The strategic point and decoration of the city is Tuchkov Bridge. Where is the Tuchkov Bridge in St. Petersburg Historical versions of the name of the bridge
In the history of the name of the bridge, there are two, equally valid, according to historians, versions:
- The name of the bridge comes from the name of the merchant Abraham Tuchkov.
In 1758, a company of four merchants petitioned the Senate to give them “for eternal and hereditary maintenance” several bridges in St. Petersburg, while pledging to build a new bridge across the Malaya Neva from Vasilyevsky Island to the Petrograd Side. Among them was the merchant Abraham Tuchkov, owner of timber warehouses on the Malaya Neva embankment. So this bridge was named after one of the partners, contractor Abraham Tuchkov.
- The name of the bridge comes from the name of engineer A.V. Tuchkov, who built the bridge in the 18th century.
The first bridge on this site was built in 1758 at the site of Maly Ave. V.O. Vasilyevsky Island. This bridge was wooden and consisted of a pontoon part in the deep part of the channel and a pile part in shallow water. It was 900 meters long and was the longest St. Petersburg bridge of the 18th century. Then it was called Nikolsky.
In 1833-1835 it was rebuilt and became a wooden multi-span bridge on pile supports, with a double-winged central span. The bridge was built at the site of Bolshoi Ave. P.S. with the construction of an earthen dam from the Malaya Neva to the future Aleksandrovsky Prospekt. The swing span consisted of 4 wooden frames and was raised using hand winches. The roadway was made of wood, made up of crossbars and double planks. On the bridge openings, railings made of artistic cast iron gratings with rectangular pedestals were installed.
In 1839, artificial asphalt was laid near the Tuchkov Bridge for the first time in Russia.
In 1870, the bridge burned down from an unextinguished cigarette.
In 1920, the bridge was rebuilt into a 20-span bridge.
In 1948, the wooden spans were replaced with metal ones, the wooden frames in the draw span were replaced with metal ones, and the hand winches with electric ones. The drawbridge supports were again built on a wooden pile foundation with a rigid metal grillage and metal frame structure.
By 1960, the bridge had 20 spans, of which one was drawable and two were navigable; its length was 257 m, width - 19 m. The left bank abutment was stone on a pile foundation, the supports of the draw span were metal, and the remaining supports were wooden, block-type, on a pile base.
In connection with the completion of the construction of the Volga-Baltic Canal, which replaced the outdated Mariinsky system in 1964, large-sized and large-capacity vessels began to enter the Neva and its branches. The dimensions and load capacity of the bridge could not meet the requirements of land and water transport. Therefore, the question arose about reconstructing the bridge.
In 1962-1965. The bridge was radically rebuilt by Lengiproinzhproekt engineers V.V. Demchnenko and B.B. Levin according to the design of architects P.A. Areshev and L.A. Noskov. It was then that the Tuchkov Bridge acquired its modern appearance - a three-span reinforced concrete bridge with a drawbridge in the middle.
In 1997-1998 a major overhaul was carried out with the replacement of the road surface, repair of the orthotropic slab on the drawbridge and tram tracks.
In 2006, work was carried out to repair stationary spans.
In 2008-2009 Repair work on the drawbridge supports was completed. (text from Wikipedia with abbreviation)
The walk across the bridges continues.
Another big bridge, Tuchkov, is thrown across the Malaya Neva. It connects Bolshoi Avenue of the Petrograd Side with Vasilyevsky Island into one whole.
Where did the name come from?
In the history of the construction of this bridge there were two people with this surname.
In 1758, four enterprising merchants submitted a request to the Senate to transfer several bridges in St. Petersburg to them for eternal use. And in return, they promised to build a new bridge from Vasilievsky to the Petrograd side with their own money. That was enough comfortable spot for merchants, because one of them, Abraham Tuchkov, was the owner of timber warehouses right on the Malaya Neva embankment. Here is the first Tuchkov.
And there was also engineer A.V. Tuchkov in the same XVIII, who designed this bridge.
So both Tuchkovs could well name the bridge after themselves.
