List of bridges with buildings

There are very few bridges with buildings in the world. This list attempts to identify all the existing ones and notable former ones featuring significant closed commercial, residential, governmental, or religious worship structures. There exist numerous proposals for inhabited bridges, including 73 designs submitted in the Royal Institute of British Architects' competition at the 800th anniversary of London Bridge,[1] but the table here presents only bridges actually built.

Various blog-like and magazine-type sources attempt to itemize them, but find only a few.[2] [3] [4]

Many bridges include pavilions or other shelters serving pedestrians crossing the bridge, without providing commercial, residential, governmental, or religious worship space; these are not included.

Some "covered bridges" such as Pont de Rohan, in Landerneau, and the Pont des Marchands, in Narbonne, both in France, had residential buildings; these two were among at least 45 inhabited bridges that once existed in Europe, and when the rest are known all should be added here. Other covered bridges in Germany,[5] the United States, and elsewhere might be seen as "buildings" in that their roof protects an enclosed area, but the purpose of the covering is to preserve the structure and the enclosed space is primarily for traffic to pass through. The term "covered bridges" is also used for structures in China such as Chengyang Bridge (1912) and Xijin Bridge (rebuilt 1718) which have large enclosed spaces, but for these it appears that space is not provided for commercial or residential use. These are not included here; please see List of covered bridges.

The term "covered bridge" is sometimes used broadly to describe any "bridge-like structure" that is covered by a roof. However, bridge-like structures such as Heilig-Geist-Spital, a hospital built out over two arched spans into the Pegnitz river in Nuremberg, but which did not ever provide a complete crossing to the other side, are not included. And certain other bridge-like structures did provide complete spans but were not open to the public for crossing, such as perhaps some château in France, perhaps a building in Amberg, Germany (File:Nuernberg-fronfeste-und-kettensteg-v-O.jpg, at 49.44734494449012°N 11.855433°E / 49.44734494449012; 11.855433 (Fronfest Amberg?) over the Vils river), and numerous private buildings such as the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Fallingwater residence over Bear Run in Pennsylvania. These also are not intended to be included.

Bridges having buildings (with significant commercial, residential, governmental, or religious worship space) include:

Australia

Bridge Image Location River Dates Note
Walter Taylor Bridge Brisbane, Queensland27°30′21″S 152°58′25″E Suspension bridge across Brisbane River Opened 1936 Included residential space for "bridge-keeper" and family, no longer in use. Asserted to be the only habitable bridge in the southern hemisphere. Note traffic with cars running on the left side of the road.

Bulgaria

Bridge Image Location River Dates Note
Covered Bridge, Lovech Lovech

China

Bridge Image Location River Dates Note
Anshun Bridge Chengdu, Sichuan Province
30°38′39″N 104°05′00″E
Jin River by 13th century; 1746; 2003 Arch bridge with restaurant

Czech Republic

Bridge Image Location River Dates Note
Stříbro bridge Stříbro, Tachov District
49°45′01″N 13°00′05″E
Crosses Mže River One of five towers survives.
Cloak Bridge of Český Krumlov Castle Český Krumlov

England

Bridge Image Location River Dates Note
Frome bridge Andreas 23 May 1983
High Bridge, Lincoln Lincoln, England
53°13′42.7″N 0°32′26.4″W
River Witham 1160
"Old" London Bridge 51°30′29″N 0°05′16″W Thames river, London 1209–1831
Pulteney Bridge
Old Exe Bridge Exeter, Devon
50.719111°N 3.535800°W / 50.719111; -3.535800 (Old Exe Bridge)
River Exe (originally) c.1200-1778 ruins are among England's oldest surviving bridge works
St Ives Bridge St Ives, Cambridgeshire
52.322826°N 0.075338°W / 52.322826; -0.075338 (St Ives Bridge)
Great Ouse in St Ives, Cambridgeshire 1400s One of four bridges in England having a chapel.[6][7] Chapel space was a bawdy house in 1700s.
Bridge Street Bridge, Rotherham Rotherham
53°25′57″N 1°21′30″W
One of four bridges in England having a chapel[6]
Chantry Bridge, or Wakefield Bridge Wakefield
53°40′34″N 1°29′20″W
14th-century, nine-arched, stone bridge One of four bridges in England having a chapel[6]
Town Bridge, Bradford-on-Avon Bradford-on-Avon
51°20′49″N 2°15′04″W
One of four bridges in England having a chapel[6] Has a lock-up.

