Bridges often appear on banknotes because they symbolize stability and reliability, the very qualities people expect from a national currency. When European currencies were unified into the euro, bridges of different styles and eras were placed on the reverse side of all denominations from 5 to 500 euros.

Russian rubles also feature bridges. The 10-ruble note shows the Kommunalny Bridge over the Yenisey in Krasnoyarsk, opened on October 17, 1961. The 5,000-ruble note depicts the Khabarovsk Bridge over the Amur, opened on October 18, 1916. The 2,000-ruble note features the Russky Bridge, connecting Vladivostok with Russky Island, opened on August 1, 2012.

On October 16, the Central Bank introduced updated designs for the 1,000- and 5,000-ruble notes. The new 5,000-ruble note no longer includes a bridge, but the 1,000-ruble note does. It shows a bridge built by Mostootryad-1, a GC NPS subsidiary, in Nizhny Novgorod.

A bridge once stood near the Nikolskaya Tower of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin, which served as a gateway. The original wooden drawbridge eventually fell apart and was dismantled.

During the Kremlin’s restoration in 1982, a new pedestrian bridge was built by F. F. Reshalov’s team and opened on August 27, 1982. Forty-one years later, it was featured on the new banknote.

Two days after the presentation, the Central Bank suspended printing and recalled the 1,000-ruble note for revisions concerning the reverse side. There were no issues with the front, so we hope our bridge will stay on it.

P.S. Our bridge is now in circulation, no toll required!

🖨️🌁🪙

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Every English child, and not only English ones, knows the traditional nursery rhyme “London Bridge Is Falling Down.” It was first published in 1718, though it had existed long before that, as historians believe it was composed after the bridge collapse of 1633.

The lyrics have changed many times over the centuries, and they continue to evolve even today, but the original version describes four attempts to rebuild the bridge using different materials. Wood and clay are washed away by water, brick and mortar do not last long, and even iron and steel can bend, so in the end the song suggests building the bridge from silver and gold.

Fine materials indeed, resistant to both time and water, but prone to theft. Therefore, the song advises setting up round-the-clock guards at the construction site. To make sure the watchmen stay awake, this 18th-century children’s rhyme recommends providing them with pipes and tobacco so they can smoke through the night.

Unsurprisingly, any mention of tobacco has disappeared from modern video adaptations of the song. Another modern confusion is that the Tower Bridge, built in 1894 and never once fallen, is often shown to children instead of the real London Bridge.

The original London Bridge was the only bridge across the Thames in the city from 1209 to 1750, and that monopoly brought plenty of silver and gold into the city’s treasury. It collapsed and burned down several times, but was always rebuilt. Unfortunately, the modern London Bridge, opened in 1973, looks rather plain, hardly the kind of bridge one would make a charming children’s song about.

P.S. Still no sign of silver or gold, just pigeons...

🚸🎶🏆

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In 1503, Leonardo da Vinci ventured into the countryside near Arezzo to sketch the landscape. He was captivated by an old Roman bridge spanning the Arno River, with its four arches and the winding road leading up to it. “How beautiful,” he reportedly said, setting up his canvas to capture the scene.

Just then, a message arrived from his workshop: a wealthy client had come and requested a portrait. “Again,” Leonardo sighed, tucked the sketch under his arm, and returned to town.

According to Italian historian Silvano Vinceti, who recently identified the ruins of the bridge in Leonardo’s painting, this moment may have influenced the creation of the “Mona Lisa.” Only one of the original four arches remains, yet it was enough for the Romito di Laterina Bridge to earn its own Wikipedia page.

Leonardo was not only a master painter but also an innovative engineer. In his notes from 1502, he designed a bridge for the Sultan of Turkey, a concept that was finally realized in the 21st century.

If anyone could prove that building bridges is an art, it was Leonardo. And anyone who has seen Earth from orbit knows that roads can be art as well. At night, the glowing network of highways forms the largest artwork on the planet.

P.S. If Leonardo had Google Maps, he’d still take the scenic route.

🛤️🧑‍🎨📜

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What a spooky day today...

In many myths and legends, the border between the living and the dead runs along a river. A narrow bridge stretches across it, allowing souls to pass into eternal bliss.

The Norse called it Gjallarbrú, the Arabs As-Sirāt, and the Persians Chinvat. All were one-way and perilously thin, which often led to celestial traffic jams and the occasional soul slipping into the river below.

In Russian mythology, the same role belonged to the Kalinov Bridge over the fiery Smorodina River. The name doesn't come from the berry, but from smrad, the stench of burning sulfur. And Kalina here recalls Kalina the Tsar, ruler of the underworld.

In Russian fairy tales, the Kalinov Bridge often becomes a battlefield. The hero, usually a warrior named Ivan, must stop a many-headed monster trying to cross from the world of the dead into the world of the living.

So the Kalinov Bridge clearly has two lanes of traffic, since the creature must be coming from the opposite direction. It is far sturdier than its foreign counterparts, holding both heroes in armor and beasts from the abyss.

