15 Of The Most Beautiful Bridges In Europe For Your Bucket List!
Among many iconic structures and buildings in the world, bridges have a special place in architecture. By making transportation easier, they allow cities and people to connect to each other while paving the way for civilizations to flourish. So, they have a special place in history as well. Some of them are so beautiful that we can easily call them masterpieces. Here are 15 of those beautiful bridges that are located in different parts of Europe.
Information about the bridges was taken from Wikipedia.
1. 25 de Abril Bridge - Lisbon, Portugal
The Ponte 25 de Abril suspension bridge is one of Lisbon’s most notable landmarks as it spans the River Tagus at the narrowest point. It resembles the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and the date name refers to the Portuguese Carnation Revolution of April 25, 1974.
2. The Tower Bridge - London, UK
Tower Bridge is located close to the Tower of London, and it is a combined bascule and suspension bridge spanning the Thames. Over the years, it has become an iconic symbol of London. Its construction started in 1886 and took 8 years. Between the two towers, the bascule bridge has a total span of 200 feet (61 meters) while the two side-spans are suspension bridges, each spanning 270 feet (82 meters). The high-level walkway between the two towers is currently part of the Tower Bridge Exhibition.
3. Ponte Vecchio - Florence, Italy
Spanning over the Arno River in Florence, Ponte Vecchio is famous for having shops built along it (it was a very common practice back in the medieval times). The bridge first appeared in a document in 996, but it was destroyed by a flood. It was then reconstructed in stone but was swept away again. It was rebuilt in 1354 and it is still standing.
It is said that the concept of “bankruptcy” originated here. Each merchant had a table with which he sold the goods. When the merchant couldn’t pay his debts, the table was physically broken by the soldiers. The practice was known as “bancorotto” (broken bank). Without a table, the merchant could not sell anything.
During World War II, it was the only bridge left standing by the Germans during their retreat.
4. Bastei Bridge- Lohmen, Germany
Towering over 636 feet (194 meters) from the River Elbe in the German state of Saxony, the Bastei bridge is a part of rock formations that were a result of a million-year-old water erosion. The bridge once was a wooden bridge, but it’s now a bridge made out of sandstone. Located within the Saxon Switzerland National Park, Bastei, it has been a tourist attraction for over 200 years.
5. Dom Luís I Bridge - Porto, Portugal
The Dom Luís I (or Luiz I) Bridge is a double-decked metal arch bridge that spans the Douro River between the cities of Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia in Portugal. At the time of construction, its span of 564 feet (172 meters) was the longest of its type in the world.
6. Millau Viaduct - Millau-Creissels, France
The Millau Viaduct is a cable-stayed bridge, which spans the valley of the River Tarn, in Southern France. It is the tallest vehicular bridge in the world (only 38 m shorter than the Empire State Building). The bridge has been consistently ranked as one of the great engineering achievements of all time and received the 2006 International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering Outstanding Structure Award.
7. Chain Bridge - Budapest, Hungary
It has asserted an enormous significance in the country's economic, social and cultural life. Its decorations made of cast iron, and its construction, radiating calm dignity, and balance, have elevated the Chain Bridge to a high stature in Europe. It became a symbol of advancement, national awakening, and the linkage between East and West.
8. Rialto Bridge - Venice, Italy
The Rialto Bridge is one of the four bridges spanning the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. It is the oldest bridge across the canal and was the dividing line for the districts of San Marco and San Polo. The present stone bridge, a single span designed by Antonio da Ponte, was completed in 1591. It is similar to the wooden bridge it succeeded.
9. Kapellbrücke - Lucerne, Switzerland
The Kapellbrücke (literally, Chapel Bridge) is a covered wooden footbridge spanning diagonally across the Reuss River in the city of Lucerne in central Switzerland. Named after the nearby St. Peter's Chapel, the bridge is unique because it contains a number of interior paintings dating back to the 17th century, although many of them were destroyed along with most of the centuries-old bridge in a 1993 fire. Subsequently restored, the Kapellbrücke is the oldest wooden covered bridge in Europe, as well as the world's oldest surviving truss bridge. It serves as the city's symbol and as one of Switzerland's main tourist attractions.
10. Puente Nuevo - Ronda, Spain
Puente Nuevo ('New Bridge') is the newest and largest of three bridges that span the 390 feet (120 meters) deep chasm that carries the Guadalevín River and divides the city of Ronda, in southern Spain. The construction of the bridge took 42 years and fifty workers were killed during the construction. There is a chamber above the central arch that was used for a variety of purposes, including as a prison. During the 1936-1939 civil war, both sides allegedly used the prison as a torture chamber for captured opponents, killing some by throwing them from the windows to the rocks at the bottom of the El Tajo gorge.
11. Stari Most - Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Stari Most is a 16th-century Ottoman bridge in the city of Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina that crosses the river Neretva and connects the two parts of the city. The Old Bridge stood for 427 years until it was destroyed on November 9, 1993, by Croat forces during the Croat–Bosniak War. Subsequently, a project was set in motion to reconstruct it, and the rebuilt bridge opened on July 23, 2004. One of the country's most recognizable landmarks, it is considered an exemplary piece of Balkan Islamic architecture. It was designed by Mimar Hayruddin, a student, and apprentice of the famous architect Mimar Sinan.
12. Pont de Rohan - Landerneau, France
One of the last remaining inhabited bridges, Pont de Rohan is a spectacular bridge crossing over the Elorn river, bridging Leon and Cornwall in Brittany and situated in the town of Landernea. Originally built in 1336, it was later rebuilt by Jean ll de Rohan in 1510 and recently celebrated its 500th birthday in 2010. The town itself is full of charm with stone houses covered in timber and slate. Landerneau is home to the famous folk festival held in July called Kann Al Loar and another wonderful event is the Medieval Christmas celebrated in December.
13. Garabit viaduct - Cantal, France
The Garabit Viaduct is a railway arch bridge spanning the River Truyère near Ruynes-en-Margeride (Fr), Cantal, France, in the mountainous Massif Central region. The bridge was constructed between 1882 and 1884 by Gustave Eiffel and was opened in 1885.
The bridge was used to represent the condemned 'Cassandra Crossing' bridge in the 1976 film The Cassandra Crossing. In the film, the bridge is depicted as being unused and derelict for 30 or 40 years and is considered dangerous, to the extent that people living nearby moved away fearing it could collapse.
14. Vasco da Gama Bridge - Lisbon, Portugal
The Vasco da Gama Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge flanked by viaducts and range views that span the Tagus River in Lisbon. It is the longest bridge in Europe with a total length of 7.6 miles (12.3 kilometers). It was built with the purpose of alleviating the congestion on Lisbon's other bridge (25 de Abril Bridge) and preventing that traffic traveling between the North and South of the country had to pass through the city of Lisbon.
Construction began in February 1995; the bridge was opened to traffic on March 29, 1998, just in time for Expo 98, the World's Fair that celebrated the 500th anniversary of the discovery by Vasco da Gama of the sea route from Europe to India.
15. Pont du Gard - Gard, France
The Pont du Gard is an ancient Roman aqueduct that crosses the Gardon River in southern France. It is the highest of all elevated Roman aqueducts, and, along with the Aqueduct of Segovia, one of the best preserved. It was added to UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1985 because of its historical importance.
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