But this bridge was given the name Nikolsky during construction. It was the most long bridge St. Petersburg in the 18th century - 900 m. Near the shores in shallow water it stood on stilts, and in its central part lay on rammers, like most of the St. Petersburg bridges of that time. It was located slightly downstream of the Neva. Where Maly Prospekt overlooks the embankment, then St. Nicholas Cathedral stood, destroyed at the end of the 18th century. The Nikolsky Bridge went to this cathedral.
In the thirties of the XIX century old bridge was destroyed and a new one was placed upstream. It was a completely piled wooden bridge with a drawbridge central part. It was decorated with cast-iron patterned gratings.
On this bridge in 1839, for the first time in Russia, a miracle of civilization was tested - asphalt pavement.
And in 1870, an unextinguished cigarette caused a terrible fire on this bridge.
For 50 years, the authorities did not have the time or opportunity to restore it. It was only in 1920 that a new wooden bridge was built on 20 spans. 
In the 18th century, Tuchkov Bridge was the longest in Northern capital, its length was 890 meters. For comparison, now its length has decreased significantly and is 226 meters.
Currently it is one of the most beautiful bridges in St. Petersburg: its architecture is distinguished by its desire for rigor and bold constructive solutions.
Initially, the bridge was located at the exit from the Sportivnaya metro station, whose name in the project was listed as “Tuchkov Bridge”. In 2015, the second exit of the Sportivnaya station was opened, located at opposite bank- on Vasilyevsky Island. For this purpose, a horizontal tunnel with a travelator (an escalator that is laid horizontally) was dug under the Neva (!!!). In fact, this pedestrian tunnel duplicates the Tuchkov Bridge, only under water and underground. It is especially useful in bad weather - there is always an approximately constant temperature, there is no rain, snow or wind. In addition, the underwater travelator itself has become a landmark of St. Petersburg.
From the history
The first wooden crossing over the Malaya Neva, connecting Vasilyevsky Island and the Petrograd side, was erected in 1758. In the deep part of the channel it was a slab, and in shallow water it was a pile. The bridge was named Nikolsky and was located in the alignment of Maly Prospekt of Vasilievsky Island.
Bridge name
There are two versions of the origin of the name of the crossing:
- In 1758, four merchants turned to the Senate with a petition for the transfer to them “for eternal and hereditary maintenance” of several crossings in St. Petersburg. At the same time, they pledged to build a new bridge across the Malaya Neva at their own expense. The crossing was built and named after one of the merchants, Abraham Tuchkov, timber merchant and owner of timber warehouses
- According to the second version, the crossing received its name from the surname of engineer A.V. Tuchkov, who built this crossing.
Permanent wooden bridge
In 1833-1835, the crossing was rebuilt, it was located in the alignment of Bolshoy Prospekt on the Petrograd Side, and an earthen dam was built from the Malaya Neva to Aleksandrovsky Prospekt (now Dobrolyubov Avenue).
It was a permanent multi-span wooden bridge on pile foundations, two of its spans were navigable and one was drawbridge.
The double-winged draw span consisted of four wooden frames and was opened manually using winches. On the openings (wings of the abutments) railings were installed in the form of artistic cast iron gratings.
The administration of St. Petersburg constantly monitored the condition of all city crossings, and in 1899 the newspaper “Petersburg Leaflet” noted that the turn for major repairs had reached the Tuchkov Bridge. “Not only does it require major alterations, but it is necessary to expand and strengthen the dam against which it rests.”
In total, the Administration asked the Duma to allocate 112,500 rubles for repairs and 25,500 rubles for expanding the dam.
IN Soviet time They wanted to rename the Tuchkov Bridge, like many other crossings. But the people started a rumor that the crossing was named after the hero of the War of 1812, and the government decided to keep this name, which was familiar to everyone.
For reference: In Russia, indeed, there was an old Tuchkov family, whose five brothers Nikolai and Pavel, Sergei and Alexander rose to the rank of generals, and four of them took part in the Patriotic War of 1812, and two gave their lives for the Fatherland. The elder brother Alexander Alekseevich and the youngest of the brothers, Nikolai Alekseevich, died from their wounds.
