Winged lions on the Bank Bridge (St. Petersburg)

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Monument and symbol of St. Petersburg Bank Bridge is one of the 3 chain pedestrian bridges, together with the Lion and the Post Office, preserved in St. Petersburg. The Bank Bridge spans the Griboyedov Canal and connects the Kazan and Spassky Islands and is an outstanding monument of bridge-building architecture of the 1st quarter of the XIX century. It is known for its unique architectural solution far beyond the borders of the Northern Capital. The chains holding the bridge are fixed inside 4 mythical winged lions placed at the corners of the crossing. The bridge with the image of these animals has become one of the symbols of St. Petersburg. The cast figures of winged lions, often mistakenly referred to as griffins, were made by the sculptor Pyotr Pavlovich Sokolov. According to ancient Greek mythology, winged lions are reliable guardians of treasures. Therefore, they were chosen as the decorative design of the bridge near the bank building.