Winter Canal is a canal in Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...

, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, connecting Bolshaya Neva

Bolshaya Neva

Bolshaya Neva is the largest armlet of Neva river. It starts near the Vasilievsky Island's Strelka .The length of Bolshaya Neva is 3.5 km, the width is from 200 to 400 meters, depth up to 12.8 meters...

 with Moika River

Moika River

The Moyka River is a small river which encircles the central portion of Saint Petersburg, effectively making it an island. The river, originally known as Mya, derives its name from the Ingrian word for "slush, mire"...

 in the vicinity of Winter Palace

Winter Palace

The Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia, was, from 1732 to 1917, the official residence of the Russian monarchs. Situated between the Palace Embankment and the Palace Square, adjacent to the site of Peter the Great's original Winter Palace, the present and fourth Winter Palace was built and...

.

The canal was dug in 1718-1719. Its length is only 228 metres, which makes it one of the shortest canals in the city. The width is about 20 metres.

The granite embankment was built in 1782-84, and railings designed by sculptor I.F.Dunker were added at the same time. The special picturesqueness to the canal is added by the arch

Arch

An arch is a structure that spans a space and supports a load. Arches appeared as early as the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamian brick architecture and their systematic use started with the Ancient Romans who were the first to apply the technique to a wide range of structures.-Technical aspects:The...

 connecting Old Hermitage

Hermitage Museum

The State Hermitage is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. One of the largest and oldest museums of the world, it was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great and has been opened to the public since 1852. Its collections, of which only a small part is on permanent display,...

 and Hermitage Theater, built by architect Yury Felten

Yury Felten

Yury Matveyevich Felten was a court architect to Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia.Yuri Felten was born Georg Veldten, into a family of German immigrants in Russia. His father worked for the Russian Academy of Sciences...

 next to the Hermitage Bridge

Hermitage Bridge

The Hermitage Bridge is a bridge across the Winter Canal along Palace Embankment in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The bridge constitutes part of the Hermitage and Winter Palace ensemble.- Ground location :...

.

Names

Originally the canal was named Old Palace Canal . From 1780 it was called either Winter House Canal or Winter Palace Canal . Townspeople started to call it simply (meaning Winter Canal), and in 1828 the canal was officially renamed to its current name - Winter Canal .

Bridges

There are three bridges across Winter Canal:

• Hermitage Bridge
  Hermitage Bridge
  The Hermitage Bridge is a bridge across the Winter Canal along Palace Embankment in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The bridge constitutes part of the Hermitage and Winter Palace ensemble.- Ground location :...
  
   (along Palace Embankment
  Palace Embankment
  The Palace Embankment or Palace Quay is a street along the Neva River in Central Saint Petersburg which contains the complex of the Hermitage Museum buildings , the Hermitage Theatre, the Marble Palace, the Vladimir Palace, the New Michael Palace and the Summer Garden.The street was laid out...
  
  )
• First Winter Bridge (along Millionnaya Street
  Millionnaya Street
  Millionnaya Street is a street in the Central District of St. Petersburg. It runs parallel to the Palace Quay from the Swan Canal to the Palace Square...
  
  )
• Second Winter Bridge (along Moika River
  Moika River
  The Moyka River is a small river which encircles the central portion of Saint Petersburg, effectively making it an island. The river, originally known as Mya, derives its name from the Ingrian word for "slush, mire"...
  
  Embankment)