In the post-war period, the wooden spans of the building were replaced with metal ones. The wooden frames of the drawbridge were also replaced with metal ones, and the manual winch was replaced with an electric one.
The crossing had 20 spans, its length was 257 meters, and its width was 19 meters, the left bank supports were stone, and the right bank ones were wooden.
Tuchkov Bridge 1965
With the completion of the construction of the Volga-Baltic Canal, large ships began to sail along the Neva, and the load on the crossing itself increased. Its carrying capacity and dimensions no longer meet the requirements of land and water transport, it was necessary to reconstruct it.
The construction project was developed by engineers and architects of the Lengiproinzhproekt Institute under the leadership of V. V. Demchenko and B. B. Levin, P. A. Areshev, L. A. Noskov, construction work was carried out from 1962 to 1965.
Currently, the Tuchkov Bridge is reinforced concrete, three-span. During construction, the dam was expanded by filling up part of the Zhdanovka River bed. On the side of Vasilyevsky Island, the Makarov embankment was increased to 42 meters and a small bridgehead area was created.
In 2003, the crossing was illuminated and at night it now looks like a seagull taking off from the water.
Characteristics
- The length of the crossing is 226.2 meters, including between granite abutments - 216 meters
- Central swing span, double-winged, 50 meters wide
- The width between the railings is 36 meters, including the roadway - 28 meters, sidewalks - 4 meters
- The wing opening angle is 69 degrees.
Tuchkov Bridge, which has a simple and clear shape, fits perfectly into the expanses of water and the panorama of the Neva embankments.
Tuchkov Bridge is beautiful with its strict purity of lines and bold design solutions. In the night lights it resembles a seagull taking off. A fence with an original interweaving of simple metal rods creates the illusion of volume running along the bridge.
The modern appearance of the Tuchkov Bridge may seem too restrained and laconic to some against the backdrop of its magnificent brothers in the front part of St. Petersburg, but the origin of the name, which sounds ancient, will definitely be of interest. Indeed, the history of the bridge began almost three centuries ago.
The first wooden crossing on the banks of the Malaya Neva was founded in 1758 and was originally called Nikolskaya. The long-standing crossing at that time broke all records for its length, which was 890 meters. The existing bridge is much shorter. This difference is explained by the fact that in the 18th century the crossing partially ran along the shore. It consisted of two parts. The dinghy part crossed the channel into deep water. The sections that ran through shallow water and further along the swampy shores were piled.
Soon the bridge was renamed. The origin of the name Tuchkov Bridge is lost in legends: either in honor of the engineer A.V. Tuchkov, who built the bridge, or in the name of the timber merchant Abraham Tuchkov, whose warehouses were located nearby. It is known about this merchant that he was among others who submitted a petition to the Senate with a request to give them some bridges in the city for use. In return, they promised to build a bridge on the Malaya Neva, which was fulfilled.
Historians recognize both of these versions as legitimate. Later, a false rumor was started that the bridge was named in honor of the hero of the war of 1812, General A. A. Tuchkov. It is believed that this was done deliberately to protect the bridge from being renamed during Soviet times.
The bridge was rebuilt several times in wood. Even after it burned down from an unextinguished cigarette in 1870, the restored bridge continued to remain wooden. After major repairs in 1948, the wooden spans of the structure were replaced with metal ones, but the wooden supports on a pile foundation were retained.
The need for a complete reconstruction of the crossing arose in the 1960s, when the dimensions and load capacity of the bridge no longer met growing requirements. With the creation of the Volga-Baltic Canal, large-capacity liners began to travel along the Bolshaya and Malaya Neva, and at the same time, transport traffic and the load on the bridge increased.
New three-span reinforced concrete drawbridge built in 1965 according to the design of architects L. A. Noskov and P. A. Areshev.
Tuchkov Bridge.
According to St. Petersburg State Budgetary Institution Mostotrest, the length of the Tuchkov Bridge is 226.2 meters with a width of 36.8 meters. There is a wide pedestrian part (4 meters) allowing for cycling.
