Bokfjord Bridge over the Paatsjoki River in Sør-Varanger (Norway)

Norway, land of the midnight sun, where the beauty of nature never ceases to a maze.”

From Peer Gynt

by Henrik Ibsen

Gouritz River Bridge near Mossel Bay, Western Cape (South Africa)

“Africa has her mysteries and even a wise man cannot understand them. But a wise man respects them.”

Miriam Makeba

Gion Bridge over the Machiyamaguchi River in Amakusa (Japan)

Is it clouds? Or mountains? Is it Wu? Or Yue?The water and the heavens separated by a single hair
After countless miles anchoring the boat in the Sea of Amakusa
The mist moving past my window, the sun gradually sinks.
I glimpse a giant fish jumping between the waves
The light of Venus, bright as the moon, strikes the boat.

Old poem by Rai San'Yo

Niederrhein Brucke over the Rhine River in Wesel, North Rhine - Westphalia (Germany)

Beneath me flows the Rhine, and, like the stream of Time, it flows amid the ruins of the Past.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

San Juanico Bridge over the San Juanico Strait between Taclobán and Santa Rita (Philippines)

An unnamed woman was the person in charge to oversee construction of the bridge. She consulted with a spiritist, who told her that the bridge could not be completed unless blood is offered to the nature spirits of the area. She was then revealed to be the ex-first lady Imelda Marcos, who trusted the advice so she ordered street children to be kidnapped from their families. A local diwata (mythological nature spirit), saw the plight of the children and took pity. According to this urban legend, the diwata cursed Mrs. Marcos to grow fish scales on her legs and that she would always stink like a fish.

Legend

Roman bridge spanning the Nivelle River in Ascain, Pyrenées Atlantiques (France)

"Un lien secret et profond, et que rien n’a pu rompre, unit, même en dépit des traités, des frontières diplomatiques même en dépit des Pyrénées, ces frontières naturelles, tous les membres de la mystérieuse famille basque.. On naît basque, on parle basque, on vit basque et l’on meurt basque."

Víctor Hugo about the Basque Country

Mitchell Bridge over the Mtamvuna River in Kwazulu Natal region (South Africa)

If a traveler attempts to cross Mtamvuna Rier while harboring hidden misdeeds or an unconfessed guilty conscience, the water spirits (abantu bomambo or water deities) will become angry and carry them away into the depths.

Legend of Mtamvuna River

Latin Bridge across the Miljacka River in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

 " ...I thought that I would kill him so that no one would know anything further, and then kill myself, too. I abandoned that idea, because I saw that the automobiles passed by. Up to then I had not seen the Archduke. I went to the Latin Bridge and then I heard that the assassination had not succeeded. Then I took thought as to where to stand, because I knew where he would pass ...""

Gavrilo Princip, in the trial about Achduke Franz Ferdinand assesination near this bridge

Chapel Bridge over the river Reuss in Lucerne (Swtizerland)

14th century Swiss landmark is destroyed by fire. Fire on Wednesday almost totally demolished Lucerne's 14th century Kapellbrücke, the wooden covered bridge across the Reuss River in the city center. Offials said the fire claimed almost all the walls and roof and all but 30 of the more than 100 paintings that decored the bridge.

International Herald Tribune, 19th august, 1993

Zollamtssteg over the Wien River in Vienna (Austria) painted by Winjent

"Something impractical cannot be beautiful"

Otto Wagner, designer of this bridge

Yingwuzhou Bridge (Parrot Island Bridge) over the Yangtze River in Wuhan, Hubei (China)

A fisherman

skirting shore

in his high-prowed skiff

crossing bamboo oars

comes up with a jolt –

nets catch not fish

but the wizened finger

of a submerged branch

for below

a sunken valley persists –

slick bare trunks

furred in wafting fronds

have water for sky,

ghost forest.

Roots rot deep in the hill

where buried rock

is still dry.

Excerpt from the poem Yangtze by Sarah Howe

Mesi Bridge across the river Kir in Skohder (Albania)

 

Gur, gur bëhet kalaja.

Stone after stone, you can build a castle.

