Bolshoy Kamenniy Bridge, Prosveshcheniya St., Saint Petersburg, Russia, 196621
The first bridge across the Slavyanka River was constructed at this location between 1790 and 1793 during the work in Pavlovsk by architect Charles Cameron. The exact author of the bridge project is not established, but the construction of the bridge is attributed to Engineer General-Lieutenant Bauer.
The bridge was a two-span stone arch bridge, with obliquely arranged openings. The facade cladding was granite, and the vault material was rubble or brick masonry. The railings on the bridge were metal tubular wrought iron, installed between granite pedestals and parapet blocks. Under the bridge, in each span, there were wooden shutter dams—spillways—that maintained the water level in the Mariental Pond.
In 1910, the bridge was raised by up to 1 meter and widened to 10.5 meters by adding cantilevers and installing new metal railings in the Art Nouveau style. As a result of these alterations, the historic appearance of the bridge was disrupted. The bridge remained in this form until 1944, when German troops completely destroyed it during their retreat from Pavlovsk.
As a result of the explosion of the bridge and the dam, the Mariental Pond completely dried up and turned into a marshy meadow with a narrow strip of the Slavyanka River.
In the same year, 1944, a wooden bridge was built at the site of the destroyed bridge, which quickly fell into disrepair and was replaced in 1953 by a new narrow wooden bridge supported on rafts and sleepers.
Considering that the lost structure had significant transport and hydraulic importance, while also being an original architectural and engineering monument of the late 18th century, a decision was made to build a new bridge using modern materials that would meet transport requirements but recreate the historical appearance.
Sources:
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Большой_Каменный_мост_%28Павловск%29
wikimapia.org/11182207/ru/Большой-Каменный-мост-через-реку-Славянку
