Kazansky Bridge

Kazansky Bridge spans the Griboyedov Canal exactly along the axis of Nevsky Prospect, linking Kazansky and Spassky Islands in the historic centre of Saint Petersburg. It forms a single ensemble with Kazan Cathedral and the square of the same name, with the Singer House building standing nearby. The bridge is listed as a federally protected cultural heritage site; it is the third-widest bridge in the city after the Blue Bridge and the Aptekarsky Bridge, and the lowest — navigation beneath its arch is prohibited.

The first wooden crossing appeared here in 1716, at the point where Nevsky Prospect crossed the little Krivusha River. The bridge was named Rozhdestvensky, after the nearby Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God. When the bed of the Krivusha was faced in granite and turned into the Yekaterininsky (Catherine) Canal, the wooden structure was replaced in 1766 with a single-span stone arch bridge; the work was overseen by the engineer V. I. Nazimov and I. M. Golenishchev-Kutuzov — father of the future field marshal Mikhail Kutuzov. From 1783 the bridge came to be called Kazansky, after the cathedral built nearby, and from 1923 to 1944 it temporarily bore the name of Georgi Plekhanov.

The crossing acquired its present appearance in 1805–1806, while Kazan Cathedral was being completed nearby and the adjoining stretch of Nevsky Prospect was being improved. To a design by the architect Luigi Rusca the bridge was widened to its current dimensions, the rusticated facing of the abutments and the descents to the water were removed, the approaches were made gentler, and the cast-iron railings were replaced with granite parapets. The span is covered by a parabolic brick vault without keystones, faced with granite arches; the piers, resting on timber piles, are likewise clad in granite. At a length of only about 17.5 metres, the bridge's width exceeds 95 metres — almost its entire area is hidden beneath the roadway of the avenue.

In 1880 horse-tram rails were laid across the bridge and the pavements were paved with granite; they were later widened. A survey in 1912 revealed that the vault had deteriorated for lack of waterproofing, and in 1934 it was reinforced with gunite mortar. A major overhaul in 1999–2003 covered the 53-metre-wide vault: the masonry of the abutments was strengthened, waterproofing was installed, and the granite kerbs were replaced. At that time forty-five pairs of old telephone cables were discovered beneath the bridge deck, the earliest dating back to 1910.

Today eight lanes of road traffic and pedestrian pavements, separated from the roadway by a granite kerb, cross the bridge; solid granite parapets without railings serve as the barriers. Nearby stands the above-ground vestibule of the "Nevsky Prospekt" metro station, with an exit onto the canal embankment, while the neighbouring crossings over the same canal are the Italian Bridge on one side and the Bank Bridge on the other.

Despite its modest architectural means, Kazansky Bridge remains an example of well-considered engineering: its proportions are subordinated to the scale of Nevsky Prospect and do not compete with the grand cathedral beside it. For more than two and a half centuries the crossing has faithfully served one of the city's busiest thoroughfares, while remaining a monument to the history of Saint Petersburg bridge-building.