The Kivisild stone bridge played a key role in the emergence of Estonia as a country. The city of Tartu had been literally razed to rubble when Catherina II financed the rebuilding a city with a population of only 3200 inhabitants in 1776. To radically summarise Estonian history, as Tartu was rebuilt the University returned, Estonian language emerged and national identity awoke in Tartu, flourished after WWI only to be almost crushed after WWII, yet survived and blossomed again with the 21st century. That the Kivisild was a turning point in the fortunes of the Estonian people is not an exaggeration.
In 1775, a fire swept through Tartu which destroyed a significant portion of the city centre. Tsarina Catherine II allocated 12-15,000 rubles to the building of a bridge as part of the city’s restoration, later adding a further ten thousand to the sum. The Kivisild was designed to be the Empress’ gift to Tartu.
After a year of argument about the location it was decided that the bridge should be built at the head of the Suurturu (Town Hall Square) – a well-chosen site, as it complemented the classical style of architecture that was emerging in the city and was a stylish finishing touch to the square.
The location was equally well-chosen from an engineering point of view. It was at this point that the Emajõgi (Mother River) split into two streams around Holm Island, which enabled the river to be dammed and main construction work to take place on the drained river bed. Although Tartu had just been removed from the manifest of cities under the protection of the Russian Empire, its engineering brigade remained active in the area under the guidance of Lieutenant-Colonel Otto Christian von Schröder, and building work was directed from Riga by the Livonia-based Irish Governor-General George von Browne.
Prominent local figures were also brought in during the early stages of the project: Tartu architect J.H. Walther and engineering brigade architect J.C. Siegfrieden, as well as Tartu mason J. Zaklowsky. Walther drew up his budget for the three-arched stone bridge as early as the end of July 1775 and set it at 71,000 rubles. Governor-General Browne approved the sum and presented the plan to the Tsarina, stressing in his dispatch that the bridge should be built to last.
The same year in fact saw two simultaneous Kivisild projects – one led by Zaklowsky and the other by Siegfrieden. Both envisaged a bridge with two arches whose mid-section could be raised to allow the passage of vessels beneath. Zaklowsky’s was to be adorned with delicately wrought handrails and rococo elements, while Siegfrieden planned something simple and more classical with a larger balustrade. During preparations Zaklowsky simplified his design, bringing it closer to Siegfrieden’s, and it was this that came to be adopted. From it took shape two stone walls which would fasten the drawbridge’s fetters and through which thoroughfares would run, giving them the appearance of triumphal arches and adding to the bridge’s noble countenance.
The Kivisild was not the only thing to be designed or constructed in Tartu during this period; the razing of many of the city centre’s buildings had its positive side. It provided an opportunity to rectify the rambling medieval streetscape and begin construction of the highly regarded stone buildings still standing today.
Architecturally, the most significant constructions on Tartu’s central square became the new town hall at its broadest point and the Kivisild, the pièce de résistance of its perspective, at its narrowest.
Preparatory work on the bridge began in the winter of 1776. Building work required the main arm of the Emajõe River to be blocked with with two dams and directed around Holm Island. The dams themselves were surprisingly lightweight and this led to regular repairs as they continually gave way.
The upstream dam was completed in the autumn of 1779, and the downstream one in the spring of 1780. The foundations of the riverbank supports were completed in the spring of 1781. Work then began on the two pillars that would stand on the river bed.
One side became accessible by November 1781, for which carpenters had prepared the necessary equipment for erection of the bridge’s archways. The winter of 1782 was used for reinforcement of the river pillars, and was also when the building blocks cut to size from the local stone of manor houses in the vicinity started to arrive – of which almost 3000 were required. The finer craftsmanship required for the slabs and cornice stones saw them brought in from St. Petersburg.
Both of the bridge’s archs were built in the summer of 1782. The arch stones were coupled with iron brackets, themselves cast in lead at their insertion points to ensure the arch’s maximum strength. By late autumn the archways were complete and the spring of 1783 saw the emplacement of the slabs and cornice stones, the erection of the two stone walls for fastening the drawbridge’s fetters, and finally the installation of the raised bridge itself that would allow the passage of vessels beneath. Word was sent to Riga that the Kivisild was almost ready: a cobblestone road had been laid across the bridge as well as a stone-tiled pedestrian footpath, and scaffolding removed.
The same period saw general reinforcement and upkeep of the banks of Emajõe around the bridge, which had also been affixed with suitable access roads. On 3 September 1784, von Browne informed the Tartu city council that the main work on the Kivisild had been completed and that the bridge could open to traffic.
During its 150-year history the Kivisild itself was repaired and modified. The central span and lighting were upgraded over time. The original plan was for a double draw bridge at the centre but this may have only functioned in the early years of the bridge. Generally the local lodja boats berthed downriver beside the wood market. Later steamship connections were with Värska and Narva and there was not much need for larger boats to travel upriver of the Kivisild.
The central span was strengthened over time, eventually with iron girders and concrete to take the increasing motor and bus traffic of the mid-1920s. Electrical lighting and telephone wires also appeared on the triumphal arches around this time. The bridge was asphalted in 1928 around the time when the “Jewish market” was replaced with a new street and landscaping running along the northern river bank. Additional electrical light fixtures were mounted on bollards at the sides of the bridge, and concrete railings and steps were added.
The road was 5.6 m wide narrowing to 4 m at the portal arch. The footpath was 1.4 m wide, narrowing to 1.25 m at the portal arch.
The existing foundation of central piers, the base of arch and abutment foundations are all believed to be intact and could possibly be built upon again with minimum modification.
The Kivisild Foundation established in 1992 was active for a few years. Difficulties with fund raising and lack of support from the city government meant that the target date of 2005 for opening has passed with very little achieved.
The stone bridge remains an obviously missing element in the centre of Tartu.
Michael Walsh is a graphic designer from Ireland and has been living in Tartu, Estonia since 1992. An underlying element in his work is a search for a reinterpretation of design classics in a contemporary way which respects aesthetic heritage and craft. A manifesto with some results. Modern is embraced but fashion is avoided. “History has defined the known tricks and only sometimes do we get a chance to add a new one. Old ways have a logic to which new can be fitted (often best fitted) if it carries on the integrity of the old object. Researching the history of whatever is rewarding, while most garbage is modern and there is too much to be sorted yet. Production is a supply and demand result. Value of a thing is based on functional longevity rather than current popularity or scarcity.”
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