Bank Bridge

Bank Bridge is a pedestrian crossing in the Central District over the Griboyedov Canal, linking Kazansky and Spassky Islands opposite the former Assignation Bank building, which gave the bridge its name. It was built in 1825–1826 by the engineer V. Tretter together with V. A. Khristianovich and became one of six chain bridges erected in Saint Petersburg in the 1820s; today, together with the Lion Bridge and the Post Office Bridge, it is one of only three surviving examples of this type of construction. The structure was originally known as the Bridge of the Four Griffins; its present name became established by 1836.

The need for a crossing arose from the growing population of the neighbourhood along the canal; the design was approved on 18 February 1825, together with the design of the Lion Bridge, and construction began that same summer. The metal parts for the structure were delayed at Baird's works, so assembly was not completed until the spring of 1826, and the bridge was opened to the public on 24 July of that year.

The bridge's chief adornment is its pair of winged lion figures by the sculptor Pavel Sokolov, often mistakenly called griffins. The models were made between May and September 1825, and the sculptures themselves, 2.85 metres tall, were cast in cast iron at the Alexandrovsky Works; the wings were forged from sheet copper and gilded. Over time the bridge's cast-iron fence was replaced with a simpler iron one, and the lamps on the lions' heads disappeared — they were restored only in 1951–1952, together with a railing made to a historical design in the workshops of the Mukhina School. The span structure was rebuilt in 1931–1933 and again in 1976, and the gilding of the wings was renewed in 1967 and 1988.

A city legend is attached to the bridge: stroking a lion's head or wing is said to bring good luck, while placing a coin or a note with a wish in the sculpture's mouth is said to make the wish come true. This tradition accelerates the wear of the decoration. The last large-scale restoration — the first in 190 years — began in January 2017: the sculptures, railings and chains were dismantled and taken away to workshops, while the bridge itself was repaired from 2018 by the company Pilon at a cost of 36.2 million roubles. The renovated bridge, with its gilded lions, was ceremonially reopened on 19 June 2019.

Today it is a single-span beam structure 25.4 metres long, in which the chains play a purely decorative rather than load-bearing role; it is included among the federally protected objects of cultural heritage.