Pevchesky Bridge

{{Short description|Bridge over the Moika River in St. Petersburg, Russia}} thumb|250px|right|Pevchesky Bridge

The '''Pevchesky Bridge''' ({{langx|ru|Пе́вческий мост}}; literally ''Singers' Bridge''), also known as the '''Choristers' Bridge''' or '''Yellow Bridge''' (Жёлтый Мост, Zhyolty Most), is a single-span bridge across the Moika River in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The bridge is a part of the Palace Square. The length of the bridge is 21 metres, and the width is 72 metres. It is the third-widest bridge in Saint Petersburg, after the Blue Bridge and Kazansky Bridge. Before the February Revolution, the term "Choristers' Bridge" was shorthand for the tsarist foreign ministry, just as the French foreign ministry is known as the Quai d'Orsay.<ref>Max Hastings, ''Catastrophe 1914: Europe Goes to War'' (Random House LLC, 2013; {{ISBN|0385351224}}), Chap. 1.</ref><ref>Sean McMeekin, ''July 1914: Countdown to War'' (Basic Books, 2013; {{ISBN|0465056997}}), Author's Note.</ref>

The first wooden bridge on the site was designed by the French architect Auguste de Montferrand; it was inaugurated in 1834. The first pedestrians to cross the bridge were the troops marching to the parade celebrating the unveiling of the Alexander Column (also designed by Montferrand).<ref name=walkspb>[http://walkspb.ru/most/pevch_most.html ''Pevchesky Most'' on the Walkspb.ru site] {{in lang|ru}}</ref> The bridge got the name ''Yellow'' from the color of the railings, and according to the tradition of color-coding the bridges crossing the Moika River (that already had the Blue Bridge, the Green Bridge and the Red Bridge).

thumb|250px|left|Detail of the railings In 1837, Georg von Cancrin, an imperial minister of finance, proposed to replace the wooden bridge with a much wider cast iron structure. According to legend, Emperor Nicholas I himself chose the location for the bridge. Across the river from the Winter Palace was located the house of Count Yury Alexandrovich Golovkin. Once, Golovkin was in such a hurry to meet the Emperor, that he stepped from the boat transporting him across the Moyka and nearly drowned. Thus, Nicholas stated to Golvkin that he specifically located the bridge close to Golovkin's house, so as not to repeat the accident.<ref name=walkspb/>

The new bridge was designed by architects Vasily Stasov, Domenico Adamini, and engineer E.A. Adam. The bridge was opened on 24 October 1840. The first user of the bridge was Nicholas I himself, who solemnly crossed the new bridge in his horse-drawn coach.<ref name=walkspb/> The main decoration of the bridge are beautiful cast iron railings, with numerous frills, the main repeating elements being fan-like palmettos.<ref>[http://www.ograda.spb.ru/resh.php?num=51 Fencings of Saint-Petersburg] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722000747/http://www.ograda.spb.ru/resh.php?num=51 |date=2011-07-22 }} {{in lang|ru}}</ref>

Later, the bridge got the name ''Pevchesky'' (literally Singers' bridge), because the Saint Petersburg Court Capella was accommodated nearby. In 1937, the rose-colored paving stones of the bridge were replaced by bitumen. In 2004, the companies ''Lenmoststroy'' and ''Intarsiya'' undertook restoration works on the bridge.<ref>[http://www.most-spb.ru/pevchesky/pevchesky_his.htm Pevchesky Most on Most-spb.ru site] {{in lang|ru}}</ref>

==References == {{reflist}}

==External links== {{commonscat|Pevchesky Bridge}}

Category:Vasily Stasov buildings and structures Category:Bridges in Saint Petersburg Category:Bridges completed in 1840 Category:Auguste de Montferrand buildings and structures Category:Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Saint Petersburg