Castelvecchio Bridge or Scaligero Bridge over the river Adige in Verona (Italy)

The designer of this bridge, Guglielmo Bevilacqua, presented himself at the inauguration riding a horse, ready to flee away in case the bridge had crumbled down. Finally, he was awarded with a word who has belonged to Saint Martin.

Legends of Catelvecchio Bridge

Grand Pont over the Loing River in Nemours, Seine-et-Marne (France)

“A great bridge is a great monument which should serve to make known the splendour and genius of a nation; one should not occupy oneself with efforts to perfect it architecturally, for taste is always susceptible to change, but to conserve always in its form and decoration the character of solidity which is proper.”

Jean-Rodolphe Perronet,

designer of this pont

Müngsten Bridge over the Wupper River near Solingen, North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany)

From Monday, free travel over the Müngstener Bridge. The work was demanding and involved a lot of effort. But the construction workers, who have been working flat out in two shifts over the past three weeks, made progress on schedule when replacing the 28 roller bearings on the Müngsten Bridge . "It's looking good - next Monday from 4 a.m. the Müngsten Bridge will be open to train traffic again," says Deutsche Bahn press spokesman Dirk Pohlmann. "Everything is going well."

Reinische Post, July 25, 2015

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

"On m'avait dit d'aller voir le pont du Gard ; je n'y manquai pas. Après un déjeuner d'excellentes figues, je pris un guide, et j'allai voir le pont du Gard. C'était le premier ouvrage des Romains que j'eusse vu. Je m'attendais à voir un monument digne des mains qui l'avaient construit. Pour le coup l'objet passa mon attente, et ce fut la seule fois en ma vie. Il n'appartenait qu'aux Romains de produire cet effet. L'aspect de ce simple et noble ouvrage me frappa d'autant plus qu'il est au milieu d'un désert où le silence et la solitude rendent l'objet plus frappant et l'admiration plus vive, car ce prétendu pont n'était qu'un aqueduc."

Jean Jacques Rousseau

Drawing of the Huxiangsi Bridge over the canal of Pingjiang Road in Suzhou (China)

 “There is heaven above and there is Suzhou and Hangzhou below”

Chinese saying

John F. Kennedy Bridge over the Meuse River in Maastricht (Netherlands)

The sky was clear, the morn was gay
In promise of a cloudless day.
Fresh flew the breeze, with whose light wing
Aspen and oak were quivering:
From flow’ret dank it dashed the dew,—
The harebell bent its blossom blue,—
And from the Meuse the mist-wreaths grey
That morning breeze had swept away, 

Showing such scenes as well might seem
The fairy vision of a dream.
For changing still, and still as fair
Rock, wave, and wood were mingled there;
Peak over peak, fantastic ever,
The lofty crags deep chasms sever:

Poem by John Ruskin

Giebichenstein Bridge or Kröllwitz Bridge over the Saale River in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt (Germany)

Regal morning sun,I greet you in your rapture;
I welcome you in your splendour!
Already your golden raiment
drapes the hills,
and in every forest birds awaken.

Your blessing is felt by all;
the meadows sing to greet you;
all becomes harmonious.
And as you hear with delight the chorus
of the happy forests, so too
hear my song of praise.

Poem by Christoph Tiedge, poet from Halle 

Grunwaltzky Bridge across the Oder River in Wroclaw (Poland)

Wooden, I lay for centuries above the lazy waters. Now I decorate the navigable route with iron and stone.

Text of a plaque in the bridge until 1945

Charles IV Bridge over the Vltava River in Prague (Czech Republic)

Prague, this dramatic and suffering centre of Western destiny,
is gradually fading away into the mists of Eastern Europe,
to which it has never really belonged.
This city – the first university town east of the Rhine,
the scene in the fifteenth century of the first great European revolution,
the cradle of the Reformation, the city where the Thirty Years War broke out,
the capital of the Baroque and its excesses –
this city tried in vain in 1968 to westernize a socialism ‘that came in from the cold’.

Prague by Milan Kundera

Vansu Bridge crossing the Daugava River en Riga (Latvia)

 "Critical state' Vanšu bridge could only see repairs in 2023. The rusty railings of the Vanšu Bridge in Rīga have been cordoned off for two years. However, the Rīga City Council is only planning to announce procurement for this and other bridge construction projects, meaning that real work could begin only in two years.

Latvian Public Broadcast, June 11, 2021

Szabadság Híd (Liberty Bridge) across the Danube River in Budapest (Hungary)

 
“It’s beautiful here. They said that of course, that Budapest is beautiful. But it is in fact almost ludicrously beautiful.”