P.S. Rest assured, all NPS-built bridges are monster-free.

🦸🏼‍♂️🪽 🚧

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At the end of the 18th century, the chinoiserie style became fashionable throughout Europe and Russia. Derived from the French word for "Chinese" the term described art, decorative objects, and engravings imported from China.

European monarchs in France, Sweden, and Russia were key promoters of Chinese culture. Their palaces and country estates often featured “Chinese villages” complete with pagodas, gateways, and bridges inspired by the architecture of Beijing’s Forbidden City.

Gateways and bridges built in this style often symbolized a full moon. The gates featured rounded arches, while the bridges were designed so that their reflection in the water formed a perfect circle. A famous example of this is the Jade Belt Bridge in Beijing’s Summer Palace, built in the mid-18th century.

In Russia, such moon bridges were constructed in the Chinese Village at Tsarskoye Selo and on the estate at Tsaritsyno near Moscow during the reign of Catherine the Great.

True to their Chinese inspiration, these structures were designed more for aesthetic beauty than for practical use.

P.S. Full moons don't have to be fleeting.

🎐🌚🪞


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Edvard Munch is still one of the most fascinating figures in modern art. Born in Norway in 1863, he changed how people see emotion in painting. The Scream became a symbol of fear and human vulnerability, and even now it feels surprisingly modern.

Munch also had a quieter side. He often painted bridges and roads, using them as symbols of change and reflection.

One of his most poetic works, Girls on the Bridge, was created in the small coastal town of Åsgårdstrand, where he spent many summers. The bridge in the painting was real, but it is long gone. One of the most beautiful versions of Girls on the Bridge belongs to Moscow’s Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts.

The setting for The Scream was real too, on a road near Oslo’s Ekeberg Hill. Looking out over the city and the fjord, Munch once wrote that he felt “a great scream passing through nature.” Today the site is marked for visitors.

He painted several versions of both The Scream and Girls on the Bridge, returning to the same images again and again. Each version seems like another attempt to grasp the fragile balance between calm and unease, beauty and fear.

For Munch, bridges and roads were never just scenery. They were moments when life seemed to stop and show its true feeling.

P.S. Turning infrastructure into introspection.

😱🎢🖼

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Until July 6, 1838, there were few options for paving city streets.

Cobblestone roads were bumpy and unpleasant, though they lasted a long time. Stone blocks were too costly for city budgets and required a great deal of labor to lay. Wooden block pavements looked elegant but didn't last long under heavy rain. Something new was needed.

The first Russian asphalt appeared as the result of a bold experiment. It was tested in St. Petersburg on the sidewalk near St. Isaac’s Cathedral. A 100-meter stretch was first laid with bricks, then covered with a molten asphalt mixture combined with pieces of granite. The result was promising.

That is how, in 1838, a novel type of pavement appeared in Russia. Modern roads are now impossible to imagine without it.

The author of the experiment, Franz Buttatz, was a skilled engineer and experienced designer. He took part in the construction of several bridges, including the Anichkov Bridge. Just two years later, the Moscow City Duma commissioned him to pave Tverskaya Street with asphalt, allocating a budget of 50,000 rubles.

This marked the beginning of asphalt’s triumphant journey across Russia.

P.S. The method stuck, quite literally.

🧱🗿🏘

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They say there’s no such thing as bad weather. Try telling that to British railway workers. The railways of the Foggy Albion are as weather-sensitive as an arthritic knee. In winter, trains are stopped by the “wrong kind of snow,” and in autumn, by falling leaves.

Every year, to the rhythm of a Boston waltz, thousands of leaves settle on the tracks. The passing trains crush them into a slick, slippery paste that reduces wheel traction and makes braking difficult. The leaf residue also interferes with systems that track train locations, preventing dispatchers from maintaining safe intervals between trains.

When the forests turn amber, the British send out crews to clear the rails by hand. Special cleaning trains are dispatched as well. They wash the golden carpet from the tracks with powerful jets of water and then coat the rails with a gel made from sand and steel particles. Artificial intelligence helps monitor the condition of the tracks.

When even these efforts aren’t enough, some routes switch to special autumn timetables with longer intervals between trains. This gives drivers more time for careful maneuvering.

The delays hardly make passengers happy. For them, the seasonal battle with linden and poplar leaves is just another reason to joke, and the familiar excuse about “leaves on the line” sounds like little more than a feeble alibi.

P.S. Foliage fleetly foiling fast fares... try saying that ten times fast!

🍂🧹🚂

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November has settled in.

The air feels fresh and calm, carrying the clean scent of rain. As days grow shorter, muted light persists with a quiet warmth, softening everything it touches. Bare trees stand clear against a pale sky, and the ground glows with the color of old leaves.

It is a steady, peaceful time. Summer’s noise has faded, and the chill of winter lingers just beyond the horizon. The world feels balanced and ready for the season ahead.

🍁🪾🌧️

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