Köhlbrand Bridge across the Elbe River in Hamburg (Germany)

Hamburg meine Perle, du wunderschöne Stadt

Du bist mein Zuhaus, du bist mein Leben

Du bist die Stadt auf die ich kann, auf die ich kann

Wenn Du von Süden kommst, ist Hamburg direkt vor Grönland

Wenn Du von Norden kommst liegt Hamburg in Afrika

Wenn Du vom Balkan kommst, kann´s Dir passier'n das du nicht mal auffällst

Hamburg, my pearl, you beautiful city
You are my home, you are my life
You are the city I can rely on, the city I can rely on
If you're coming from the south, Hamburg is right in front of Greenland.
If you're coming from the north, Hamburg is in Africa.
If you're coming from the Balkans, you might not even notice.

Lyrics from Hamburg,

song by Lotto King Karl

Pont des Capucins over the Cuisance River in Arbois, Jura (France)

A tannery was for rent in the vicinity, at the very entrance to the town of Arbois, near the bridge built over the Cuisance, a river which has its source a league away.

Excerpt from La vie de Pasteur

René Vallery-Radot

Renji Bridge over a canal in Wuzhen, Zhejiang (China)

 
You have the right to promote your own happiness just like everyone else, just like me. Your present dream has been shattered, but you can dream another. You should know that 'you can't relive old dreams. ' Even if you force them to come true, they won't bring you happiness.

Mao Dun, writer from Wuzhen

Ukko-Pekka Bridge between Naantali and Luonnonmaa Island (Finland)

Under sleepy branches

a strange light shines,
in the forest a magic path
comes from nowhere, leads nowhere.
My shadow fled, I am
without body. disolved in moonlight.
My step remains suspended in mid-air,
My hand touches emptiness.

Poem by finnish poet Aaro Hellakoski

Pont de Marchands (Merchants' Bridge) over the Canal de la Robine in Narbonne, Aude (France)

Le célèbre pont romain habité de Narbonne est menacé d'effondrement : les habitants évacués, des commerces fermés. C'est un symbole de Narbonne. Un joyau construit par les Romains. Un des deux derniers ponts habités en France avec Landernau dans le Finistère. Le pont des Marchands, qui enjambe le canal de la Robine, menace de s'effondrer. La ville de Narbonne a donc pris la décision d'évacuer les résidents.

La Dépêche, 7 April, 20223

Elvet Bridge crossing the river Wear in Durham, England (United Kingdom)

I've got to leave old Durham town,
I've got to leave old Durham town.
I've got to leave old Durham town,
And the leavings gonna get me down.
Back in nineteen forty-four,
I remember Daddy walking out the door.
Mama told me he was going to war, he was leaving,
Leaving, leaving, leaving, leaving me.

Lyrics from Durham Town

song by Roger Whittaker

Old Temma Bridge over the Okawa River in Osaka (Japan) depicted by Kotsushika Hokusai

Spring is passing.
The birds cry, and the fishes’ eyes are
With tears.

Sicking on journey,

My dream run about

A desolate field.

Poems by Mathou Basho,
poet from Osaka

Devil's Bridge over the Navette crook in La Chapelle-en-Valgaudemar, Hautes Alpes (France)

"Culture is the source of all creativity. That of geography and the history of mountaineering makes us look at the Alpine arc as an evidence, a beauty, a line to follow. A line, not the line! Like a line in a face".

Patrick Bérhault

Schlossbrücke (Castle Bridge) over the Schwerin Lake in Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Germany)

The Schwerin Residence Ensemble is an architectural and landscape ensemble, which fits very precisely within the context of the emergence and development of the historicist style in Europe. The buildings form an exceptional architectural ensemble, ranging from Neo­-Classical to Neo-Baroque and Neo-Renaissance and even includes in certain cases references to the more regional Neo-Renaissance "Johann-Albrecht" style, with influences from the Italian Renaissance.

Schwerin Residence Ensemble as

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Bridge over the Oresund strait between Malmoe (Sweden) and Copenhagen (Denmark)

Driving slowly to the bridge
With nothing left that we can give
We smile at this ugly world
It never really suited you
Old songs leave long shadows
Makes you shut down all your emotions
Money needs money, and slums need the poor
Curled like an animal lying on the floor
Curled like an animal lying on the floor

Song Walk me to the bridge,

by Manic Street Preachers inspired in this bridge

Pont de la Province over the Canal de Midi in Argeliers, Aude (France)

"Without doubt the most beautiful and most noble construction of its kind ever undertaken. I would have preferred to have created it, than all that I have done and all that I will do …"

Vauban, about the Canal de Midi

Bridge over the moat of the castle in Carcassonne, Aude (France)

The city of Carcassonne is an excellent example of a fortified medieval city whose enormous defensive system was built on ramparts dating from late antiquity.

Historic Fortified City of Carcassonne,

as UNESCO World Heritage Site

New Bridge over the Danube River in Bratislava (Slovakia)

 "The river flows on and carries the memories of those who have walked its banks," 

poet Rilke about the Danube

Yang-En University Bridge over the Wutan Reservoir in Majiazhen, near Quanzhou, Fujian (China)

 


Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere

Chinese proverb

Illustration of the New River Gorge Bridge near Fayetteville, West Virginia (United States)

Bloody Bones is a water demon that haunted lakes and rivers, attracted by violence and carnage and eats misbehaving children. A tale of a child's encounter with Bloody Bones was recorded by Ninevah Jackson Willis. A young girl became lonely while her parents were gone so she stood beside the stairs and called for someone to come play with her. The girl received a response: a small voice assuring her that it would come soon. Over the course of the night, the girl called for company several more times. Finally, the voice replied that it was coming. The girl remarks on what long fingernails and big teeth the creature has. At the mention of its teeth, Rawhead slyly replies that they are "to eat her up with." The story then cuts to when the girl's parents arrive back home to find the girl's remains, a pile of bloody bones.

West Virginia legend

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

Bridge for the Monorail 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