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 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 |
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 |
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=1177–1185 | 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 |
Canal de la Robine | Segmental arch bridge with one (once six) span | ||
Pont de Rohan | Landerneau, Brittany 48.450260°N 4.249286°W |
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 |
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 | 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 |
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 |
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
- Bustler editors (August 17, 2009). "Winners of London Bridge 800: Design an Inhabited Bridge Competition". Retrieved November 30, 2020.
- "Bridges With Buildings". Madness Hub. November 11, 2019.
- Delana. "Modern Trolls: 10 Bridges Turned to Homes & Mini-Cities". Web Urbanist.
- Kaushik Patowary (May 17, 2016). "Bridges With Buildings".
- Philip S. C. Caston (6 June 2013). Germany’s Historic Wooden Covered Bridges Still Standing (PDF) (Report).
- Christopher Winn (2005). I Never Knew That About England. Ebury Press. ISBN 0-09-190207-X.
- "Bridge Chapels". Edward Green.
- American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) (2007). Bridges 2008 (calendar). Reston, Virginia: ASCE. pp. May featured bridge. ISBN 978-0-7844-0945-9.