The St. Isaac's Floating Bridge — engraving

"The Bridge & Church of S. Isaac. Petersburg".

Technique, Material:   Steel engraving / Paper
Artist: D. Bydgoszoz,  Engraver: Albert Henry Payne
Date, Publisher: Brain & Payne, 12 Paternoster Row, London, "Payne's Universum, or, Pictorial World", 1845–1847.
Size: sheet 27x21, image  15x11 cm.

This engraving presents a winter view of St. Petersburg from Vasilievsky Island, capturing Senate Square with the famous Bronze Horseman (monument to Peter the Great), the majestic St. Isaac's Cathedral in the background, and the temporary floating bridge across the Neva River — the first crossing to connect Vasilievsky Island with the central part of the city.

The bridge depicted is the famous St. Isaac's Floating Bridge, the first bridge across the Neva, which operated from 1727 to 1916. It was a pontoon bridge consisting of wooden barges (plashkouts) connected by beams, located near the site where the Bronze Horseman stands today. Originally built by order of Prince Menshikov to connect his palace on Vasilievsky Island with the Admiralty side, the bridge quickly became a vital artery of the city.

Until 1754, crossing the bridge was subject to a toll:

Pedestrians paid 1 kopeck

Horse riders paid 2 kopecks

Carriages paid 5 kopecks

Only palace carriages, court couriers, ceremony participants, and fire brigades crossed for free. This toll system perfectly explains the scene visible in the engraving: wealthy citizens could afford to use the bridge, while the poor often crossed the river on the ice during winter to avoid paying. The revenue from the bridge toll was so substantial that, according to some accounts, it helped fund the construction of St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral.

The toll was abolished in 1754 by Empress Elizabeth Petrovna to celebrate the birth of the future Emperor Paul I.

This engraving was printed in London by the publishing house Brain & Payne, 12 Paternoster Row.

Brain & Payne was a short-lived partnership between E.T. Brain and Albert Henry Payne, active specifically in 1846 at the London address of 12 Paternoster Row, as well as in Leipzig. Payne had founded the "English Art Institution" (Englische Kunst-Anstalt) with Brain in 1845, specializing in individual engravings, illustrated family magazines, calendars, and musical literature. The partnership lasted only until 1846, after which Payne continued the business alone in Leipzig.

Thus, this engraving was published in 1846, making it a mid-19th century view of St. Petersburg. It is also worth noting that the dome of St. Isaac's Cathedral depicted in the engraving may not yet have existed (it was completed in 1858), and the artist may have simply added it to complete the composition.

This engraving is not merely a topographical view but a document of daily life, capturing the intersection of architecture, social history, and urban development in 19th-century St. Petersburg.