Fontanka

Left branch of the river Neva in Saint Petersburg, Russia

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Water system of Ligovsky Canal

Legend

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Dudergofskoye lake

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Dudergofka River

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1718-1721

To Moskovskoye s. |  |

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Three highways interchange

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To Bronka

Three highways interchange

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Three highways interchange

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To seaport terminal

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To Predportovaya

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To Ulyanka, Ligovo

To Predportovaya

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To Leninsky Prospekt

To Predportovaya

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To Leninsky Prospekt

To Konstitutsii square

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To Leninsky Metro

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Krasnenkaya River

To Konstitutsii square

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To Avtovo

Moscow Gate Square |  |

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Tsarskoselskaya Railway |  |

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Kubinskaya Street

Obvodny

Y. V. Aqueduct |  |

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Aviatorov Pound

Znamenskya Square |  |

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Ponds

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Fontanka

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Ponds in Tauride Garden

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Steam pump

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Water inlet

1720s

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The Fontanka (Russian: Фонтанка), a left branch of the river Neva, flows through the whole of Central Saint Petersburg, Russia – from the Summer Garden to Gutuyevsky Island [ru]. It is 6.7 kilometres (4.2 mi) long, with a width up to 70 metres (230 ft), and a depth up to 3.5 metres (11 ft). The Moyka River forms a right-bank branch of the Fontanka. Lined along the Fontanka Embankment stand the former private residences of Russian nobility.

## Description

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Fontanka River Perspective. View to  Trinity Cathedral.

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mouth

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Fontanka course in central St Petersburg

The river, one of 93 rivers and  channels in Saint Petersburg, was once named Anonymous Creek (in Russian, Bezymyannyi Yerik, Безымянный ерик). In Russian, yerik is a secondary or intermittent river-channel (creek or brook). In 1719 the river received its present name, because water from it supplied the fountains of the Summer Garden.

Until the mid-18th century the Fontanka River marked the southern boundary of Saint Petersburg. Along its banks stood the spacious messuages of members of the  Russian Imperial Family and of the nobility, the most brilliant being the Summer Palace and the Anichkov Palace. In 1780–89, architect Andrey Kvasov supervised the construction of the granite embankments and approaches to the river. The river-bed was regularised as well.

Examples of Baroque architecture along the banks of the river include the Sheremetev Palace, Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace, Naryshkin-Shuvalov Palace, and the Church of St Panteleimon (built 1735–1739). Notable Neoclassical structures from the 18th century include the Catherine Institute [ru], the Anichkov Palace and the Yusupov Palace on Sadovaya Street [ru].

Some of the mansions contain museums of the writers and composers who lived there: Gavrila Derzhavin (1743–1816), Alexander Pushkin (1799–1837), Ivan Turgenev (1818–1833), Anna Akhmatova (1889–1966) and others.

Fifteen bridges span the Fontanka, including the 18th-century Lomonosov Bridge and the extravagant Egyptian Bridge. The most famous bridge, the Anichkov Bridge, carries the Nevsky Prospekt over the river.

Panorama of Fontanka centred on St Panteleimon's Bridge and Summer Garden behind it

## See also

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* List of bridges in Saint Petersburg

## References

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* Канн П. Я. Прогулки по Петербургу: Вдоль Мойки, Фонтанки, Садовой. St. Petersburg, 1994.

## External links

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* Media related to Fontanka River at Wikimedia Commons

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Rivers and canals of Saint Petersburg

* Admiralteysky Canal
* Admiralteysky Rov
* Bezymyanny ruchey
* Bobilka
* Bolshaya Izhorka
* Bumazhny Canal
* Chyornaya Rechka
* Chyornaya, Lakhta
* Chyornaya, Serovo
* Chyornaya, Sestroretsk
* Dachnaya
* Dudergofka
* Dudergofsky Canal
* Fontanka
* Frantsuzsky Kovsh
* Galernaya Gavan
* Glukharka
* Gorely Ruchey
* Great Neva
* Great Nevka
* Griboyedov Canal
* Ivanovka
* Izhora
* Kamenka
* Karpovka
* Kovsh Novoy Gollandii
* Krasnenkaya
* Krestovka
* Kronverksky Canal
* Kronverksky Strait
* Kryukov Canal
* Lapka
* Ligovsky Canal
* Ligovsky Pond †
* Little Neva
* Little Nevka
* Lubya
* Matisov Canal
* Middle Nevka
* Monastyrka
* Morskoy Canal
* Moyka
* Murinsky ruchey
* Murzinka
* Nagorny Canal
* Neva
* Novaya
* Novo-Admiralteysky Canal
* Obvodny Canal
* Okhta
* Okkervil
* Pryazhka
* Red Canal †
* Saint Petersburg Fortress Canal †
* Salnobuyansky Canal
* Seldyanoy Canal †
* Sestra
* Shkipersky Canal
* Slavyanka
* Smolenka
* Spartak
* Swan Canal
* Starozhilovka
* Tarakanovka
* Utka
* Volkovka
* Volkovsky Canal
* Voskresensky Canal
* Vvedensky Canal †
* Winter Canal
* Yekateringofka
* Yemelyanovka
* Yuntolovka
* Zhdanovka

59°55′00″N 30°16′42″E﻿ / ﻿59.91667°N 30.27833°E﻿ / 59.91667; 30.27833
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