Kontorska Street is not just about the historic buildings you can touch. It also encompasses layers of history that have long since vanished physically but remain in the memories of researchers and some of the street’s residents. For example, Kontorsky Bridge, or as it was sometimes called, Maly Lopansky Bridge.

It connected Kontorskaya Square with Sergeevskaya and Pavlovskaya Squares and served as a major thoroughfare in the city.

The bridge was built in 1888 with the assistance of the Mutual Credit Society of Clerks, as well as the property owners of Kontorskaya Street—Burkevich and Enurovsky.

Like most other bridges in Kharkiv at the time, this bridge was made of wood. Such bridges were significantly cheaper than stone or iron ones, but the wooden structure required frequent maintenance and repairs, and the bridges were vulnerable to flooding and ice drifts. The Kontorsky Bridge was flimsy; moreover, it was sloped at the ends. As reported in the press, due to its shape, the bridge became a “torture device” for horses pulling heavy carts in bad weather. They struggled to navigate the bridge’s slope, often slipping on the mud and falling, which led the public to demand that the bridge be paved with stone.

Despite its shortcomings, the Kontorsky Bridge has effectively relieved traffic on the Lopansky Bridge and improved transportation in the city center.

In January 1918, the Bolsheviks staged a sort of “battle for Kontorsky Bridge” among themselves. Revolutionary Kronstadt sailors accused the city’s “Red” leadership of drunkenness at the “Versailles” restaurant at Kontorska Street, 1; each side called for reinforcements and opened fire from both sides of the bridge.

Originally, the bridge ran parallel to the Lopanskiy Bridge and the north facade of the massive Grand Hotel, which was destroyed during World War II.

However, sometime in the late 1930s, the bridge came to run perpendicular to the embankment. This may have been due to the higher volume of traffic toward Banny and Torgovy Lanes (now Strelka Square) and the fact that a bridge positioned at a 90-degree angle to the river was more reliable and durable.

Unfortunately, the bridge did not survive World War II either; it is no longer shown on the German map from 1942.

It was not restored later either, although, overall, a pedestrian version of the rebuilt Kontorsky Bridge could fit quite well into the street revitalization plan. However, it is best left to the Kharkiv public and professional urban planners to decide whether this bridge is needed at this time.