Trinity Bridge

Second longest bridge in St Petersburg

Trinity Bridge (known is Russian as “Troitskiy”) is one of the largest and most beautiful bridges in Saint Petersburg. It’s the second longest raising one after the Alexander Nevsky bridge. It connects the Field of Mars and the Troitskaya Square on the Petrograd side of the city. Being 585 m long and 23,43 m wide, the bridge has ten spans, and the one closer to the left bank of the Neva river is moveable. 

History

It all starts in the beginning of the 19th century. At first the Voskresensky ponton bridge was placed in 1803. In this way it stayed for 20 years, but then the bridge went under reconstruction. It was made out of granite blocks. A new bridge opened in 1827. Initially it was supposed to be called – Suvorovsky in honor of famous Russian military leader. However, eventually it got the name – Troitsky.

The first Trinity bridge was repaired in mid 1870s. It was strengthened to establish a line for horse railway. Actually that was the first massive public transport in Petersburg.

As there was no permanent bridge, the Petrograd side of the city still was its outskirts. So the government of the country thought of creating a full-fledged crossing. A contest was announced.

There was a project by a famous French architect Gustav Eiffel, but from a technical perspective a project by a French  Société de Construction des Batignolles won. According to the contract only Russian workers could be involved in the construction process, and the bridge could be built out of local materials. The first stone was solemnly placed in a presence of Emperor Nicolas II and the President of French republic Félix Faure. The ceremony took place on August 12, 1897 in a memory of the 25th marriage anniversary of Alexander III and Maria Feyodorovna.

The opening ceremony happened on May 29, 1903. That was the 200th anniversary of Saint Petersburg. Nicolas II and the Imperial family members were at the event, and the Emperor pushed the button to raise the bridge. 

 

Further existence 

The bridge was called Troitsky because of the Troitsky Cathedral that was on the Petrograd side up to 1932. In 1936 double-headed eagles that adorned the bridge were replaced by five-pointed stars.

Over its existence the bridge has gone over several renamings. In 1918 it was called the Bridge of Equality, in December 1934 – Kirovsky in memory of Soviet politician S. Kirov. Only in 1991 the bridge got its original name back.

Trinity bridge was repaired several times. In 1965-1967 the raising span as well as the whole left part of the bridge was reconstructed. Interestingly, the traffic was not closed at that time, instead – a temporary crossing was established with a tram line. So there was not a single day that traffic was stopped over the bridge.

Carriageway and pedestrian area were fixed in 1977. At the end of the 20th century city government made the decision of another overhaul that took place in 2001-2002. Apart from updating mechanics of a raising span, Trinity bridge got its initial look back – crowns and double-headed eagles returned on the obelisks. The bridge got a nice lightning, and roads were refreshed.

In 2006 trams’ movement was stopped over the bridge. It was reopened in 2016.

Interesting facts

Troitsky bridge is surrounded by legends. One of them says that famous pilot Valery Tschkalov flew under the bridge almost touching water surface in order to conquer the heart of his beloved. This story is told in the movie “Valery Tschkalov” shot in 1940. The make this scene possible a stuntman pilot Evgeny Borisenko had to fly 6 times under the bridge.  

On top of the bridge there is a mark showing its middle. You can find it on the railing where a pattern changes its incline.

The axis of the northern part of Trinity bridge crosses Pulkovsky meridian.

From the bridge you can see famous Spit of Vasilievsky island and 7 bridges at a time:

  • Palace bridge over the Bolshaya Neva,
  • Stock Exchange bridge over the Malaya Neva,
  • Ioannovsky bridge over the Kronversky duct,
  • Hermitage bridge over the Zimnaya Kanavka,
  • Verkhne-Lebyazhy bridge over the Lebyzhiya Kanavka,
  • Prachechny bridge over the Fontankta river,
  • Liteiny bridge over the Neva river.

Troitsky bridge is the only one in St Petersburg that is raising during Scarlet Sails. Every year since 2005 a sailing ship slowly and very carefully moves through the raising span during the celebration.

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Information About the Excursion


Schedule

Open: All year round

Public Transport

Address
Trinity bridge
Metro / Subway
Nevsky Prospekt, Gorkovskaya
Buses
Troitskaya Square2MБ, 14, 49
Suvorov Square2M, 2MA, 46,49
Minibuses (marshrutka)
Troitskaya SquareK-30, K-32, K-76
Suvorov SquareK-76
Trams
Troitskaya Square3, 6, 40
Suvorov Square3

 



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