Bagration Bridge

The unique Bagration shopping and pedestrian bridge spans the Moskva River, connecting its banks and launching the most grandiose urban development project in Moscow – the construction of an entire block of Moscow-City skyscrapers. Today, this futuristic structure has the address Krasnopresnenskaya Embankment, 16, building 1 and unites the Vystavochnaya metro station with Tower 2000 into a single whole.

History of creation

The Bagration Bridge is one of the few Moscow-City objects that were built in accordance with the original concept of the mastermind behind the entire project, B. I. Thor. Its construction was planned back in the early 1990s, but due to a lack of funds, construction of the bridge began only several years later. Since the construction of the skyscraper complex of the future Moscow International Business Center had already been approved, the need to create a bridge that would provide direct access to the future concentration of business life in the capital became very acute.

The team from Workshop No. 6 of Mosproekt-2, under the leadership of Boris Ivanovich Thor himself, worked on the creation of the project for a grand pedestrian bridge across the Moscow River. V. I. Traush served as the designer for this project. Incidentally, the bridge was named after the commander Pyotr Bagration, who commanded the 2nd Western Army at the beginning of the war of 1812.

Thus, the Bagration Bridge became the first structure from which the entire history of the creation of Moscow-City began. Its opening was timed to coincide with the 850th anniversary of Moscow, celebrated in September 1997, and almost immediately it became one of the most striking capital attractions. The former mayor of the capital, Yuri Luzhkov, took direct part in this event. He walked with pleasure through the galleries of the structure on the opening day, appreciated the convenience of movement and paid tribute to the skill of the architects.

Although for modern society the transformation of a bridge into a large trading platform is relatively extravagant, it is not new. Something similar was practiced several thousand years ago in Ancient Rome, as well as in the Middle Ages. Perhaps it was from the origins of history that B. I. Thor borrowed the idea of creating a trade and pedestrian bridge, where there would be many retail outlets, and passers-by would be completely protected from bad weather and would be able to shop in comfortable conditions on their way to work.

In 2004, it was transferred under the management of the company "Miosor", which at that time already managed the complex Tower-2000. In the autumn of the same year, in the vestibule of the bridge, located on the side of Krasnopresnenskaya Embankment, the opening of the sculptural composition "Tree of Life" took place, created by the light hand of Ernst Neizvestny. It is a 7-meter tree, in the crown of which one can discern a portrait of Yuri Gagarin, a Christian crucifix, erotic symbols, the outline of Buddha, a Mobius strip and even biblical scenes. "Tree of Life" was a gift from the world-famous sculptor to Moscow and one of his few works that can be seen for free.

In 2008, a decision was made to insure the bridge. The contract was concluded with Oranta Insurance, the maximum insurance payment of which was 300 million rubles. But at the very beginning of 2016, the insurance obligations were transferred to Rosgosstrakh, and the total cost of the contract was 771.4 thousand rubles.

The Bagration Bridge underwent reconstruction in 2019. It did not involve changing any structural features, but rather updating the interiors and the overall design concept of the galleries.

History of construction

The construction of the Bagration Bridge was repeatedly postponed due to a lack of funds and the need to carry out a large complex of works, because the territory of the future Moscow-City at that time of construction was a huge industrial zone. Therefore, to carry out the work it was necessary to completely dismantle the equipment from 22 enterprises located there and take care of the garbage. This problem was solved relatively quickly, and the dedicated work of the workers allowed the construction to be completed within the allotted time.

The Bagration Bridge is a triangular-shaped span structure located 14 m above the river. It is 12 m high, 16 m wide and 214 m long. It is built of glass and concrete in the same architectural style as most of the skyscrapers of today's Moscow City and is equipped with modern:

· supply and exhaust ventilation from York;

· heating and air conditioning systems;

· Thyssen elevators and escalators;

· fire safety system with automatic alarm system;

· indoor and outdoor video surveillance cameras.

In addition, the Bagration Bridge is equipped with a Johnson Control dispatching system. And a security service monitors the safety of pedestrians 24 hours a day. Thus, the designers thought through every detail when creating this crossing over the Moscow River, right down to the heating during the cold season.

