RU-2903359 The Blue Bridge of St. Petersburg

The Blue Bridge (Russian: Си́ний мост), is a 97.3 metre wide bridge that spans the Moika River in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The Blue Bridge is the widest bridge in Saint Petersburg and is sometimes claimed to be the widest bridge in the world.

The Blue Bridge spans the Moika River and is located in front of the Mariinsky Palace at Saint Isaac's Square in the city's historic centre. The first cast iron bridge on the site was built in 1818. This bridge was a single-span bridge resting on stone supports, and measured 41 metres across. In 1842-1844, the bridge was widened on its northern side to its present width of 97.3 metres - just as wide as the adjacent Isaac's Square. Today, most of the Blue Bridge serves as a parking lot.

The bridge's name dates from a 19th-century tradition of colour-coding the bridges crossing the Moika River. Like other coloured bridges, the Blue Bridge got its name from the colour of its sides facing the river. Today only four coloured bridges survive, the other ones being the Red Bridge, the Green Bridge and the Yellow Bridge respectively. Three of them kept their original names but the Yellow Bridge has been renamed the Pevchesky Bridge.

This postcard came from Mary (27 August 2014) Postcrossing.