Potseluev Bridge

Potseluev Bridge spans the Moika River, connecting Kazansky Island with the 2nd Admiralteysky Island. Nearby stand New Holland and the former Kryukov Barracks, home to a branch of the Naval Museum. The crossing is protected as a monument of federal significance.

The first crossing here appeared in 1738 — a pedestrian deck with a sliding span to let sailing vessels through, then known as Tsvetnoy (Colourful) Bridge. In 1768 it was rebuilt to allow carriages to cross. The familiar name became established by around 1790 and derives from the "Potseluy" ("Kiss") tavern owned by the third-guild merchant Nikifor Potseluev, which had opened nearby in 1739.

A stone-and-iron arched crossing was begun in 1808 to a standard design by the architect Vasily Geste, modelled on the Green Bridge. The Napoleonic invasion halted construction; work resumed in 1813 and was completed in 1816, with the sections cast at the Demidov works in the Urals. The arch was assembled from elliptical elements, seven to a row, with fourteen rows in total. The deck's width reached 21.2 metres, of which 15.3 metres was given over to the roadway; the approaches were adorned with obelisks bearing lanterns.

By the early twentieth century, when a tram line was planned along the neighbouring street, engineers judged the structure too weak and entrusted its reconstruction to Andrei Pshenitsky. The work of 1907–1908 proceeded in stages. The arch was replaced with a riveted iron span, the scheme was changed to a two-hinged arch, and the deck was widened to 23.5 metres by adding cantilevered pavements, while the original design of the railings and the obelisks was preserved. In the summer of 1908 the city's fifth tram route was opened across the bridge.

In 1952 the architect Alexei Rotach recreated the lost obelisks, and their spherical finials were later gilded. Trams ran across the bridge until 2006, and the tracks were removed in 2010 during resurfacing work. The span rests on ten riveted two-hinged I-beam arches, 21.1 metres wide, with a rise of 1.688 metres; the bridge crosses the river at an angle of about 10 degrees to the current, and the structure's overall length is 35.8 metres. Shrapnel scars from wartime shelling are still visible on one of the obelisks.

The name has given rise to a number of legends: some say that sailors of the Guards Naval Crew parted from their sweethearts here before setting out to sea, while others claim that a prison once stood nearby, where relatives said their farewells to prisoners. According to popular belief, a kiss on this spot promises the safe return of a departed loved one, and newlyweds are advised to begin their kiss on one bank and finish it on the other, so as to ensure a long marriage. The bridge is mentioned by Alexander Griboyedov in a note about the flood of 1824, and in the song about Leningrad's bridges performed by Leonid Utyosov.