In October of 2003, the Town Council, otherwise completely unengaged in
preserving and restoring Tilsit's historic landmarks, suddenly decided to
inject funds into restoration work on Queen Louise Bridge over river Neman.
Perhaps this is due to the fact that the bridge became the state border crossing
point after the demise of the USSR in 1991 and Neman now marks Lithuanian-Russian
border, so the construction work bears a special, symbolic significance.
There is huge international transit auto traffic that passes through the gate, and that
might also be a factor behind the local government's sudden interest in town history.
If you drive on any route that involves crossing into Lithuania through Tilsit, you
will have plenty of time to sightsee this interesting new development, as border delays
are causing multi-mile traffic jams with cars all lined up on a nearby square and
facing the bridge directly.
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Finally, this picture shows the completed work as of December 1st, 2003.
The Town Council deserves a credit - the bridge has never looked so beautiful probably since
the time it was built. This is great restoration work.
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