Saturday, January 16, 2010

Old & New Bridges

Two of the four bridges in Bratislava that cross the Danube are the Old Bridge and the New Bridge.

Prior to WWII, there was the Štefánikov most (Štefánik Bridge). During the war the steel part of the bridge was destroyed. Then after the war, Soviet troops and German prisoners-of-war built the "new" bridge to replace the old one.

This "new" bridge is 460 meters long as is the oldest standing bridge over the Danube in Bratislava. The city has reconstruction plans for the bridge and wants to connect a high-speed tram to Petržalka. However, the cost of this project is around €18 million (~$25.8 million) and that's tough in today's ecomonic climate.

This "new" bridge used to be called the Most Červenej armády (Red Army Bridge). But today it is called Starý most (old bridge) because now there is a new, new bridge.

Formerly known as the Bridge of the Slovak National Uprising, Nový Most is the new bridge and was built between 1968 - 1972.

So the new bridge became the old bridge when the new, new bridge was built.

With only one plylon and a single cable-stayed plane, it is the world's longest cable-stayed bridge of its type. It is also the only bridge in the world of this type to be a member of the World Federation of Great Towers.

The New Bridge has a flying saucer-shaped restaurant called "UFO". I'm told that the food is good but when you go there you're paying for the city view.

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