Some Iconic Bridges On The Danube River In Europe
Some of the most beautiful structures we saw on our river cruise through the heart of Europe were bridges.
We started our European River Cruise on a Viking Longship in Budapest! What a great place to begin our trip than surrounded by magnificent buildings and iconic bridges.
Our boat was docked by the Liberty Bridge. This bridge was started in 1894 and finished in 1896 in time for the Millennium World Exhibition. It is the shortest of Budapest’s three bridges (source).
It was built in the art nouveau style and originally named the Francis Joseph Bridge after the emperor who ruled Hungary at the time (source).
We got a good look at the Liberty Bridge on our second day in Budapest when we finished wandering the city’s Market Hall. From the market, we walked straight towards the river and found the Pest entrance of the bridge before us.
“Both portals are decorated with the coat of arms of Hungary designed by Virgil Nagy and two Turul statues each. Turuls are falcon-like birds, prominent in ancient Hungarian mythology.” — Source.
The Francis Joseph Bridge was bombed by the Germans in 1945 during WWII. After the war, the Bridge’s name was changed to the Liberty Bridge and was the first to be reconstructed, connecting the two cities of Buda and Pest.
As a side note, on our first night in Budapest, I took photos from our stateroom on the ship after walking the Chain Bridge to the Buda side. The Liberty Bridge’s lights were extinguished at 11 p.m. I was lucky to get the nighttime photos I took — as the bridge soon became dark.
Chain Bridge
The Chain Bridge is arguably the most famous bridge in Budapest. It is most certainly a stunning bridge and imposing structure. We walked over the bridge from Pest to Buda twice during our two-day stay. I would have gone again if time permitted.
Officially, the bridge is named the Széchenyi Chain Bridge, after a Hungarian leader that proposed the bridge. The bridge has iron chains that support the roadway with the huge traditional pillars (source).
“At the time of its construction, the Chain Bridge was the suspension bridge with the second-largest span in the world. The portals are decorated with lionhead-shaped capstones and the coat of arms of Hungary with the crown and a wreath of leaves.” (Source)
The bridge opened in 1849. The lions at the end side of the bridge entrance/exits were added in 1852. The lions survived the bombing of Hungary in WWII.
The tunnel was constructed on the Buda side several years after the bridge to allow pedestrians to walk to Buda Castle and avoid having to go around to reach the castle. The tunnel was opened to traffic a year later in 1857. (Source)
The Chain Bridge has had many revisions over the years, including complete restoration after nearly complete destruction during WWII. For more on the Chain Bridge, check this source for details.
We found the Chain Bridge to be in pristine condition both during the day and night!
Elizabeth Bridge
You can’t miss the Elizabeth Bridge when you sail into Budapest for it has an entirely modern feel. The website I’m using for factual information, linked for sources on the bridges in this post, refers to the Elizabeth Bridge as elegant.
I would choose a different word than this but, I can see where it stems from. To me, the bridge looks modern with its latest iteration — a new bridge — being completed in 1964 (source), almost twenty years after the original bridge met its demise.
Like the other bridges crossing the Danube River near Budapest, the Elizabeth Bridge was bombed by the Nazi regime in January 1945. It was pointless as they had already been defeated (source).
The Elizabeth Bridge was the first bridge I noticed the day we arrived in Budapest on our transport from the airport. Across the end of this bridge on the Buda side were some wonderful waterfalls on Gellért Hill.
From its original construction in 1903 until 1926, the Elizabeth Bridge boasted the title of the longest suspension bridge in the world at 290 meters. The bridge today is the same length (source).
“Elizabeth Bridge was named after Queen Elizabeth, the spouse of Francis Joseph I assassinated in Geneva in 1898.” (source).
The “other” bridges of Budapest and Slovakia
Eight bridges in all link the two sides of Budapest — Buda and Pest. The three we were able to see up close and personal are featured in this article.
The remaining bridges are the Megyeri Bridge, which is located on the Danube in the Northernmost part of the city of Budapest. It was completed in 2008. The other bridges are named Arpad, Margaret, Petofi, and Lagymanyosi. You can check this link for a little information on each of these bridges.
It's not to say the only interesting bridges were near Budapest. Here is a bridge in Slovakia called the UFO Bridge or New Bridge as it was called from 1993–2012. It spans the Danube in Bratislava and is now called the Most SNP Bridge.
Its claim to fame is as the world's largest suspension bridge with only one pilon (Source). Personally, I found it a little off-putting due to its asymmetrical form as we sailed under it during our fire drill on the ship.
When I wrote a story a week ago about doors and doorways in Europe, I had no idea how popular it would be. Its success inspired me to write about the bridges.