Description of the attraction
The Lomonosov Bridge is one of the architectural monuments of the 18th century. It crosses the Fontanka in the alignment of Lomonosov Street.
Initially, the bridge was made of wood and was named Catherine's in honor of Empress Catherine II. After the construction of a new stone bridge, it began to be called Chernyshev Bridge (after the name of the nearby estate of Count Chernyshev, a participant in the Azov campaign, battles at Poltava and Narva. The bridge received its current name in 1948. Together with the bridge, the adjacent the bridge is the square on which the monument to MV Lomonosov was erected.
In various sources, the authors of the project of the Lomonosov bridge are called architects V. I. Bazhenov, Yu. M. Felten, engineers K. F. Moderaha, I. K. Gerard, P. K. Sukhtelen, F. Bauer (Baura). But most of them agree that Zh-R was its author. Perrone. The bridge was built according to the standard design in 1785-1788. Anichkov, Simeonovsky, Semenovsky, Staro-Kalinkin, Izmailovsky bridges were built according to the same projects.
The bridge had stone supports and arched stone coastal spans with towers on bulls. The towers looked like open gazebos, which consisted of weakly rusticated columns. The columns supported Doric entablatures and ended in spherical domes, carved out of gray granite, with gilded spherical urns. The central span of the bridge was raised. Heavy chains stretched between the four towers were used to raise the drawbridge. Over time, the navigation on Fontanka greatly decreased, and therefore, in 1859, the split span was replaced by a wooden suspension truss, and the metal chains that were previously used for lifting turned into a decorative element. Fences were installed on the driveway. The length of the new bridge was 57, 12 m, width - 14, 66 m.
The axis of the Lomonosov Bridge runs at an angle to the river embankment. This arrangement of the bridge led to its asymmetric solution: the front sides of the bridge, which face the water, are not equal to each other, and the superstructures of the towers have lost their square shape in plan. But in reality and from a great distance it is not noticeable. The side spans are covered with stone corrugated arches, and the middle one is covered with metal beams. The railings of the bridge are similar to the railings of the embankment and represent metal sections that are installed between granite pedestals. On the abutments there is a granite parapet.
In 1826, the first project for the reconstruction of the Chernyshev Bridge was proposed, according to which it was planned to dismantle a wooden movable span, overhead towers and overlap the central span with cast iron wedge boxes, as well as expand the roadway. But the project was not implemented.
The next attempt to reconstruct the bridge was made in 1902-1906, when the City Duma entrusted the engineer G. G. Krivoshein to develop a project for a new bridge. The project, developed by Krivoshein together with the architect V. P. Apyshkov, provided for the complete dismantling of the old stone bridge and the erection of a completely new structure in its place. But the revolutionary events of 1905-1907. prevented the implementation of this plan.
The question of changing the appearance of the Chernyshev Bridge was again raised in the early 10s. 20c., About the preservation of the previous appearance of the bridge, a stormy controversy unfolded. The Academy of Arts and the Society of Architects advocated keeping the bridge intact.
The unsuccessful utilization for the Chernyshev Bridge turned into a major overhaul in 1912-1913. According to the project of the engineer A. P. Pshenitskiy, the supports and arches of the bridge were reinforced, the wooden superstructures were replaced with metal girders, the lining of the bridge was partially replaced.
In 1915, according to the project of the architect I. A. Fomin, unique granite obelisk lanterns decorated with seahorses were installed on the bridge.
During the Great Patriotic War, the granite obelisks were badly damaged during the bombing. In the years after the war, during the restoration work, the lamps were completely restored. In 1967 they were covered with gold.
In 2006, the famous lanterns, which are real works of art, after another restoration returned to their places. Their restoration was caused by the fact that the lantern mountings sagged due to heavy loads on the bridge and began to pose a danger to pedestrians. Now unique lanterns again delight the eyes of residents and guests of the city.