France

"Between 12th and 16th century many bridges were built with houses on them. They were solution for limited accommodation in walled cities and only France had as many as 35."[8]

Ponts Couverts, Strasbourg, a covered bridge in Strasbourg, has four massive towers that are buildings, but these are on islands not the bridge itself. (See File:Panorama de Strasbourg - 2014-02-02- P1760351 - P1760357.jpg)

Bridge Image Location River Dates Note
Pont d'Avignon, or Pont Saint-Bénézet Avignon
43°57′14″N 4°48′18″E
Built=11771185 Has Chapel of Saint Nicholas
Pont Valentré Cahors
44°26′42″N 1°25′54″E
Arch bridge with six 16.5 metres (54 ft) spans, crosses Lot River built 1308-1378
Château de Chenonceau Loire Valley
47°19′29″N 1°04′13″E
Cher River 1514-1559 It appears this was actually a public crossing: per its Wikipedia article "The widowed Louise Dupin saved the château from destruction during the French Revolution, preserving it from being destroyed by the Revolutionary Guard because 'it was essential to travel and commerce, being the only bridge across the river for many miles.'"
Pont des Marchands Narbonne, Aude
43.183201°N 3.003693°E / 43.183201; 3.003693 (Pont des Marchands)
Canal de la Robine Segmental arch bridge with one (once six) span
Pont de Rohan Landerneau, Brittany
48.450260°N 4.249286°W / 48.450260; -4.249286 (Pont de Rohan)
lined with houses crosses the Elorn River until 1930 and the construction of the Pont Albert Louppe near Brest.
Barrage Vauban Strasbourg
48°34′46″N 7°44′17″E
120 m (390 ft) bridge crosses River Ill opened in 1690
Pont Ambroix Ambrussum, Languedoc-Roussillon
43.7172°N 4.1519°E / 43.7172; 4.1519 (Pont Ambroix)
Stone arch bridge which carried the Roman road Via Domitia across the Vidourle; only one of its 11 arches survives; 1st century BC. During the High Middle Ages, a chapel devoted to St Mary was added.

Germany

Bridge Image Location River Dates Note
Krämerbrücke 50°58′43″N 11°01′51″E

Erfurt

segmental stone arch bridge crosses Gera

125 metres (410 ft) x 26 metres (85 ft)

1325 (stone bridge); 1486 (houses)
Alte Nahebrücke (Bad Kreuznach) Bad Kreuznach, Rhineland-Palatinate
49°50′41″N 07°51′28″E
Nahe river

stone arch bridge 135 metres (443 ft) x 10 metres (33 ft)

c. 1300/1956 (bridge); 1612 (houses)
Stadtbrille Amberg
49.442822°N 11.857381°E / 49.442822; 11.857381 (Stadtbrille)
Vils The "Stadtbrille" (literally: town spectacles) bridge was part of the town's fortifications, and its arches reflected on the river resemble a pair of spectacles.

Italy

Bridge Image Location River Dates Note
Ponte Vecchio, Florence Florence
43°46′05″N 11°15′11″E
crosses Arno River closed-spandrel segmental stone arch bridge with 30 metres (98 ft) main span
Rialto Bridge Venice Stone arch bridge with 31.80 metres (104.3 ft) span over Grand Canal 22.90 metres (75.1 ft) wide
Ponte Coperto Pavia
45.180739°N 9.153258°E / 45.180739; 9.153258 (Ponte Coperto)
crosses Ticino River 216 metres (709 ft) long. Bridge of 1354 and 1949-51 replacement have a chapel.[9]

Spain

Bridge Image Location River Dates Note
Puente Nuevo Ronda
36°44′26.69″N 5°9′57.25″W
Built 1759-1793 Crosses Guadalevín River in El Tajo gorge. Chamber above central arch has been used as a prison, including during Spanish Civil War

Switzerland

Bridge Image Location River Dates Note
Spreuerbrücke Lucerne
47°03′07.1″N 8°18′06.5″E
crosses = Reuss Is that cone-headed appendage big enough to call it a building?

Turkey

Bridge Image Location River Dates Note
Irgandı Bridge Bursa
40°10′54″N 29°04′16″E
crosses Gökdere
Constantine's Bridge Mysia
40°12′15″N 28°26′29″E
Only ruins remain. Crossed Rhyndacus (Adırnas Çayı) In Byzantine times, had chapel created by Helena, mother of Constantine I completed after 258 AD

Vietnam

Bridge Image Location River Dates Note
Chùa Cầu, or Japanese Bridge Hội An, Quảng Nam
15°52′38″N 108°19′34″E
Has a small temple, Bac De Tran Vu, which worships a Chinese general, also known as Huyen Thien Dai De.[10]

See also

References

  1. Bustler editors (August 17, 2009). "Winners of London Bridge 800: Design an Inhabited Bridge Competition". Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  2. "Bridges With Buildings". Madness Hub. November 11, 2019.
  3. Delana. "Modern Trolls: 10 Bridges Turned to Homes & Mini-Cities". Web Urbanist.
  4. Kaushik Patowary (May 17, 2016). "Bridges With Buildings".
  5. Philip S. C. Caston (6 June 2013). Germany’s Historic Wooden Covered Bridges Still Standing (PDF) (Report).
  6. Christopher Winn (2005). I Never Knew That About England. Ebury Press. ISBN 0-09-190207-X.
  7. "Bridge Chapels". Edward Green.
  8. American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) (2007). Bridges 2008 (calendar). Reston, Virginia: ASCE. pp. May featured bridge. ISBN 978-0-7844-0945-9.
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