Obukhovsky Bridge in December

Every December for a few weeks Obukhovsky Bridge is coloured by lights to celebrate New Years coming.

Obukhovsky Bridge is one of the oldest bridges in Saint Petersburg. It was built over the Fontanka River in line with the Saarskaya Perspektiva (later Tsarskoselsky Prospekt, now Moscowsky Prospekt).

The first wooden bridge across the Fontanka River in alignment of modern Moscowsky Prospekt was built in 1717. In the centre the bridge has a transverse gap (width of 70 cm) intended for the passage of mast ships; in the daytime this gap was covered by the boards. In 1738 the crossing was rebuilt.

Until 1738 the bridge has not an official name. Common name - Obukhov or Obukhovsky was given to the bridge by name of its builder "inhabitant of a suburb" Pavel Matveyevich Obukhov. In 1738 the Commission for the St. Petersburg Construction has established a name Saarsky bridge for the bridge. It has not been taken on, and the bridge to this day retains in its name the memory of the civil works contractor - Obukhov.

Full history of the bridge can be found in article from MOSTOTREST website.

Europe / Russia-Urals West

Lat: 59° 55' 18.127" N
Long: 30° 18' 59.968" E

→ maps.google.com [EXT]

Precision is: Medium. Nearby, but not to the last decimal.

Camera: Pentax K-5 II; Lens: smc PENTAX-DA Fish-Eye 1:3.5-4.5 10-17mm ED (IF); Tripod: Manfrotto 349 Column Clamp+Manfrotto 556B Levelling Centre Column; Panohead: Nodal Ninja 5;

PC Software: PTGui Pro 10.0.19 by New House Internet Services B.V. (dated by June 6, 2018), Pano2VR 6.1.8 pro 64bit by Garden Gnome Software (dated by May 25, 2020)

I was going to shoot a panorama of the Staro-Kalinkin Bridge with New Year's lighting. This bridge is a twin of the Lomonosov Bridge, but is located to the west, closer to the mouth of the Fontanka River.

After examining the area, it became clear that the bridge was not illuminated especially for the New Year. When I was returning by bus to the city center, I saw Obukhovsky Bridge from the bus window and its wonderful reflection in the river surface.

I had to wait 4 days for the wind to subside. During this time, it snowed and the temperature dropped to -15°C. On the day of photography, it was discovered that the river was half frozen, and upstream, in front of the bridge the ice covered the entire river.