Sightseeing

LOWER SWAN BRIDGE Spanning the mouth of Swan Canal between magical Summer garden and Marsovo Pole where it empties into the Moika river in the enchanting historic center of St. Petersburg, the Lower Swan wide bridge measuring 19,55 meters long and 19,85 meters has undergone numerous reconstructions and was completed by the middle of the 19th century. Initially, it was a stone single span construction with wooden railings and gently sloping brick arch, which constantly crumbled and required regular repairs. For the incomprehensible reason, not a single design for a more durable cast-iron arch was accepted by the bridge's building committee until 1836, when Gotman's brick arch design was finally approved and although the new bridge was constructed during a six-month period, the plans of the architect were only partly fulfilled - for instance, elaborately decorative floor lamps and lanterns were never installed and the bridge's main adornment became the fancifully designed cast-iron railings. In 1880 the Lower Swans Bridge went through a major restoration, when the brick arch was faced with granite blocks and the sidewalk slabs on the bridge were protected from the inside with cobblestone and three granite columns on each side. And only by the beginning of the 20th century according to the plan of the engineers B. Vasilyev and A. Solarev the problematic brick arch construction was replaced with a reinforced concrete arch supported by an elaborate system of steel trusses.

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