Anthony Bourdain

Paine's Bridge over the Derwent River in Chastworth House, Derbyshare Dales, England (United Kingdom)

Chatsworth! thy stately mansion and the pride
Of thy domain, strange contrast do present
To house and home in many a craggy rent
Of the wild Peak; where new-born waters glide
Through fields whose thrifty occupants abide
As in a dear and chosen banishment,
With every semblance of entire content;
So kind is simple Nature, fairly tried!
Yet he whose heart in childhood gave her troth
To pastoral dales, thin set with modest farms,
May learn, if judgement strengthen with his growth,
That not for Fancy only pomp hath charms;
And, strenuous to protect from lawless harms
The extremes of favoured life, may honour both.

Poem by William Wordworth

Bridge in a Christmas greeting card

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree,
How lovely are your branches!
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree,
How lovely are your branches!
Not only green in summer’s heat,
But also winter’s snow and sleet.
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
How lovely are your branches!

Chistmas song.

Obervaumbrucke crossing the Spree River in Berlin (Germany)

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”

Albert Einstein

Five Arch Bridge over the Conesus Lake Outlet in Avon, New York (United States)

Big iron horses road across five yards bridge
And me and my grandpa we watched from the ridge
He knew all the trains, he'd call out each one
Where they're goin' too, where they're comin' from

Lyrics of Big Iron Horses

about this bridge by Restless Heart

Metal Bridge over the Aragón River in Sangüesa, Navarra (Spain)

Sangüesa was the first place where the Saint Francis rested on his way to Santiago. The saint made a bush grow next to the hermitage that dried every time the monks left the site, greening up when they returned.

Legend of Sangüesa

Pont de Recouvrance spanning the river Penfeld in Brest, Finiestére (Francia)

...Tonnerre, tonnerre, tonnerre de Brest
Mais nom de Dieu, que la pluie cesse
Tonnerre, tonnerre, tonnerre de Brest
Même la Terre part à la renverse
Le Recouvrance que l'on délaisse
La rue de Siam, ses nuits d'ivresse
Ce n'est pas par manque de politesse
Juste l'usure des nuages et de tes caresses
...

In the song Brest,

Christophe Miossec

Széchenyi Chain Bridge crossing the Danube River in Budapest (Hungary)

My house in Budapest,
My hidden treasure chest
Golden grand piano
My beautiful castillo

You, ooh, you. Ooh, I’d leave it all

My acres of a land
I have achieved
It may be hard for you to
Stop and believe

In the song Budapest

George Ezra

Saint Benedict Bridge over the Rhone River in Avignon, Vaucluse (France)

In the 12th century, a young shepherd named Benedict of Avignonheard heard a celestial voice that asked him to build a bridge to cross the Rhône. After asking permission from the bishop of Avignon, Bénézet (Benedict) began its construction. It was completed in 1185 and constituted the first passage over the Rhône between Lyon and the Mediterranean.

Legend about this bridge

King Cristian X Bridge over the Als Sund between the island of Als and mainland in Sonderborg (Denmark)

"Denmark is like a secret little place with its own special language."

Helena Christensen

Saint Paraskevi Bridge across the Pineios River in Tempi Valley, Thessaly (Greece)

The Vale of Tempe was cut through the rocks by the trident of Poseidon. It was home for a time to Aristaeus, son of Apollo and Cyrene, and it was here that he chased Eurydice, wife of Orpheus, who, in her flight, was bitten by a serpent and died.

Legends of Tempe Valley

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

"It is impossible for me to forget your beautiful country where I have learned so much. My stay in Heidelberg is nothing now but a beautiful dream. How I’d wish I could repeat it!"

Allama Iqbal, Indian philosopher

Saint Servatius Bridge across the Meuse River in Maastricht, Limburg (Netherlands)

Waar in 't bronsgroen eikenhout, 't nachtegaaltje zingt,
Over 't malse korenveld, 't lied des leeuweriks klinkt,
Waar de hoorn des herders schalt, langs der beekjes boord:
Daar is mijn vaderland, Limburgs dierbaar oord!

Where the little nightingale sings in the bronze green oak forest,

the lay of the lark sounds over the tender cornfield,

Where the shepherd's horn echoes, along the bank of the little stream:

There is my fatherland, Limburg's dear place!

Lyrics from Limburg mijn Vaderland

Pierre Pflimlin Bridge over the Rhine River between Strasbourg (France) and Kehl (Germany)

"La France et l'Allemagne sont essentiellement l'Europe. L'Allemagne est le coeur ; la France est la tête."

Victor Hugo

Devil's Bridge over the Devil Creek in Saint-Christophe-en-Oisans, Isére (France)

 Edelweiss, Edelweiss
Ev'ry morning you greet me
Small and White
Clean and bright
You look happy to meet me
Blossem of snow may you bloom and grow
Bloom and grow forever
Edelweiss, edelweiss
Bless my homeland forever
Clean and Bright
You look happy to meet me
Blossem of snow may you bloom and grow
Bloom and grow forever
Edelweiss, Edelweiss
Bless my homeland forever

Song by Richard Rodgers