Ponte Vecchio spanning the river Arno in Florence, Tuscany (Italiy)

During World War II, unlike all the other bridges in Florence that were blown up by the Wehrmacht, the Ponte Vecchio was not destroyed by the Germans during their retreat. It was due to an express order from the Führer, Adolf Hitler who order to respect the venerable bridge. 

The legend about the Ponte Vecchio was not destroyed in World War II.

Pone dei Salti over the Verzasca River in Lavertezzo, Ticino (Switzerland)

Tra le vallate del mio bel Ticino
non vo' scordare la Valle del Sole.
In essa vivono belle persone
l'innamorato canta così
O bella bleniesina
sei della Valle del Sole.
Fra tante belle, tra tante stelle,
tanto carina sei tu

Lyrics from "O bella bleniesina"

old Tesino song

Aquitaine Bridge over the Garonne River in Bordeaux (France)

 La Garonne vient boire la ville

Elle boit Bordeaux

Les murs et les gens

Les rues et les fous

Les chiens et les vents

Les foncedès, les suicidés.

S’y jettent

S’y sacrifient

Donnent un goût amer

À la Garonne

Empoisonne l’océan

Avec son amertume

Avec les morts qu’elle a bus

La Garonne, song by Tony Gerannno

Sanchaji Bridge over the river Xiangjiang in Changsha, Hunan (China)

For three years exiled from the court, cooped up in this place;
through the ages only leaving behind the sorrow of this wanderer of Chu.
In autumn grasses alone, searching after the passage of others;
in cold woods, empty, seeing the sun slant in time.
The Han Wen Emperor has wisdom, yet his mercy is slight;
the waters of the Xiang are pitiless -- if one paid homage who would know?
In a lonesome, silent landscape is one's place to fall and settle;
pitying you: for what reason must you go to the end of the earth?

Translation of poem 

In Changsha, Passing by Jia Yi’s Residence

by Tang dinasty poet Liú Chángqīng

Stadbrücke (City Bridge) over the Salzach River in Salzburg (Austria)

 
"As a reminder and warning. In Salzburg, more than 230 gipsys fell victim to the National Socialist racial policy. Imprisoned in the so-called "Maxglan Gypsy Camp", they were forced to do forced labor as part of the Glan Regulation. In the spring of 1943, they were deported to the extermination camps."

Plaque in Staadtbrucke,

about gipsy slaves who worked

in this bridge construction

Covered Bridge across the Danube River near Beuron Monastery, Baden-Wurttenberg (Germany)

"Fascinating between love of light and brightness in the Baroque and monastic austerity in the Beuron style, inspiring lightness, seriousness and devotion."

Tutilo Burger, archabbot of Beuron,

Wilson Bridge over the Radbuza River in Pilsen (Czech Republic)

Pilsen! The city dawns
Barefoot on the trunks
Black moss in the interior of compressors
About the oily metal forests
A cough is whispered
A hundred thousands arms has already stood
It has grown by a tool
A worker flashes in the astronomical pool
A worker, a worker.

Translation of Plzen

by band Umbrtka

Vittorio Emanuele bridge over the Po River in Turin (Italy)

Torino occhi aperti non tradirmi mai
Torino strade dritte tu mi perderai.
Torino non è soltanto una canzone
Torino è un grande coro di persone

In the lyrics of Torino,

by Antonello Veneditti

Ponte Pietra (Stone Bridge) crossing the Adige River in Verona (Italy)

Sleeping all alone
You wake up with a bottle in your hands
No sound of serenade 'cause we both know we lost our game
I was always high on loving you
Before the romance turned to drama
Like Romeo and Juliet once before
We are lost in Verona

Lyrics of Verona

by Koit Toome

Gravestenenbrug over the Spaarne River in Haarlem (Netherlands)

Wie boogt met zulk een' drang van reden

Op Haarlems dapper krygsbeleid?
Wie roemt myn braave Letterkloeken
En Schilders, wydberoemd van naam,
Alom op vleug'len van de Faam
Met lof gevoerd in 's waerelds hoeken?
Wie pryst op zulk een' zoeten trant
Myn schoonte en welgelegen stand?

Poem by Peter Langendijk

Railway Bridge over the Gaoping River between Kaoshiung and Pintung in Taiwan

Tailing the dusk
Quietly creeping up from behind to enfold me, wrap around me
An incomplete moon hangs lonely in the sky
Reflected in the reed-tangled bed of the stream
The surface of the stream as clear as the glass in a mirror
With now and then a floating wisp of white cloud
And the shadows of birds crying softly as they skim the water ….

From the poem Solitude

by taiwanese poet Chou Meng-tieh

Kivgireniyat (Humpback) Bridge across the Trevnenska River in Triavna (Bulgaria)

At the highest part of the bridge there is the relief of a pitcher. Some say that it was a visual reminder to the people from the neighbouring, and rival Gabrovo, to wash their hands before entering refined Triavna. According to another version, it was the other way round – the pitcher warned the inhabitants of Tryavna to wash themselves before venturing to Gabrovo.

