The Blue Bridge Winter Garden

Among the photos I took during the New Year's Eve celebrations is an album of photos of the Winter Garden on the Blue Bridge. The garden of small Christmas trees in tubs and lighted trees appeared at this place for the first time this year. However, the Summer Garden appeared on this place first... I'll tell you about it in order.

The Blue Bridge spans the Moika River and visually connects St. Isaac's Square and the small square in front of the Mariinsky Palace. St. Isaac's Cathedral is pictured in the top photo, and the Mariinsky Palace can be seen in the photo above this paragraph, and you'll see a few more photos of the palace from different angles a little further on. At the very beginning of the garden walk, I took two shots while standing near the entrance to the garden. The view to the north is a view of St. Isaac's Cathedral, the view to the south is a view of the Mariinsky Palace. Then I walked around the perimeter of this small garden, going counterclockwise.

The Blue Bridge is so wide that it looks like part of a square. Although the Mariinsky Palace was built on the bank of the Moika River, you would never use the phrase "stands on the bank" to define the geographical location of the palace, you would say something like "the Mariinsky Palace is located on the south side of Saint Isaac's Square". The Blue Bridge is the widest bridge in St. Petersburg. It is almost 100 meters wide. It is wider than the bridges over the Neva River - and this is despite the fact that the Neva is a wide navigable river, and the Moika is a small city river.

At the very beginning of its existence, the Blue Bridge did not stand out among other bridges, it was an ordinary crossing. At first a wooden bridge was built, then a one-span cast-iron bridge appeared in its place. But during the construction of the Mariinsky Palace, the architects introduced into the project the transformation of the neighboring section of St. Isaac's Square and the expansion of the Blue Bridge more than twice. Due to its width, the bridge became a popular parking spot and began to resemble a car lot. It is indeed a very convenient parking place - car flows flow around it from different sides, it is easy to park, easy to leave.

In the spring of this year... or no, last year, 2023, the usual appearance of the bridge suddenly changed for the citizens. A garden of trees in tubs and lush flowerbeds appeared on the bridge. Benches were installed on the alleys of the garden, and the garden soon became a popular place of rest. The garden existed until the fall, in September the plants were transplanted into the ground. The second transformation of the bridge took place before the New Year - this time there were luminous trees and Christmas trees decorated with colorful balls.

Walking in this garden is most pleasant at night, after it gets completely dark, but it is better to take photos in the early evening, so that the excessive contrast does not spoil the photos. A walk through this garden transports us into a winter fairy tale. At such moments it becomes especially sad that I am no longer a child and can't see everything around me as something completely new and unexplored.