Doesn’t its name just roll off the tongue? We are standing at the \u0427\u043a\u0430\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0439 \u043f\u0443\u0442\u0435\u043f\u0440\u043e\u0432\u043e\u0434. It is a bridge in Moscow. This concrete arch spans the Moskva River.
\u0427\u043a\u0430\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0439 \u043f\u0443\u0442\u0435\u043f\u0440\u043e\u0432\u043e\u0434 connects Red Square with Bolshaya Ordynka Street. It sits immediately east of the Kremlin.
The bridge dates back to 1936 and 1937. V. S. Kirillov engineered the structure. Alexey Shchusev designed it. This crossing replaced older wooden and steel bridges. These earlier bridges stood slightly west of our current location.
Wooden bridges existed here since the 15th century. A permanent Moskvoretsky bridge was built in 1829. It stood about 50 meters west of here. That bridge had three wooden arches supported by stone. It was based on a Saint Petersburg bridge. A fire destroyed it in 1871. Steel replaced the wood then.
In the 1930s Moscow decided to upgrade all central bridges. \u0427\u043a\u0430\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0439 \u043f\u0443\u0442\u0435\u043f\u0440\u043e\u0432\u043e\u0434 was the first completed. It was also the only concrete bridge of that era. The builders placed it at the river’s narrowest point. This required razing parts of Zaryadye and Balchug.
The main arch consists of three concrete boxes. Each box is 92 meters long and 6.1 meters high. The arches over the embankments measure 42.8 meters each. The bridge’s total width is 40 meters. It has eight lanes. Including ramps, its total length reaches 554 meters. Despite being concrete, it looks like stone. Alexey Shchusev used pink granite slabs.
\u0427\u043a\u0430\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0439 \u043f\u0443\u0442\u0435\u043f\u0440\u043e\u0432\u043e\u0434 has witnessed some notable events. In 1987 Mathias Rust landed here with a plane.
Tragically in 2015 Boris Nemtsov was murdered on this bridge. He was a Russian opposition politician.
So, \u0427\u043a\u0430\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0439 \u043f\u0443\u0442\u0435\u043f\u0440\u043e\u0432\u043e\u0434 stands as more than just a river crossing. It is a silent witness to Moscow’s history. It connects not only places but also eras.