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There are currently six bridges over the Danube river in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Five of them are currently used for traffic, while one of them is for pedestrians and trams. [1]
Lafranconi is the first bridge in Bratislava made of concrete [2] . It is also a part of the D2 highway. It was built within 1985–1991 [3] . The highest averege number of cars crossing the bridge daily was measured to be around 75000 in 2020, peaking at around 106 000 [4] . The priority of the design was aimed to be clean, not interruptive to the surrounding nature by its shape, not blocking any view of the city by its body structure, while being in harmony with the already existing bridge at that time – SNP Bridge.
The Lafranconi Bridge is 761 metres long. There is a four-lane roadway, together 30 metres wide.
Underneath the roadway, there are also footbridges for pedestrians and bikers on both sides. Inside the bridge, there is a waterpipe and a gas pipeline going through. [5] [6]
| pedestrians | yes |
| cars | yes |
| buses | yes |
| bikes | yes |
| trams | no |
| trains | no |
| gas or water pipelines | yes |
The original name was supposed to be Most mládeže - Bridge of Youth [7] , however, it finally got named Lafranconi after the student dormitory Lafranconi, situated nearby the bridge [8] .
From 1993 to 2012 the bridge was named Nový Most - New Bridge. It is made of steel, a fan-shaped design suspended bridge. It is the only bridge in Bratislava to have no single pillar inside the Danube River [9] . It is the biggest bridge in Bratislava. In 2002 it was named a Century Building in Slovakia in the category Bridge Constructions. The SNP Bridge belongs to the association World Federation of Great Towers. [10] Since May 2018 it is also a National Culture Heritage site. [6]
The bridge was built within 1967–1972 [9] .
For the sake of building this bridge, a few historic sites were destroyed – a part of the Bratislava Castle structures, historically important parts of Vydrica, Rybné Námestie - Fish Square and Bratislava's Neolog Moorish synagogue. [9] [10] This bridge, however, helped to speed up the traffic and also helped the development of Petržalka District.
The length of this bridge is 430.8 metres. The height is 95 metres. The diameter of the dome is 32 metres.
The bridge has two of the two-lane roadways, and has pedestrians and cyclist sections underneath on both sides.
In the category of suspended bridges, it gained fourth place in 1972 [9] . However, it is on top of the world's bridges with only one single pylon and only one single hanging plane. [6] Inside the bridge there is a waterpipe, the supplying Old Town and Petržalka districts.
| pedestrians | yes |
| cars | yes |
| buses | yes |
| bikes | yes |
| trams | no |
| trains | no |
| gas or water pipelines | no |
An interesting tourist place is the restaurant on the top of the SNP Bridge's pylon placed in the height of 95 metres. The restaurant, opened on the 26th of August 1972 has 2 bars and a capacity of 200 people, and is most importantly named UFO (formerly Bystrica) thanks to its shape. [9] [10] The restaurant is connected with the observation platform, from where the visibility can be up to 100 kilometres. An elevator which can take you to the bar in 45 seconds is placed in the eastern pillar, while the western pillar contains emergency stairs. [5] [6] [9]
Since 2016, the bridge can tell the weather for the next day with light signals. The lights are turned on in the evening, red is for windy weather, green is for cloudy or foggy weather, yellow is for sunny weather and blue is for rainy weather. The bridge reports the weather every 15 minutes with the certain color being on for 5 minutes. The lighting is provided information by the meteorological systems and is done by 24 LED reflectors placed on the restaurant. [10]
Former names: Bridge of Franz Joseph; after the First World War Štefánik´s Bridge; after Second World War Bridge of Red Army.
Despite the short existence of a bridge from 15th century, the first bridge in Bratislava was the Bridge of Carolina Augusta, built in 1825 made of pontoon, after the previous wooden bridges wouldn't last too long. This one lasted until 1891. New bridge was built 1889 - 1890 named after Franz Joseph I. It was a combined bridge for road traffic, railway and pedestrian. In times of the First Czecho-Slovak Republic it was named Štefánik's Bridge and a railway went through into Vienna. [6]
From 2014 to 2016 there was a great reconstruction held. On the Danube's floor underneath the bridge were found two objects that were in fact an ammunition, so the repairs were postponed.
The bridge is today open for pedestrians, cyclists and tram transportation. [5]
| pedestrians | yes |
| cars | no - with the exception of emergency vehicles |
| buses | no - with exception of one line |
| bikes | yes |
| trams | yes |
| trains | no |
| gas or water pipelines | no |
The Apollo Bridge is an arched bridge, located between the Old Bridge and the Harbour Bridge. The full length is 835 metres, height of the arch is 36 metres. The bridge has 20 pillars. The Apollo Bridge was nominated by the American Technical Engineering Society along with four other world-class buildings at the prestigious Opal Awards in 2006. It was the only European building to be nominated that year.
