In 1727, a pontoon bridge was constructed near the place where The Bronze Horseman monument stands. After the construction of Nikolayevsky Bridge (the Lieutenant Schmidt Bridge) the pontoon was moved to the Winter Palace.
In 1901, the competition of permanent bridge projects was announced. After reviewing 27 different proposals, a committee awarded the project to famous Russian engineer A. Pshenitskiy. The architectural decoration by the order of Art Academy was commissioned to architect R. Meltzer. Construction of the new Palace Bridge began in 1912.
The Palace Bridge was officially opened to traffic in 1916 though in that time its decorations including the pavilions and lamps were not complete. The construction was carried out in the time of World War I, and this is the main reason why the bridge hasn't got the proper architectural design and decoration. But Pshenitskiy and Meltzer have succeeded in right proportions and forms so the bridge harmonically combines with architectural ensembles of Palace and University embankments and is considered to be a great monument of the early 20th century Russian architectural art.
In 1939, the temporary wooden barriers were replaced with metal railings created by architect L. Noskov and sculptor I. Krestovskiy.
The bridge is 250 meters long and 28 meters wide. Its design is actually quite simple. The drawbridge is composed of five separate spans with two of the middle spans opening up at relatively wide angles to allow sea vessels to pass underneath.
Nowadays this bridge suffers from large amount of traffic. More than 24,000 cars cross the bridge each day, making the Palace Bridge the busiest bridge in the Northern capital of Russia.
Nevertheless, today the Palace Bridge is probably the most famous one due to the spectacular view it creates while drawing up at famous White nights and in the early morning hours. The silhouette of two raised bridge platforms with the thin golden spire of St. Peter and Paul Cathedral rising in the background is one of the landmark views of the city and is really worth seeing.