Griboyedov Canal

Coordinates: 59°55′58″N 30°19′30″E / 59.9327°N 30.3251°E

Griboyedov Canal at night

Griboyedov Canal or Kanal Griboyedova (Russian: кана́л Грибое́дова) is a canal in Saint Petersburg, constructed in 1739 on the basis of the existing river Krivusha. In 1764–90, the canal was deepened, and the banks were reinforced and covered with granite.

Griboyedov Canal starts from the Moyka River near the Field of Mars. It flows into the Fontanka River. Its length is 5 kilometres (3 mi), with a width of 32 metres (105 ft).

Before 1923 it was called Catherine Canal, after the empress Catherine the Great, during whose rule it was deepened. The Communist authorities renamed it after the Russian playwright and diplomat Alexandr Griboyedov.

The canal is also considered a street; Naberezhnaya Kanala Griboyedova (The Griboyedov Canal Quay), although the St. Peterburgians just say Kanal Griboyedova, Griboyedov's Canal.

Bridges

There are 21 bridges across the canal:

• Theater Bridge
• Novo-Konyushenny Bridge
• Italian Bridge
• Kazansky Bridge
• Bank Bridge
• Flour Bridge

The Demidov Bridge across the canal

• Stone Bridge
• Demidov Bridge
• Hay Bridge
• Kokushkin Bridge
• Voznesensky Bridge
• Podyachensky Bridge
• Bridge of Four Lions
• Kharlamov Bridge
• Novo-Nikolsky Bridge
• Krasnogvardeysky Bridge
• Pikalov Bridge
• Mogilyovsky Bridge

• Alarchin Bridge
• Kolomensky Bridge
• Malo-Kalinkin Bridge

Cultural references

Griboedov Canal appears on the cover of the 2011 contemporary classical album Troika.^[1]

References

1. "Troika: Russia’s westerly poetry in three orchestral song cycles", Rideau Rouge Records, ASIN: B005USB24A, 2011.