Palace Bridge

Palace Bridge Дворцо́вый мост
A night view of Palace Bridge - one of the most familiar images of the Northern capital of Russia
Coordinates	59°56′28″N 30°18′29″E / 59.941149°N 30.308105°E / 59.941149; 30.308105
Crosses	Neva River
Locale	Saint Petersburg
Characteristics
Design	Bascule bridge
Total length	260.1 meters
Width	27.8 metres
History
Opened	December 23, 1916

Coordinates: 59°56′28″N 30°18′29″E / 59.941149°N 30.308105°E / 59.941149; 30.308105

Palace Bridge (Russian: Дворцо́вый мост, Dvortsoviy Most), a road- and foot-traffic bascule bridge, spans the Neva River in Saint Petersburg between Palace Square and Vasilievsky Island. Like every other Neva bridge (except for Big Obukhovsky Bridge), it is drawn by night, making foot travel between various parts of the city virtually impossible. It was built by the French firm Société de Construction des Batignolles between 1912 and 1916.

The total length of Palace Bridge is 260.1 metres, width is 27.8 metres. It is actually composed of five spans, the southernmost joining Palace Embankment between the Winter Palace and the Admiralty and leading to Palace Square.

After Emperor Nicholas I lifted Peter the Great's prohibition to construct bridges across the Neva, a temporary pontoon bridge was set up about 50 metres downstream from the current structure.