Painting of the Broken Bridge over the West Lake in Hangzhou, Zhejiang (China)

Tall willows shade the long embankment,
Through scattered leaves leak the rays of a waning moon.
With confident stride I pace the sand beneath the pines,
Thinking for a moment that perhaps it is snow upon which I tread

Poem by Zhang Dai about the Broken Bridge

translated by Duncan Campbell

Heureka Bridge over the Keravanjoki river in Vantaa (Finland) painted by Kimmo Palikko

Each of the geometric pieces follows its own structural system and is clad with different materials, so they act as a kind of construction demonstration. Starting from the competition stage, the architects worked closely with visual artist Lauri Anttila. Structural engineer Matti Ollila also had a considerable influence on many of the technical solutions, such as the slender steel structures of the entrance canopy and the cylindrical central space. The same design team also designed the Heureka bridge over the Keravanjoki river.

Architect Kristo Vesikansa 

about Heurka Science Center

John Frost Bridge over the Rhine River in Arnhem, Gelderland (Netherlands)

This is the bridge for which John D. Frost fought leading the soldiers persistent and brave in an advance where freddom was sought went a bridge too far which they tried to save the bridge is now with his name proudly wrought

Memorial Plaque in John Frost Bridge

Pont de la Fonderie over the Canal du Faux-Rempart in Strasbourg, Alsace (France)

I like this city of Strasbourg more than I can say. I love this Alsatian character, something hospitable and free; I love this cathedral so close to me, I especially love the proximity of the Rhine. It makes me think of everything that is unlimited in history; to the Celts, to all the hordes that have stopped for a long time on its banks.

Edgar Quinet

Chinese Bridge in a pond of the Biddulph Grange Gardens, Staffordshire, England (United Kingdom)

"One who plants a garden plants happiness,"

Chinese proverb

Pont de Fruitiére over the Gave de Lutour near Cauterets, Hautes Pyrenées (France)

"J'ai senti mes poumons gonfler sous l'effet du paysage : air, montagnes, arbres, gens. J'ai pensé : C'est ce que c'est d'être heureux."

Sylvia Plath

Peace Bridge over the Spree River in Bautzen, Saxony (Germany)

 
"Not as it should have been, but as was possible in the circumstances".

A german chronicler

about the Peace of Dautzen,

signed in 1018

Monorail Bridge over the city of Tokyo (Japan)

Tokyo Monorail Co. began service of a monorail car painted in cream, light blue and blue — the same colors as the first model that began service in 1964 — to commemorate the 60th anniversary of its inauguration of service in Tokyo on Sunday. The company observed the anniversary on Tuesday. The six-car monorail train departed from Monorail Hamamatsucho Station on Sunday morning and was seen off by Tokyo Monorail employees and others. The length of the special train service period has not yet been determined.

Japan News, 17, September 2024

Friedrichsbrucke over the Spree River in Berlin (Germany)

“Berlin combines the culture of New York, the traffic system of Tokyo, the nature of Seattle, and the historical treasures of, well, Berlin.”

Hiroshi Motomura

Drawing of the Yanzhou Cable Bridge crossing the East Lake in Wuhan, Hubei (China)

When the cart reaches the mountain, there must be a road
When the boat reaches the bridge, it will naturally be straight

Chinese proverb

Edward Rydz-Śmigły Marshall Bridge over the Vistula River in Wloclawek, Kuyavia (Poland)

One doesn't leave a soldier's grave with a broken soul. One doesn't leave with a sense of defeat and hopelessness, but with the unshakable conviction that a new spiritual value has emerged, a value not mine, not yours, but of us all—a value belonging to the entire nation. Their memory must endure and live on forever. In our schools, children should learn the names of those who died in their own community or town. This should be included in the curriculum and be the first lesson they learn about Poland...

Edward Rydz-Śmigły

Al Maqta Bridge between Abu Dhabi and mainland (United Arab Emirates)

“Wealth is not money. Wealth lies in men. This is where true power lies, the power we value. This is what has convinced us to direct all our resources to building the individual, and to using the wealth which God has provided us in the service of the nation.”

Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan

Franjo Tudjman Bridge over the Ombla River in Dubrovnik (Croatia)

The 'Pearl of the Adriatic', situated on the Dalmatian coast, became an important Mediterranean sea power from the 13th century onwards. Although severely damaged by an earthquake in 1667, Dubrovnik managed to preserve its beautiful Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque churches, monasteries, palaces and fountains.

