summer Garden, and it became known as the Petersburg. Instead, a new floating bridge was built against Voskresensky Prospekt, which was built until 1849. Then, as a result of the dismantling of the Foundry Yard, a continuous highway was laid on the Neva embankment - Liteiny Prospekt, which connected the city center with the Vyborg side. Therefore, the Voskresensky Bridge was transferred to the highway along the axis of Liteiny Prospekt and became known as Liteiny.

The Foundry Bridge was built until 1875, when the construction of the permanent Foundry Bridge began. The floating bridge was returned to its original route and was again called Voskresensky. After the construction of a permanent bridge, the floating Voskresensky Bridge was dismantled.

The reason for the construction of a second permanent bridge across the Neva was the failure of the ice drift on April 4, 1865, a floating crossing near Liteiny Prospekt. To manage the design and construction of the bridge, a special expert commission was created, which, among others, included three prominent St. Petersburg architects: V. A. Lvov, Ts. K. Kavos, N. L. Benois.

On April 22, 1871, a competition was announced for the project of the Foundry Bridge, and on December 11, 1872, the commission made a decision to award the first prize to the project under the motto "Westminster", completed by an English company. However, the Special Commission of the Ministry of Railways, considering it, made a number of comments, which resulted in the rejection of this project. Was created new commission, which decided to build a bridge designed by engineer-colonel A.E. Struve (one of the members of this commission) and engineer-captain A.A. Weiss. Struve suggested building a bridge from English and German metal, although high-quality metal was being smelted in Russia by that time.

The laying of the new bridge took place on August 30, 1875. A.E. Struve supervised the construction work, he was assisted by engineers Vratnovsky, Batorsky, Mazing and Albert. The construction was accompanied by dramatic events - on September 16, 1876, due to the sharp subsidence of the support, semi-liquid soil burst into the caisson, killing five people, and on September 9, 1877, during the construction of foundations for river supports, an explosion occurred in the caisson: nine people were killed. Here it is necessary to explain what the caisson was, which was first used in Russia precisely at this construction site. The caisson is a huge metal box turned upside down and lowered to the bottom of the river.

Air is pumped inside it, “squeezing out” the water and allowing the development of the bottom soil for the construction of the foundation of the bridge support. As the soil is taken out from under the caisson, a stone support base is built above it, under the weight of which the caisson falls down. Workers descend into the caisson through a special chamber. Through it, the developed soil is transported outside in containers. This work is not only difficult, but also very dangerous.

The cost of construction amounted to 5100 thousand rubles, which is one and a half times higher than the estimated cost.

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.

The mass of metal spans was 5902 tons.

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 bull (river support). The layout of the bridge for the passage of ships was carried out using the simplest device - a gate, driven by 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 posts, cast at the Kahuna plant. These elements of the railing were highly artistic castings according to the drawing of the architect K. K. Rakhau. He depicted in the center of the section 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.

Grating of the Foundry Bridge

The Liteiny Bridge was the first and for a long time the only one among St. Petersburg bridges, illuminated by electric lamps. In 1878, the Association of Electrical Lighting P. N. Yablochkov-Inventor and Co. was established in St. Petersburg.

The purpose of the Partnership was to illuminate the St. Petersburg highways with the recently invented "Yablochkov candle". However, this progressive direction in the life of Petersburgers was hampered by capitalist relations that existed in Russian society(It turns out that capitalism is a regressive phenomenon).

The monopoly on the lighting of city highways was owned by private companies that provided services to the townspeople in the form of gas and oil lamps, fuming, spraying all sorts of muck and barely illuminating the space. The agreement between the city authorities and private firms that provided such services to the townspeople was long-term, and St. Petersburg residents could not use the invention of their brilliant countryman for a long time. The foundry bridge was an exception in this respect. By the time of its construction, the lighting companies had not concluded an agreement for its lighting, and thus the Partnership freely concluded an agreement with the city authorities for its lighting with electric lamps.

During the Blockade, a German aerial bomb hit the span of the bridge and pierced it, but did not explode.

In 1964, traffic began along the renewed deep water Volga-Baltic Canal. However, the width of the drawbridge span (19.8 m) limited the freedom of navigation in the new conditions. The intensity of traffic was much higher than expected. The layout of the bridge, carried out by a hydraulic turbine, lasted as much as 20 minutes. All this led to the complete reconstruction of the bridge, the expansion of the roadway and the creation of traffic interchanges along both banks on different levels to eliminate cross flows.

The reconstruction project was developed by engineers L. A. Vildgrube, N. D. Shipov, K. P. Klochkov and architect Yu. I. Sinitsa. The design was carried out in 1963–1964. The construction was carried out under the guidance of engineer Yu. R. Kozhukhovsky. In 1967 the bridge was commissioned. Metal buildings replaced it. The pivoting draw span was replaced by a drop span and moved to the deeper part of the channel. It increased to 50 m. When deployed, it rises at an angle of 67 degrees, and from Liteiny Prospekt it seems that a vertical wall has appeared in front of the viewer.

The width of the bridge deck has increased by 10 m, making three-lane traffic possible. 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. Now its silhouette has acquired smooth outlines, and the drawbridge does not stand out among other spans.

The railings that were on the bridge before the reconstruction were preserved, and for the draw span, the sections were cast from light alloy.