City
White nights
White Night
The "white nights" is one of Petersburg's specific feature. They begin on May 25-26, when the light evening dusk merge with morning. These days the sun almost doesn't let down the horizon, that's why the darkness never comes. The white nights are the whitest on June 20-22. During these days the length of the day is about 19 hours. After three days of solstice the length of the day begins reduce. July 16-17 considered being the end of "White nights".
When bridges over the Neva are drawn, and the day noise dies away, St. Petersburg clear off the touch of everydayness and its authentic image appears – whether during the White nights' period or during a simple night, when piles of palaces proudly dominate the embankments in spot-lights and in light of the romantic St. Petersburg lanterns. During the night excursion history of each architectural ensemble or monument seems especially important
It is impossible to imagine St.Petersburg now without the numerous bridges, which connect all the islands to each other. For that reason, St.Petersburg is called "the city of bridges".
St.Petersburg has more bridges than any other city in the world. At present they number 342 in the city. This is significantly more than the number of bridges in such cities as Venice, Stockholm, and Amsterdam, which are also famous for their bridges.
The bridges are so different - they are big and small, of various constructions, made of many kinds of materials. Each bridge has its own character, its own legends, its own history, and its own life, which sometimes means that it has to die and to be born again. Every story adds a page to the history of the city.
The bridges of St.Petersburg are more than communication, engineering, and technical structures. They are pieces of artwork. St. Petersburg, often called "the museum of bridges", has become an encyclopedia of the history of Russian bridge building and architecture of the last two hundred and fifty years. The "encyclopedia" has "living" illustrations, depicting both small 18th-century stone and wooden bridges, and modern giants made of steel and concrete.
Those who have watched the opening at night of the drawbridges in St.Petersburg will never forget the enchanting spectacle. In the wee hours of the night the noisy city is just falling asleep, the streets are emptying of crowds and vehicles, and the late sun is still lightly touching the Neva. It feels as if someone is enveloping the light with a veil. And then, in silence, the spans of the bridges, weighing hundreds of tons, lift slowly and solemnly up into the sky, like the wings of a giant bird. Dozens of people, gathered on the embankment, excited, follow the eerie levitation with their eyes.