Albanian Saying

Roman Bridge over the Guadiana River in Mérida, Badajoz (Spain)

Esta ciudad no late si tú no la acaricias,
si no tocan tus manos
la calidez del mármol que modela su cuerpo
ni los labios encienden
palabras que iluminen su noche dilatada.

To Mérida by Rafael Rufino Felix

Brige over a creek in the Jostedall Valley (Norway)

Mange bekker små gjør en stor å.

Many small streams make a large river

Norwegian saying

Drawing of the Stone Arch Bridge over the Mississipi River in Minneapolis (United States)

Mississippi is like my mother. I am allowed to complain about her all I want, but God help the person who raises an ill word about her around me, unless she is their mother too.

Kathryn Stockett

Storseisundet Bridge on the road between Averoy and mailand (Norway)

The Atlantic Road zigzags across 12 low bridges that jut out over the sea, linking the islands between Molde (famous for its annual Jazz festival in July) and Kristiansund in the western Fjords. The Hustadvika is an infamous stretch of ocean and in storm it's fantastically dramatic. In calmer weather you might spot whales and seals.

Article in The Guardian about the most beautiful Roads Trips in the world, 1th April 2006

Mehmed Pasha Sokolovich Bridge over the Drina river in Visegrad (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

The Višegrad bridge is a remarkable architectural testimony to the apogee of the classical age of the Ottoman Empire, whose values and achievements mark an important stage in the history of humankind."

Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge as

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Rialto Bridge over the Grand Canal in Venice (Italy)

“Venice is like eating an entire box of chocolate liqueurs in one go.”

Truman Capote

Shin-Yotsugi Bridge crossing the Arakawa River in Tokyo (Japan)

"More than any other city, Tokyo demonstrates that "city" is a verb and not a noun."

Toshiko Mori, architect

Moseltalbrücke over the Moselle River near Winningen, Rhineland Palatinate (Germany)

"In the wide German land

Many a stream flows

Of all those I knew,

One lies in my mind."

Moselle,

traditional song

Panther Hollow Bridge over the Junction Hollow Valley in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (United States)

 "A very old and large example of steel arch technology and is also a rare example of a three-hinged deck arch. Just as noteworthy are the bridge’s stone arch approach spans."

 historicbridges.com

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

"Of all rivers, I prefer the Rhine. It is now a year, when passing the bridge of boats at Kehl, since I first saw it. I remember that I felt a certain respect, a sort of adoration, for this old, this 
classic stream... Yes, the Rhine is a noble river—feudal, republican, imperial—worthy, at the same time, of France and of Germany."

Victor Hugo

Padma Bridge over the Padma River between Mawa and Jazira (Bangladesh)

"The completion of this bridge will fulfil the long cherished dream of the nation for connecting the 19 south-western districts with the rest of the country resulting in collective prosperity, socioeconomic development of Bangladesh as well as enhanced regional connectivity"

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh

Natural Bridge in Porto Colom, Majorca, Balearic Islands (Spain)

Mallorca, terra estimada,
que fa tants d’anys que jo trepig,
si no ets ma pàtria, Mallorca,
com si ho fossis jo t’estim.
...

Mallorca, beloved land,

which I have been treading for so many years,

if you are not my homeland, Mallorca,

as if you were I love you.

In the poem Lo meu desig

by Margarida Caimari i Vila

Sky Bridge in the island of Langkawi (Malaysia)

Mahsuri, the most beautiful woman in Langkawi was married to a warrior. When her husband had to go to war she befriended a young traveler named Deramang. The village chief's wife was jealous of Mahsuri's beauty. She spread a rumour that Mahsuri was  was having an affair with Deramang in the absence of his husband. Soon villagers openly accused her of adultery. Mahsuri pleaded her innocence, but no one believed her. Mahsuri was tied to a tree and stabbed to death but it did not work. After every execution attempt failed, Mahsuri told them to kill her with her family's knife. When she was stabbed, white blood flowed from the wound, signifying her innocence. With her dying breath, Mahsuri cursed Langkawi to have seven generations of bad luck.

Langkawi legend