If you want to enjoy a breathtaking scene of the city, seal your love with a padlock, or engage in the longest kiss ever, take a walk across one of Moscow’s ancient bridges.

In total, the Russian capital has more than 500 of them over the Moscow River and the city’s other waterways. RT has reviewed the most interesting ones.

Bolshoy Kamenny, or the Great Stone Bridge, made history as Moscow’s first permanent bridge. For centuries, to cross to the other side Muscovites used rafts stacked together, but the temporary structures were easily taken apart when the river froze over or in times of enemy raids. So, in 1643, works began to build the city’s first stone bridge.

Construction dragged on for almost 50 years, but when finally finished the bridge became Moscow’s biggest attraction. When in the 19th century it was decided to rebuild the structure, many Muscovites bitterly regretted the destruction of their beloved landmark. The Tsarists then gave way to the Soviets – in 1938 the third and the latest version was built.

The legendary bridge has even made its contribution to every Russian’s key ID document – the view of the Kremlin featured inside the Russian passport is exactly the view you get from the Great Stone Bridge.

If it is not history but romance you are after, there is the iconic spot for the city’s loved-up couples – Luzhkov Bridge connecting Moscow’s Balchug Island to a lane leading towards the famous Tretyakov Art Gallery.

Its name is thought to have come from the word “meadow”, but it is also known as the Love Bridge because, after its opening in 1994, it was picked by the city’s newlyweds as the perfect place for an unusual ritual. They would hang a padlock on its railings and throw the key into the river. It is believed that the tradition has stemmed from an ancient custom of locking a padlock on a couple’s wedding day to make sure their love lasts.

When the railings got overloaded with padlocks, it was decided to offer the newlyweds another way of sealing their love. In 2007, the first Love Tree sprang up there. It proved such a hit that more were added and, by the look of it, the bridge is set to grow a forest quite soon.

Luzhkov Bridge is not the only place where love is in the air. When it comes to kissing, Bogdan Khmelnitsky pedestrian bridge is a record holder. It is located near the Kiev Rail Terminal. As the name suggests, there are regular trains to the Ukrainian capital. So it is no wonder that the bridge is called after a 17th century Ukrainian military leader.

RIA Novosti / Vladimir Vyatkin

In February 2002, the world “kiss on the bridge” record was set at Bogdan Khmelnitsky Bridge, when 2226 people kissed at the same time.

In Soviet times, however, the bridge got famous for a very different reason. In the summer of 1977, it became the scene of a spy scandal. CIA agent Martha Peterson – operating under diplomatic cover – was caught red-handed trying to leave an array of spy gear, including poison, in a secret place under the bridge for her Russian contact. The episode was later described in a cult Soviet spy book by writer Yulian Semyonov.

In post-Soviet times, the bridge went through a dramatic transformation: it changed address in September 2000, when it was moved upstream closer to the Rail Terminal, and was towed on special pontoons. It was also given a makeover, with its original steel arch preserved but the overall look becoming decidedly hi-tech.