Legend

Faller-Klamm Bridge over the Sylvenstein Lake near Lenggries, Bavaria (Germany)

Exposed on the mountains of the heart. See, how small there,see: the last hamlet of words, and higher,
and yet so small, a last
homestead of feeling. Do you recognize it?

Translated from a poem of

Rainer María Rilke about german Alps

Pont de Pianella over the Porto River in Ota, Corse du Sud (France)

"La Corse est un petit continent,
l'Europe est une grande île."

Jacques Dutronc

Bridge over the Saale River near the Rudelsburg Castle in Lengefeld, Saxony-Anhalt (Germany)

 
On the bright bank of the Saale
stand castles proud and bold,
their roofs have fallen,
and the wind blows through the halls,
clouds float overhead.

Famous song An der Saale hellem Strande 

(On the bright bank of the Saale)

by Franz Kugler

Bakkerbrug over the Oude Gracht (Old Canal) in Utrecht (Netherlands)

Ik ga jou vertellen dat het anders kan,
het is veel mooier dan Amsterdam
recht in het midden van ons kleine land,
daar zit je dicht bij goud!

I'm gonna tell you that it can be different,

it's much more beautiful than Amsterdam

right in the middle of our small country,

there you're close to gold!

Beginning of the song Utretcht
by Benr

Liberty Bridge over the Danube River in Budapest (Hungary)

Tú eres la dueña de las palabras, amor mío,
la que vierte en los labios el vino de Tokaj
y la lluvia harapienta
en las cajas de música
de la calle Dohány.
La que respira en los puentes
bajo el Danubio rojo,
la que construye nidos
en los huecos de las palabras,
la que ahuyenta los miedos
en los desfiladeros del Ejército Rojo.
....

Budapest

by Angel Petiseme

Quiet Man Bridge in Connemanara National Park near Oughterard (Ireland)

I still recall that day in July
When you said to me your last goodbye
And that same night you sailed away
To distant lands across the sea

In Connemara by the lake
Two young lovers hearts did break
In County Galway by the sea
There I loved you and you loved me

Irish song

Altstadtbrücke (Old Town Bridge) over the Elbe River in Meissen, Saxony (Germany)

Leise ebbt der Strom. Im Schlick

Ragen plumpe Fischerkähne

Draußen gleiten, stille Schwäne,

Mit den weißen Segeln andre.

Und die Strecke überwandre

Breiter Bahn ich mit dem Blick

Bis ans niedere Gelände

Drüben, wo sich Wiesen breiten,

Wo die bunten Kühe schreiten

Zwischen üppigem Krautgestände,

Und die groben Weidenköpfe,

Knorrig, bissig, Sauertöpfe,

...

Beginning of poem Abend an der Elbe

by Gustav Falke

Pont du Gard over the Gardon River in Nimes, Gard (France)

No human had succeeded in taming the Gardon River that engulfed any construction. One night, after the destruction of his efforts, a mason lamented: “This could be enough to give oneself to the devil”. Then the devil appeared and proposed to build a bridge. The man accepted and in exchange the devil asked for the first soul that would cross the bridge. The deal was sealed. The devil tore away blocs of stone and built an enormous bridge able to resist the devastating floods of the Gardon. At dawn, the bridge was finished. The mason’s wife had the idea of deceiving the devil and sent a hare onto the bridge. The devil, at the quick, swiftly grabbed the hare. Having realized what he had, in his fury he plastered the animal into the bridge, and to this day, the contours are clearly visible.

Legend of Pont du Gard

Genoese Bridge over the Asco River near Asco, Haute Corse (France)

“It was then I thought of Corsica, the place we had discovered together. I craved the wind, the sun and salt, the simplicity of the island.”

From The Book of Lost and Found

by Lucy Foley

Viaduct over the Ruhr River in Witten, North Rhine - Westphalia (Germany)

Nothing but walls. Without grass and glass
the street pulls the pied belt
the facades. No track hums.
The pavement always shines water-wet.

If a man strikes you, his gaze hits you cold
to the marrow; the hard steps haunt
Fire from the towering steep fence,
his short breath still clenched

Poem of Paul Zech about the Ruhr valley

Pont Neuf (New Bridge) over the river Agout in Brassac, Tarn (France)

Il y avait un village tranquille
Et dans ses rues des enfants qui jouaient
Dans les bistrots les vieillards volubiles
Se souvenaient de tout et racontaient
Il y avait la paisible pagaille
Des gens venus de tous les horizons
Même s'ils vivaient parfois... vaille que vaille
Ils partageaient le vin et les chansons

Lyrics from Le Village

by Salvatore Adamo

Xiazigou Bridge in the Houcheng county, Xinjiang (China)

 "Robes of snow, crests of snow, 

and beaks of azure jade,

they fish in shadowy streams.
Then startling up into
Flight, they leave emerald mountains for lit distances.
Pear blossoms, a tree-full, tumble in the evening wind."

Old chinese poem

translated by David Hinton

Chains Bridge spanning the river Danube in Budapest (Hungary)

As a centre for receiving and disseminating cultural influences, Budapest is an outstanding example of urban development in Central Europe, characterised by periods of devastation and revitalisation. Budapest has retained the separate structural characteristics of the former cities of Pest, Buda and Óbuda.

Budapest as UNESCO World Heritage Site