In St. Petersburg, the famous golden-winged lions (griffins) guarding the Bank Bridge had their paws pierced. Fontanka reported this on his Telegram channel.
Published photographs show that one of the faucets has a hole in the leg with cracks coming out of it. A reader of the Telegram channel reported that water entered the cavity of the paw and he himself tried to cover the hole. According to a witness, someone covered a similar “wound” with gum to the lion on the other bank.
The press service of the Committee for State Control, Use and Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments of the city government (KGIOP) reported that it was decided to contact the police about this fact.
“The KGIOP is preparing a statement to the police to initiate a criminal case” – said the RBC press service.
The Committee also added that the lions are property of the State Museum of Urban Sculpture.
The Bank Bridge or “Four Vultures Chain Footbridge on the Catalina Channel” was built in 1825-1826 to the design of a German bridge engineer. Wilhelm von Tretter.
The bridge was one of five suspension bridges created by engineer Tretter in the capital. Three have survived to this day: Bankovsky, Lviny and Pochtamtsky (all pedestrians). Historical structures are preserved in their original form only on the Bank Bridge.
A major restoration of the sculptures took place between 2017 and 2019; Before that, the taps were in poor condition due to numerous acts of vandalism. For the first time the sculptures were dismantled and restored in a workshop.
