Saint Servatius Bridge over the Meuse River in Maastricht (Netherlands)

 

"On the banks of the Meuse is where I can recover. I can't do it on the Rhine, forget about the Waal. Only on the Meuse, here along the Meuse."

Dutch poet Ton Engels

La Caille Bridge over the river Les Usses between Cruseilles and Allonzier, Haute Savoie (France)

 
HIGHEST BRIDGE IN THE WORLD FROM1839 TO 1912

Craigellachie Bridge over the Spey River in Moray, Scotland (United Kingdom)

"...Then as knowledge is my most ardent pursuit a thousand things occur which call for investigation which would pass unnoticed by those who are content to trudge only in the beaten path. I am not contented unless I can give a reason for every particular method or practice which is pursued."

By Thomas Telford,

engineer who designed this bridge

Illustration of the Triana Bridge over the Guadalquivir River in Sevilla (Spain)

Cuando paso por el puente, Triana,

Contigo vida mía,

Cuando paso el puente Triana,
Contigo vida mía, Triana,
Contigo vida mía,
Con mirarte solamente, Triana,
Me muero de alegría,
Por que tienes unos ojos, Triana,
Igual que dos luceros, Triana,
Igual que dos luceros,
Y una clase de «jechuras», Triana,
Que vale el mundo entero.

From the Sevillanas de Triana

Roman Bridge over the Passirio River in Merano, Trentino - Alto Adige (Italy)

When from the sod the flow’rets spring,

And smile to meet the sun’s bright ray,

When birds their sweetest carols sing

In all them morning pride of May,

What lovelier than the prospect there?

Can earth boast any thing more fair?

To me it seems an almost heaven,

So beauteous to my eyes that vision bright is given.

Poem by Walther von der Vogelweide, 

South Tyrol poet

Tabak Bridge over the Lana River in Tirana (Albania)

I long for evenings in the streets of Tirana,

Where I’ve done a mischief or two,
And even in those streets where I have not.
They know me, those old wooden gates,
They will still hold their old grudges,
Shaking their head at me,
But I won’t mind
Because I’m filled with longing.
And in the sidestreets full of dried leaves,
Dried leaves, autumn leaves,
For which comparisons are aplenty.

In a poem by Ismail Kadare

Tower Bridge crossing the Thames River in London (United Kingdom)

Maybe it’s because I’m a Londoner
That I love London so
Maybe it’s because I’m a Londoner
That I think of her wherever I go
I get a funny feeling inside of me
Just walking up and down
Maybe it’s because I’m a Londoner
That I love London town.

Hubert Gregg

Rheinkniebrucke over the Rhine River in Dusseldorff (Germany)

The scouring of the canvas against gravel
and now and then the saturated sound
of ships and trucks passing without her.
It grows dark in my tent on the Rhine,
where everything is drying to be saved:
Thyssenhaus, Königsallee, Krimhilde,
but even more the nameless hitchhiker,
suddenly a heavily painted woman hunting
for gold and revenge in this wakeful night.
In excessive rains of regression, she floods
all my banks again, drowning me
in a score of lust. Sucking her mark.

Poem Dusseldorf

Albert Hagenaars

Adderley Viaduct near Kallar in the Nilgiri Mountains Railway, Kerala (India)

"Mark the shadowing rain and tempest," Rama to his brother said,
As on Nalya's cloud-capped ranges in their hermit-guise they strayed,
Massive clouds like rolling mountains gather thick and gather high,
Lurid lightnings glint and sparkle, pealing thunders shake the sky,
Pregnant with the ocean moisture by the solar ray instilled,
Now the skies like fruitful mothers are with grateful waters filled!
...

Excerpt from The Rain of Nilgiri Mountains

chapter in the Ramayana historic poem

Pont Vieux over the Aude River in Carcasonne, Aude (France)

 


“We are living in modern times throughout the world and yet are dominated by medieval minds.”

Eqbal Ahmad

Constitución 1812 Bridge over the Cádiz Bay between Cádiz and Puerto Real (Spain)

Esteros de Sancti-Petri.
salinas de San Fernando,
espejos de sol y sal
donde se duermen los barcos.
Isla de Guadalquivir,
donde se fueron los moros
que no se quisieron ir.
Entre la tierra y el cielo
no hay mujeres con más sal
que las gitanas del Puerto,
de Cádiz hasta Gibraltar.

Ending of the song Bahía de Cádiz (Cádiz Bay)

by Camarón de la Isla

Roman Bridge crossing the Moselle in Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate (Germany)

ANTE ROMAM TREVERIS STETIT ANNIS MILLE TRECENTIS. PERSTET ET AETERNA PACE FRUATUR!

Trier stood before Rome for 1,300 years.
May it continue to exist and enjoy eternal peace!

