There are many rivers, canals and reservoirs in St. Petersburg; about 800 bridges are thrown across them. This city is considered mysterious and full of secrets. St. Petersburg bridges can also be called mystical …
Egyptian
It connects both parts of Lermontovsky Prospekt, separated by the Fontanka River. It was built in 1825-1826 and is a chain single-span bridge in the pseudo-Egyptian style.
Chains rested on high cast-iron gates, decorated with Egyptian hieroglyphs and oriental ornaments, and on both banks of the Fontanka, at the entrances to the bridge, there were figures of sphinxes with lanterns on their heads. Unlike the sphinxes on the University Embankment, these are "much younger." They were cast from cast iron specifically to decorate the bridge based on the models of the sculptor P. P. Sokolov.
On January 20 (old style), 1905, the bridge collapsed unexpectedly for everyone at the moment when a squadron of the Guards cavalry passed through it. Fortunately, there were no human casualties. Apparently, the bridge collapsed, as its structures came into resonance with the front step of the guards. This incident led to the emergence of the command: "Keep out of step!", Which began to be given to the military formations going through bridges and overpasses.
The mystical background of the tragedy that had happened was spreading very vividly among the people. According to rumors, a certain Maria Ratner lived in the house near the bridge. One of the officers seduced her and abandoned her. Noticing her offender among the cavalrymen, Maria in her hearts shouted through the window: "May you fail!" and her wish was immediately fulfilled. As a result, this woman entered urban folklore and throughout her life until her death, she was nicknamed Mary of Egypt.
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Instead of the destroyed bridge, a "temporary" wooden bridge was built, which stood here until 1956, until another was built. The new bridge was not at all like the previous one, but it was also decorated with figures of the same sphinxes.
And on February 24, 1989, a heavily laden KamAZ ran over one of the sculptures, causing the sphinx to overturn in the Fontanka. Later, the sculpture was taken out of the water, restored and installed in its original place.
Casting
This is a drawbridge across the Neva, connecting the city center with the Vyborg side. Its name comes from the Liteiny Dvor, located on the left bank of the river. In the old days there was a crossing on the way from Russia to Sweden, and later a floating bridge was built, which, instead of supports, had special boats.
In 1875, the construction of a permanent bridge began, and the builders immediately encountered difficulties: the Neva in this place is very deep (up to 24 meters), and the bottom is silted and loose. During the construction of the bridge, about a hundred people died for various reasons, and the construction costs themselves exceeded the estimate by one and a half times, reaching a gigantic amount for that time - more than five million rubles. Numerous catastrophes not only delayed construction, but also gave rise to various mystical stories.
So, for example, there were rumors that at the bottom of the river, where one of the pillars was erected, there was a "bloody" boulder, Atakan. According to legend, even in ancient times, local tribes worshiped this stone and brought human sacrifices to it. As a result, the boulder became not just "prayed", it was literally saturated with necrotic energy.
Since the restless Neva was constantly changing its course here, it so happened that the stone, which is a sign of the death of hundreds of those killed, ended up at the bottom of the river. But even here the negative energy of the stone continued to operate. At first, this concerned only fishermen and those who tried to cross the Neva at the indicated place. Well, with the beginning of the construction of the pillars of the future bridge, a real orgy of deaths broke out.
It is believed that it was Atakan that the caisson workers stumbled upon during the construction of one of the bridge pillars, after which the muddy mud from the bottom in the blink of an eye filled the caisson, drowning five people who were inside. Exactly a year later, for some unknown reason, a strong explosion was heard at the same place, which carried out the glass in the nearby houses. Nine more builders were killed. The silty soil rose into the caisson and flooded 11 people who worked there.
It was then that a story appeared that the Liteiny was being built on the site where in ancient times there was a "werewolf bridge", over which mysterious fogs often arose at night. Because of this, casual passers-by lost their orientation and fell into the water, where they were drawn into a black whirlpool. And then various evil spirits crawled out of the whirlpool.
Even today, on Liteiny Bridge, you can meet people throwing coins into the water or pouring red wine there. Only a few know that in this way compassionate citizens, familiar with urban legends, ask the Atakan bloodstone, hiding at the bottom of the river, not to drown anyone else …
Another mystical story concerns the leader of the world proletariat. Eyewitnesses say that they still meet the ghost of Lenin at the bridge.
So, for example, walking in the area of Mokhovaya Street, a certain pensioner by the name of Alyoshin noticed a short bald man with a characteristic beard in front of him. At first, he took him for a double of the leader, decided to get to know him and talk to him, but suddenly noticed a certain oddity in him.
A very strong wind was blowing from the direction of the Gulf of Finland, and passers-by had to hold on to their hats and coats. And “Lenin” didn’t seem to react to the bad weather: the wind didn’t blow the famous cap off his head and didn’t blow the hem of his coat.
Alyoshin slowed down his pace, at the same time continuing to follow the strange subject. And when the mysterious citizen stepped onto the Liteiny Bridge and slowly disappeared into the air, Alyoshin realized that he had seen not Lenin and not even his double, but a real ghost …
Troitsky
It connects the center of St. Petersburg and the Petrograd side with the Peter and Paul Fortress. This is one of the most beautiful bridges in the city, which was opened in 1903. Before the permanent bridge, at this very place, there were two pontoons, that is, relying on floating ships.
There could have been a bridge based on the project of the famous Eiffel, which took first place in the competition program, but here Mr. Chance intervened - the out-of-competition work of Batignolles was universally approved. Her design turned out to be more elegant, more convenient for the passage of ships due to the shift of part of the bridge to the side. And most importantly, it was cheaper.
It was rumored that the French government paid for the construction of the bridge, while the Russians paid for the Alexander III bridge, which was being erected across the Seine at the same time. However, in fact, each country bore the costs of building its own bridge, but these structures have become a symbol of the military alliance between Russia and France.
In the 60s of the twentieth century, Troitsky from a two-winged adjustable bridge was turned into a one-winged one and became, like other bridges in St. Petersburg, lifting. Already in Soviet times, the bridge changed its name several times, but ultimately became Troitsky again.
There is a legend that the famous test pilot Valery Chkalov made a daring and dangerous flight under the Troitsky Bridge in order to win the heart of his girlfriend.
This version was also played up in the films about the legendary pilot: in the film of 1941, when the famous spectacular trick of flying under the bridge was repeated (six times!) By pilot Yevgeny Borisenko on the Sh-2 amphibious aircraft, whose wingspan is even wider than that of the Chkalov fighter, and therefore it was more difficult for him to fly. But the pilot Borisenko was no longer put in the guardhouse for this - the flight was agreed at the top …
The second serial film about Chkalov was filmed in 2012. It is known that for the sake of filming, Troitsky Bridge was blocked until the evening. Onlookers gathered, apparently invisibly - everyone wanted to see the famous flight trick under the bridge.
But the audience left disappointed. Filmed only the general plan. And the span under the bridge was simulated on a computer. Perhaps, when in 50 years a new film about the famous pilot will be shot, his face will be modeled on a computer. Who knows…
Arkady Vyatkin