Since ancient times, people tend to believe in the mystical purpose of these creatures. These are Winged lions (or griffins, as they are called). These mythical creatures adorn the pedestrian suspension bridge over one of the canals of our city. In this place the Griboyedov canal makes a turn and the "Bank Bridge" serves as a pedestrian crossing from one Bank to another.
Myths about griffins originated in Ancient Egypt. They were considered the keepers of treasures and secret knowledge. These animals with the head and body of a lion and eagle wings meant power in conjunction with the mind.
The bridge got its name from the assignation Bank, which in tsarist times was located opposite. There were countless gold reserves. It was the griffins who were chosen as guards, planted on the "Bank Bridge". These winged lions had a duty to guard the gold reserves of the Russian Empire. In those days St. Petersburg was still the capital of the state.
The building of the assignation Bank has survived to this day. Now here is the State University of Economics.
The bridge was built in 1825. But time and damp climate of St. Petersburg mercilessly over and over again destroyed these majestic sculptures. The first restoration was carried out only in 1950. According to archival drawings, it was possible to restore the broken round lanterns, the wooden canvas of the bridge and the unique openwork lattice of the bridge.
Human vandalism always strikes sadly. For the sake of easy money people are ready to destroy even such unique architectural treasures. The wings of lions are covered with gold leaf and some thieves think they can get rich if they break off pieces of gold plating. But this layer is so thin that it is almost impossible to collect it. It just turns to gold dust.
Well, of course, decent, kind and not indifferent people are always much more. For example, during the next restoration in 2008, one of the residents of our city donated four rare books with sheets of gold leaf for the restoration of griffins "Bank Bridge".
All these restorations took place on the spot. And, only in 2017, the majestic winged lions for the first time in 200 years left their bridge and were sent to restoration workshops. These works wanted to be done a little earlier, but experts took time to get close to the secret of the locks of these mythical creatures. Inside it is hollow sculptures, but the weight of each of them is one and a half tons. They needed to understand how the parts of this complex engineering structure were connected.
Here, too, was not without surprises. Inside the hollow structures was found a treasure of rare coins and a lot of personal notes with wishes that people leave in the hope of fulfilling their dreams. After all, according to legend, which originated in the 19th century, it is believed that griffins can help become rich or solve financial difficulties. Well, I haven't tried to check it yet, but I think that the most important thing is to believe in your dream :))
And finally, in June of this year, fully restored griffins solemnly returned to their usual place. There are always crowds of tourists, visitors and residents. People come day and night. Around me there is a speech in different languages. It is almost impossible to make shots without the presence of people. Well, that's not a problem! I always have a good attitude to people who were able to travel long distances to see the beauty of my city. I know that tours to St. Petersburg are not cheap. Therefore, my special respect to all who decided on such a journey. Well, I - I can wait. After all, I can come here any day and any time of the year.
I walk along the canal , looking back over and over... In the rays of the bright sun these Golden wings so attract my eyes. There really is something mystical about it. The city is well over three hundred years old, but it is so young. It's like a connection of time ...
Thanks to everyone who took the time to visit my blog. I'll see you soon...
All photos are original and made with Camera SONY DSC-W350