Today, Tuchkov Bridge is such a busy transport route that it is not opened every day, and even during the major repairs of the bridge, traffic on it was completely blocked for only a few days. The Tuchkov Bridge tanker, launched in 2003, was named in his honor, which emphasized the significance and importance of the crossing, which ensures interaction between the largest districts of St. Petersburg.
To be fair, it should be noted that the Malaya Neva can be crossed not only by bridge. In 2015, an underground-underwater pedestrian tunnel equipped with a horizontal escalator was built along the axis of the Tuchkov Bridge.
Where is Tuchkov Bridge?
The Tuchkov Bridge across the Malaya Neva connects Vasilyevsky Island (facing the Makarov embankment near the First Line) with the Petrogradskaya Side (Bolshoi Prospekt). From the bridge there is a beautiful view of the Petrovsky Stadium, Makarov Embankment, the Spit of Vasilyevsky Island, and the Peter and Paul Cathedral.
It is very convenient to explore the surroundings and guess the sights observation platforms located on the bridge abutments, this activity can captivate you to such an extent that only the roar of the traffic flow behind you brings you back to reality.
The Tuchkov Bridge spans the Malaya Neva and connects the Petrograd side with Vasilyevsky Island. A similar structure, built in 1758, was the first on this route. Merchants undertook to finance the construction of the bridge, the main one among whom was the owner of the timber warehouse, Abraham Tuchkov. Further fate Tuchkova remains unknown, but the bridge built with his help still stands today, bearing his name.
At one time, Tuchkov Bridge was the longest in St. Petersburg. This wooden structure consisted of a pontoon part at the depth of the river bed and a pile part in shallow water. The length of the bridge, which was initially called Nikolsky, was almost 900 meters. It was located near the mouth of the Malaya Neva, near the islands of Penkov Buyan and Vatny, where the warehouses of the merchant Tuchkov were located.
Not quite perfect, the wooden Tuchkov Bridge was subjected to repeated reconstruction, and by 1960 it had a record number of spans - 20! Two of them were navigable, and one was a drawable one. At that time, the length of the bridge reached 257 meters, width - 19 meters. In 1948, during the next repair, numerous spans of the bridge were covered with I-beams with longitudinal and transverse braces from the corners. The bridge supports, with the exception of the left bank abutment made of stone, were wooden, cobblestone type, on a pile foundation. The supports of the adjustable part are made of metal. The latticework of the bridge fence was designed quite simply, but at the same time quite original. It has rods made of square strips, intertwined with each other in such a bizarre way that they create an amazing three-dimensional picture along the entire length of the bridge, which has not previously been used in the practice of constructing bridge railings. Because of such a unique fence, it seems that the fence is swaying when you drive across this bridge.
It should be noted that Tuchkov Bridge is one of the busiest such facilities connecting Vasilievsky Island with the city. It is used by many businesses located on the island, transporting most of their products across the bridge. In addition, the bridge route passes along the way to the islands of Elagin, Krestovsky, and Kamenny - where St. Petersburg residents love to relax, to the suburbs on the Karelian Isthmus, etc., which also significantly increases the flow of vehicles. Mainly for these reasons, a specialized commission of Lenmosttrest made a decision to rebuild the bridge in the most radical way, and from 1962 to 1965 a new Tuchkov Bridge was built according to the plan developed by Lengiproinzhproekt. The construction of a permanent, permanent bridge affected the layout of the nearby area. There was a displacement of the longitudinal axis of the new structure downstream by 3 meters from the axis of the previously existing bridge, and a noticeable increase in the width of the bridge and its sidewalks led to the expansion of the Tuchkova dam towards the Zhdanovka River, the bed of which was narrowed from 54.5 to 48.8 meters. A small bridgehead area was also created, which became possible thanks to the removal of the walls of the Makarov embankment into the Neva by 42 meters in relation to the front edge of the abutment of the new bridge.
The built bridge, designed by architects L. A. Noskov and P. A. Areshev, appeared in simple and strict modern forms a three-span reinforced concrete structure with a 50-meter draw span in the middle of the river. With its reconstruction, the bridge acquired the status of the widest among the large bridges in St. Petersburg: the width of its roadway was 28 meters, the width of the sidewalks was 4 meters, and the width between the railings was 36 meters.
