The number of bridges in St. Petersburg is greater than in any other
Russian city. Moreover, there are very few cities in the world to compete with St. Petersburg in the number of their bridges. If placed in one line, one after another, the bridges of St. Petersburg would have been about 16 kilometers long. It was necessary to construct so many bridges because the city was built in the estuary of the Neva with its numerous islands and small rivers.

Originally, they built wooden bridges in St. Petersburg. The first bridge was built in 1703 across the strait of Kronwerk to connect the Peter and Paul Fortress and the City Island. Later, bridges across the Moika, the Fontanka and other rivers and canals were constructed.

Originally, bridges were not given permanent names. They were named after the near-by settlements and mansions, or after the building contractors, or after the color they were painted. Many bridges, as well as the streets, were renamed several times.

The original names of some other bridges have been preserved to present time.

Gradually, wooden bridges and embankments were replaced by stone ones. In the end of the 18-th century, they began to construct granite embankments of the Neva and other rivers and canals. In the middle of the 19-th century, they began to construct permanent metal drawbridges across the Neva to let ships pass through the river. The first among these bridges was the Annunciation Bridge which was later named Nikolayevsky Bridge and now is known as the Lieutenant Schmidt Bridge. It connected the left bank of the Neva with Vasilyevsky Island.

In the late 1730s, there were more than forty bridges in St. Petersburg. One hundred years later, there were more than one hundred fifty bridges, one third of them being made of stone or cast iron. Now, there are more than 300 bridges in St. Petersburg. More than 20 of them are drawbridges.

The bridges of St. Petersburg became implementations of contemporary engineering innovations and excellent architectural landmarks. Tenders were announced for the construction of some of these bridges and the design winning the tender was implemented.

At the beginning of 2004, decorative lighting was installed on seven bridges in St. Petersburg  These are Tuchkov Bridge, the First Engineering Bridge, the Lower Lebyazhy Bridge, Fonarny Bridge, the Upper Lebyazhy Bridge, the Greater Konyushenny Bridge and the Bankovsky Bridge  Lighting was made for each bridge according to an individual project, and now, additional places of interest have appeared in the city.

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