Inscription on the Red House in Trier

Kalepa Bridge in the road to Hana, Maui Island, Hawaii (United States)

Heavenly Hana
Where tropic skies are blue
And angels rendezvous
This is paradise

Your beauty is nature’s jealousy
Caressed in ecstacy
Hana paradise

Lyrics from Heavenly Hana

by John Watkins

Bridge over the Moselle River in Traben-Trarbach, Rhineland-Palatinate (Germany)

Hail, great parent, fruitful and virtuous Moselle!
You are famous nobles, you are trained in war, youths
Your rival adorns you with the eloquence of a broad tongue
But also your manners and your cheerful stern brow
Nature has granted your students talent
Hail, river, praise the fields, praise the farmers »

Roman poet Ausonius

Saint-Marcel Bridge over the Canal de Midi in Le Somail, Aude (France)

"lI have passed through the Canal from it’s entrance into the mediterranean at Cette to this place, and shall be immediately at Toulouse, in the whole 200 American miles, by water; having employed in examining all it’s details nine days, one of which was spent in making a tour of 40 miles on horseback, among the Montagnes noires, to see the manner in which water has been collected to supply the canal"

Thomas Jefferson

about his visit to Canal du Midi

Illustration of Sheikh Isa Bin Salman Causeway between Bahrain Island and Muharraq Island (Bahrain)

Bahrain 's margin of freedom is growing day after day as we head into the future with steady steps.

Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa,

to whom this bridge owes its name

Bankovsky Most (Bank Bridge) over the Griboedov Canal in Saint Petersburg (Russia)

 Old St Petersburg remains a beautiful stage set but to the Russians it is not what Rome is to the Italians or Paris to the French. The decisions are made in the Kremlin. The city of Peter remains a museum, open from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Joseph Wechsberg

Augustus Bridge over the Elbe River in Dresden, Saxony (Germany)

The morning breeze is off and gone

The winding factory streets are clean

Old ladies put the kettle on

And all-night lechers pause and lean

On grey shop windows, everywhere

A deeper hum is in the air

Hotel room, drifter leaves no clues

...

The salmon Season's here to stay

And etched into each shoulder-bone

The mark of Cain is on display

As stone above each measured stone

Old Dresden burns above the breeze

The traveller, he's on his knees

He's watching sledge-wings dip and play

So far above the holy throne

Dresden blues...

Lyrics of Dresden

by Cold Chisel

Ducha Footbridge over the Motlawa River in Gdansk, Pomerania (Poland)

The names of the rivers remain with you.
How endless those rivers seem!
Your fields lie fallow,
The city towers are not as they were.
You stand at the threshold mute.

Ending of poem Forget

Polish poet Czeslaw Milosz

Bridges of the Bouillon Castle in Bouillon sur Semois, Wallonia (Belgium)

In one of the walls of the castle, there is a seat carved out of the rock. A powerful seat that promises wedlock to anyone who sits on it.

Legend of Bouillon Castle

Pont de la Corniche over the the Doubs River at Dole, Jura (France)

"We could have done it a little further by going to Choisey where there was less of a slope, but I think that would have been less of a problem for the town and we wanted to stay within the municipal territory. 100 meters from the current bridge, for example, there is the Château de Crissey and we would then have had to start thinking about it at the inter-municipal level."

Gilbert Barbier, major of Dole

Bridge over the Orlice River in Pastviny (Czech Republic)

There were three brothers named Czech, Lech and Rus. One day, they decided to find for their tribes and themselves a new place to live, and so they all set out for a long journey across the Europe. After some days had passed, the brother Rus suddenly said. "This is the new home for me and my tribe!" and so they stayed and founded Russia. The two brothers and their tribes walked for many days, when they climbed up a hill. They had a wonderful view of the land that Czech called the "land of milk and honey", and decided to settle here with his tribe. To honor this great man, the people of his tribe started to call themselves Czechs.

Legend

Valentré Bridge over the river Lot in Cahors, Lot (France)

The builder was not happy with the slow pace at which they were constructing the bridge. So he made a pact with the devil who promised to expedite the work in exchange for the builder’s soul. But as the contract was finishing and it was time to forfeit his soul as payment, the builder asked the devil to bring water for his workers… using a sieve, which proved impossible. For trying to deceive him, the devil sent an imp to loosen a stone in the central tower every night so the bridge would never be finished.

Legend of Pont Valentré

Mánes Bridge and others over the Vltava River in Prague (Czech Republic)

The glistening scrolls and spirals, the elaborate setting that looked as if it were cut out of gold paper, so touching in its resemblance to the creches made for children at Christmas, the grandiose and grotesque baroque perspectives affected Mersault as a kind of infantile, feverish, and overblown romanticism by which men protect themselves against their own demons.

Albert Camus about Prague

Krk Bridge between Krk Island and mainland (Croatia)

In Krk Island at night, the forests are said to be full of strange beings: laughing forest dwarfs called Malyći, dancing fairies in white dresses who flew on winged horses, and storm sorcerers who floated through the skies. The Malyć is a curious figure, somewhere between a dwarf and an elf, similar to the red-hatted Nordic gnomes or the famous Irish leprechauns. Capturing a Malyć is said to bring great fortune, and in some stories, even sudden wealth.

Legends