Bagration Bridge today

The construction and opening of the Bagration Bridge was an important milestone in the history of Moscow, as it laid the foundation stone for the construction of the bustling Moscow City that we know today. Now it is a busy shopping and pedestrian bridge, open to everyone from early morning until late at night: on odd days from 05:25 to 02:00, and on even days from 05:35 to 02:00. But you can only get to the Vystavochnaya metro station through it until 23:30. At the same time, moving across the bridge is absolutely free.

Bagration is a steel truss span bridge with a total area of 13.6 thousand square meters, of which about 4 thousand square meters are given over to commercial areas. The main span of the bridge stretches for 147 meters and has two full levels connected by stairs, elevators and escalators. The spacious lower tier is given over to a covered gallery with travellators, i.e. horizontal moving belts to speed up and facilitate the movement of pedestrians between the two banks of the Moskva River. It is completely glazed and performs exclusively transport functions. But at the same time, modern travellators allow you to admire the opening panorama of the city and safely move from the right bank of the Moskva River to the left and vice versa.

But the second level of the Bagration Bridge is only partially glazed. It has its own open-air observation deck, which offers a stunning view of modern Moscow City. From it, you can admire the impressive futuristic architecture of skyscrapers, as well as a breathtaking panorama of the central part of the city. From the observation deck of the bridge, you can see the city hall building, nicknamed the book by Muscovites, the Ukraine Hotel, the Expocentre, not to mention the river. But it is open to visitors only in the warm season.

The bridge vestibule flows smoothly into the exit of the Vystavochnaya metro station from the Krasnopresnenskaya Embankment, and the end facing the right bank is connected to the Tower-2000. Today, it often hosts various exhibitions and events, and the following are permanently operating in the Bagration Bridge galleries:

· a variety of boutiques and shops where you can buy everything from food, household goods and souvenirs to jewelry;

· various cafes;

· CoralTravel travel agency;

· bank branches;

· Hyosung dealership;

· ARTZagar tanning studio;

· various coffee shops, including the popular Coffee Most, Ramen Club and others;

· Pegasus recruitment agency;

· Shipping company "Dolphin" etc.

Right next to the Bagration Bridge on Krasnopresnenskaya Embankment there is a pier of the same name, and on the opposite side there is a pier called "Taras Shevchenko Embankment". Both are intended for mooring motor ships. The "Bagration Bridge" pier is located in the Dragomilov area, 500 m from the shopping and pedestrian bridge itself. Vessels can be moored there only by agreement with the management and for a fee. Due to this, in such a busy place, despite the dense load, there are no traffic jams, and people often disembark at the pier both for a walk in the city park "Krasnaya Presnya" and shopping in the shopping center "Afimall", and for other purposes. The pier itself, its ramps and approaches compare favorably with many others with their modern appearance and strict compliance with the requirements for organizing passenger comfort.

There is another pier on the Krasnopresnenskaya embankment side – “International Exhibition”. It is intended for pleasure boats, with the help of which everyone can take a fascinating river cruise along the Moscow River with full service.

The bridge has a 4-level underground parking lot, designed for more than 300 cars, as well as an above-ground parking lot, capable of accommodating about 70 cars. You can leave your personal transport there if you drive up to the bridge construction via the Third Transport Ring. In general, you can get to the Bagration Bridge in any convenient way: on foot along Krasnopresnenskaya Embankment, from the Expocentre, using the metro or ground public transport.

Interesting facts and features

Over more than 20 years of its existence, the bridge has repeatedly become a venue for various exhibitions. Thus, in 2004, its gallery hosted an exhibition of Harley Davidson motorcycles, which brought together not only many residents of Moscow, but also other cities. In addition, on the eve of the celebration of the onset of 2015, its gallery hosted an "Eco-exhibition". It presented various groups of goods that are completely environmentally friendly, including food, clothing, footwear, vitamin complexes, etc.

More than 12 thousand people visit the Bagration Bridge every day. The vast majority of them are people working in the Moscow City skyscrapers or guests of these towers. But tourists also love to admire the unique structure and stroll through its galleries, and newlyweds often choose this location for a wedding photo shoot.