Old City of Dubrovnik

UNESCO World Heritage site

Karl Theodor Bridge over the Neckar River in Heidelberg (Germany)

“Why are you staring at me?Haven’t you seen the old monkey in Heidelberg?
Look around and you probably will see –
more monkeys like me!"

Poem from Martin Zeiller,

about a statue in Heidelberg Bridge

Painting of the River Qiantang Bridge in Hangzhou, Zhejiang (China)

Great waves roll up like snowbanks white
The river extends till lost to sight
Jewels and pearls at the Fair on display
Satins and silks in splendid array

Poet Liu Young about Hangzhou

Jacques Cartier Bridge over the Saint Lawrence River in Montreal, Quebec (Canada)

"The great river which flows through and waters the midst of these lands of yours, which is without comparison the largest river that is known to have ever been seen."

Jacques Cartier about St Lawrence River

Painting of the Pont du Gard near Nimes, Gard (France)

 

"The way in which the stones of the Pont du Gard are laid is not only a triumph of technical skill, but shows a vigorous belief in law and discipline."

Kenneth Clark

Legions Bridge across the Vltava River in Prague (Czech Republic)

 “Prague does not have its name for no reason - in truth, Prague is a threshold between the life on Earth and Heaven, a threshold much thinner and narrower then in any other places…”

Gustav Meyrink

Japanese Bridge in Giverny Garden (France) in an illustration by Lena Anderson

“I noticed that the lilies were nothing but blobs and blotches of paint. But when I stepped away again, they turned into real water lilies floating in a pond–magic! ‘How could he know how to paint like that?’"

From Linnea about Monet 

in Monet's Garden book

Kreisviadukt near Brusio, Graubunden (Switzerland)

The friendly cow all red and white,
I love with all my heart:
She gives me cream with all her might,
To eat with apple-tart.

        She wanders lowing here and there,

        And yet she cannot stray,

        All in the pleasant open air,

        The pleasant light of day;

And blown by all the winds that pass
And wet with all the showers,
She walks among the meadow grass
And eats the meadow flowers.

Robert Louis Stevenson

Teufel Valley Viaduct (Teufelstalbrucke) near Hemsdorf, Thuringia (Germany)

"From a traffic perspective, the bridge wouldn't have been necessary. Because the valley ends two kilometers to the south. It's possible that the bridge was built purely for prestige reasons."

Engineer Uwe Vonhoff

Pont Saint Michel over the Gave de Pau River in Lourdes, Hautes Pyrénées (France)

"We are inspired by the Commission comprising wise, holy, learned and experienced priests who questioned the child, studied the facts, examined everything and weighed all the evidence. We have also called on science, and we remain convinced that the Apparitions are supernatural and divine, and that by consequence, what Soubirous saw was the Most Blessed Virgin. Our convictions are based on the testimony of Soubirous, but above all on the things that have happened, things which can be nothing other than divine intervention."

On 18 January 1862, 

the Bishop of Tarbes Betrand Severt Laurence

Laufen Bridge over the Rhine River between Laufenburg (Germany) and Laufenburg (Switzerland)

The image of the frontier is probably one of the oldest images of mankind, and it is not surprising that we should find it hard to get rid of.

Kenneth E. Boulding

Olowianka footbridge over the Motlawa River in Gdansk, Pomerania (Poland)

The residents and guests of Gdansk often threw gold coins into the Neptune fountain "for luck". When there were so many coins that the fountain stopped working Neptune struck them with his trident and shattered them into thousands of small gold flakes. The water in the fountain turned into a sweet liqueur. The town innkeepers filled barrels with the golden drink from the fountain all night long. Only the owner of the inn "Under the Salmon", decided not to rob Neptune. In the morning, it turned out that the barrels of greedy merchants contained only pure water, and the cellar of the modest innkeeper was filled with tanks of Goldwasser.

Gdansk legend

Chains Bridge spanning the Danube River in Budapest (Hungary)

"Buda" comes from the name of its founder, Bleda, brother of Hunnic ruler Attila.. Attila went in the city of Sicambria in Pannonia, where he killed Buda, his brother, and he threw his corpse into the Danube. For while Attila was in the west, his brother crossed the boundaries in his reign, because he named Sicambria after his own name Buda's Castle.

Legend of Budapest origin