Since ancient times, man has filled in the spaces between physical barriers with architecture to make a clear path. The majority of these bridges are thought of as landmarks in addition to being an important part of the infrastructures of regions all over the world.
Some of them have even turned into city symbols due to their influence and engineering marvel. Below is a list of the world’s most well-known bridges.
15. Great Belt Bridge
The tiny island of Sprog separates the Great Belt Bridge’s Eastern and Western spans, which are essentially two bridges. The East Bridge, measuring 1,624 meters in length and across the deepest part of Storebaelt between the islands of Zealand and Sprog (5,328 ft).
The third-longest main span in the world is found there. The two pylons of the East Bridge, which reach 254 meters (833 feet) above sea level, are Denmark’s highest points. The West Bridge, which spans Sprog and Funen, is a combined rail and road structure that is 6,611 meters (21,689 feet) long.
14. Chapel Bridge
The Chapel Bridge in the Swiss city of Lucerne spans the Reuss River for a length of 204 meters (670 feet). It is the oldest wooden covered bridge in all of Europe and one of Switzerland’s most well-liked tourist attractions. The covered bridge was built in 1333 with the purpose of defending the city of Lucerne.
The interior of the bridge contains a number of 17th-century paintings that depict historical events in Luzerne. The majority of the bridge and these paintings were destroyed by fire in 1993, but it was quickly rebuilt.
13. Chengyang Bridge
Chengyang Bridge, commonly known as Wind and Rain Bridge, is the most well-known wind and rain bridge in China’s Dong Minority Region. Construction on it began in 1916. Still quite crowded is the lengthy bridge that crosses the Linxi River.
It is the biggest wind and rain bridge and is constructed entirely out of wood and stone without the use of nails or rivets. Its length is 64.4 meters, its width is 3.4 meters, and its height is 10.6 meters.
12. Brooklyn Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge connects Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River. In 1883, it was finished. When it first opened, it was the world’s longest suspension bridge, and it retained that position for a while. In New York, it is now a well-known and identifiable landmark. There is a sizable pedestrian walkway on the bridge that is accessible to both cyclists and pedestrians.
This walkway takes on a special significance when the traditional methods of crossing the East River are impractical, as was the case during several blackouts and most notoriously after the September 11, 2001, attacks.
11. Alcantara Bridge
A spectacular example of a bridge from the Roman era is the Alcántara Bridge, which spans the Tagus River in Alcántara, Spain. A triumphal arch and a tiny temple on either end of the bridge honor Trajan, the Roman Emperor who gave the order to build it in 98 AD. Between 104 and 106, the bridge was built.
More than natural calamities, war has damaged the Alcántara Bridge. The Moors destroyed the smallest arch on one side, and the Spanish destroyed the second arch on the opposite side to thwart the Portuguese.
10. Sydney Harbour Bridge
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is one of Australia’s most well-known and frequently captured landmarks. The bridge is the largest (though not the longest) steel arch bridge in the world, with its pinnacle rising 134 meters (440 feet) above Sydney Harbor.
It was inaugurated in March 1932 after taking eight years to complete. The steel on the bridge can rise or fall up to 18 centimeters depending on how hot or how cold it is, so it is not completely motionless.
9. Stari Most
In Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Stari Most, also referred to as “The Old Bridge,” is a well-known bridge that crosses the Neretva River. The bridge was built in 1566 by the Ottoman Turks and stood there for 427 years before being destroyed in 1993 during the Bosnian War. Following that, a reconstruction project was launched, and the new bridge opened in 2004.
The neighborhood’s young men frequently jump off the bridge into the Neretva. Due to the extremely cold river, only the most skilled and experienced divers will attempt this.
8. Si-o-se Pol
There is a well-known bridge in the Iranian city of Isfahan by the name of Si-o-se Pol. It is recognized as one of the most well-known examples of Safavid bridge design. The bridge was built in 1602 on Shah Abbas I’s order and is composed of stones and bricks.
It is 295 meters long and 13.75 meters wide. According to reports, the bridge originally had 40 arches, but this number gradually decreased to 33.
7. Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge
The Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge, popularly known as the Pearl Bridge, is the longest suspension bridge in the world, measuring 1,991 meters (6,532 ft). It crosses the Akashi Strait to link Kobe on the Japanese mainland with Iwaya on Awayi Island. In 1998, the bridge’s construction was finally finished after almost 12 years.
The Kobe earthquake of January 17, 1995 caused the two towers to shift, lengthening the central span by 1 meter from its original 1,990 meter length.
6. Rialto Bridge
The Rialto Bridge is one of the four spans that span the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. This bridge spans the canal and is the oldest. In 1524, a wooden bridge was built in place of the current one-span, Antonio da Ponte-designed stone bridge.
Some engineers predicted the bridge’s eventual collapse because they thought the engineering was so risky. The bridge has proven its critics wrong to become a notable piece of architecture in Venice.
5. Charles Bridge
In Prague, Czech Republic, the renowned Charles Bridge, a stone Gothic bridge, spans the Vltava river. Its construction, which began in 1357 and was finished at the beginning of the 15th century, was supervised by King Charles IV. Because there was no other route to cross the Vltava River, the Charles Bridge served as the most important connection between Prague’s Old Town and the area surrounding Prague Castle.
This relationship led to Prague’s importance as a trading route between Eastern and Western Europe. It is today one of the most popular sights in Prague, with many tourists, painters, kiosk proprietors, and other traders crossing the bridge.
4. Tower Bridge
The combination bascule and suspension bridge known as Tower Bridge spans London’s River Thames. It is close to the Tower of London, which gave it its name and is today a recognizable icon of London. Construction started in 1886 and took eight years to complete. The bridge consists of two towers joined at their upper levels by two horizontal walkways that are designed to withstand the forces of the suspended sections of the bridge.
3. Millau Bridge
Near Millau, France, in southern Europe, the Millau Viaduct is a huge cable-stayed road bridge that spans the Tarn River valley. It is the tallest vehicular bridge in the world, with the highest pylon’s apex standing at 343 meters (1,125 feet), just slightly higher than the Eiffel Tower.
Due to slower traffic brought on by tourists stopping their vehicles to take pictures of the bridge, the bridge’s posted speed limit was reduced from 130 km/h (81 mph) to 110 km/h (68 mph). Soon after the bridge opened to traffic, passengers were stopping to take pictures of the surrounding area and the bridge.
2. Golden Gate Bridge
The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge that spans the strait that divides San Francisco from Marin County to the north across the Golden Gate. It took seven years to build the bridge, which was designed by Joseph B. Strauss and is remembered by a statue on the southern viewing deck. Construction was completed in 1937.
The Golden Gate Bridge had the longest suspension bridge span when it was finished. Since then, it has developed into one of the most popular tourist destinations in both California and San Francisco. Since then, eight additional bridges have been constructed with span lengths greater than its own. The well-known red-orange hue of the bridge was chosen to be more visible in the thick fog that frequently envelops it.
1. Ponte Vecchio
The Ponte Vecchio, or “old bridge,” is a historic bridge in Florence that crosses the Arno River. The bridge is the only one in Florence to have made it through World War II. It is well known that the bridge still has stores built along it, as was customary during the Medici era. Butchers used to work in the stores; today, jewelers, art dealers, and souvenir sellers are there.
This is where, so the story goes, the concept of bankruptcy first appeared in economics. When a merchant was unable to pay his debts, soldiers would physically break the sales table, a practice known as “bancorotto.”