The Anichkov Bridge is one of the most famous bridges in St. Petersburg. The Anichkov Bridge over the Fontanka River is a part of Nevsky Prospekt. The first wooden bridge was built under the decree of Peter I in 1715. Then it became a border for the city. The river crossing was named after M.O. Anichkov, the commander of the Admiralty Construction Battalion that built this bridge.
The length of the river crossing was 150 meters, dammed up not only the Fontanka River but the swampy floodplain of the river. Here was the gate and the entrance to St. Petersburg. At the border, passports were checked and the entrance fee was taken. Moreover, the fee could be not only money but also the stones that the city needed to pave the streets.
In the late 18th century the construction of stone embankments and stone bridges began on the banks of the Fontanka River. The first seven stone bridges over the Fontanka River, among which was the Anichkov Bridge, were built by the same standard project. All the bridges were three-span drawbridges with small and elegant towers as decorations. About a hundred years later, traffic in the city, especially on Nevsky Prospekt, has become very intense, streets markedly widened, and narrow drawbridges had to be rebuilt to make them easier to pass. The reconstruction of the Anichkov Bridge was managed by engineer Von Derschau. The bridge was expanded up to 37 meters.
The main feature of the Anichkov Bridge is the four sculptural groups «Horse Tamers» by P. Klodt, placed at four corners of the bridge in the middle of the 19th century. Citizens of St. Petersburg can not Imagine the Anichkov Bridge without these sculptures, which became the symbols of Nevsky Prospect long ago.