The bridge was named after a refinery that once stood nearby, which was named after the deity of Apolon. The bridge was built between 2002 - 2005. It was built on floating pontoons. [5]
| pedestrians | yes |
| cars | yes |
| buses | yes |
| bikes | yes |
| trams | no |
| trains | no |
| gas or water pipelines | yes |
Originally named Bridges of Dukla Heroes, the bridge is a two-floor, railway and highway bridge close to the Bratislava's Port. It is a part of the D1 motorway. Its length is 599,4 metres. There is also a pedestrian and cyclist section, water pipeline, gas pipeline and others. It was built within 1977 – 1985. Every day, 120.000 vehicles cross the bridge. It is the city's busiest bridge. [5]
| pedestrians | yes |
| cars | yes |
| buses | yes |
| bikes | yes |
| trams | no |
| trains | yes |
| gas or water pipelines | yes |
The newest bridge of all, it's construction started in 2018. It was opened to the public on the 26th of September 2021. [12] The bridge consists of multiple bridges connecting multiple arms of the river Danube and it's a part of the D4 motorway. It's 2928 meters long and 35 meters wide. The name was chosen by the people on a poll by the Ministry of Transport and Construction of Slovakia in 2020. The suggested name Lužný most, named after the rare landscape of Riparian forests (Slovak: Lužné lesy) nearby, won the poll with more than 50 000 votes.
| pedestrians | no |
| cars | yes |
| buses | yes |
| bikes | yes |
| trams | no |
| trains | no |
| gas or water pipelines | - |
A railway bridge located in the district of Mlynská Dolina crossing the spring valley of Vydrica stream. It was built in 1848. It is 215 metres long. Originally, it was a brick bridge supported by nine arches until the German army destroyed it in 1945, with a fragment of a pillar remaining intact. The current bridge was rebuilt in 1948 in a steel version, carrying the same name and painted red. This railway bridge is a part of the historically important railway route connecting Bratislava with Vienna. [13]
| pedestrians | no |
| cars | no |
| buses | no |
| bikes | no |
| trams | no |
| trains | yes |
| gas or water pipelines | no |
Petržalka is the largest borough of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Situated on the right bank of the river Danube, the area shares a land border with Austria, and is home to around 100,000 people.
Most SNP, commonly referred to as Most Slovenského národného povstania or the UFO Bridge, and named Nový most from 1993 to 2012, is a road bridge over the Danube in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. It is the world's longest bridge to have one pylon and one cable-stayed plane.
The Old Town of Bratislava is the historic center and one of the boroughs of Bratislava, in the Bratislava Region of Slovakia. It is coextensive with the smallest Slovak administrative district by area, Bratislava I. It contains the small, but preserved medieval city center, Bratislava Castle and other important landmarks. Bratislava's Old Town is known for its many churches, the Bratislava Riverfront and cultural institutions, it is also the location of most of the foreign states embassies and important Slovak institutions including the National Council of the Slovak Republic; the Summer Archbishop's Palace, seat of the Government of Slovakia; and Grassalkovich Palace, seat of the President of Slovakia.
Štúrovo is a town in Slovakia, situated on the River Danube. Its population in 2018 was 10,279.
Apollo Bridge in Bratislava is a road bridge over the Danube in the capital of Slovakia. It is located between the Starý most and Prístavný most Bridges, a site which allowed almost perpendicular bridging, resulting in the shortest possible span.
Lanfranconi Bridge is a concrete motorway bridge in Bratislava, Slovakia, located on the D2 motorway. It was built in 1985–1991, with its right half opened in 1990 and the rest in 1992. It is 766 m long, and has a 30 m wide four-lane motorway. There are lanes for cyclists and pedestrians as well. It crosses the Danube.
Starý most is a bridge over the river Danube in Bratislava, Slovakia. Before its reconstruction, the 460-meter-long (1,510 ft) bridge included a wooden pathway for pedestrians, a two-lane road, and a railway track, connecting the historic old city of Bratislava with the newer region Petržalka. The bridge was closed for cars in 2009 and for buses on 14 May 2010. On 2 December 2013 it was also closed for pedestrian and bicycle traffic as deconstruction of the old bridge began. At the time of its closure it was the oldest standing bridge in Bratislava.
Prístavný most is a double-floor motorway-railroad truss bridge over the Danube in Bratislava, Slovakia, near the Port of Bratislava. It lies on the D1 motorway. It is a 599 m long bridge, and was built between 1977 and 1985. There are also pathways for pedestrians and cyclists on the bridge.
Karlova Ves is a borough in the city of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. It is located in the western part of the city close to the river Danube on the slopes of the Little Carpathians mountains and it is part of the Bratislava IV administrative district. A small, wine-making village for most of its history it was assimilated into Bratislava in the 1940s and in 1957, the construction of a large socialist panelák suburb started. Today, Karlova Ves has approximately 33,000 inhabitants and university dormitories in Mlynská dolina house an additional 15,000 students at the total area of 7874 meters squared.
The Port of Bratislava is a major port on the river Danube and — in a wider sense — on the Rhine-Main-Danube waterway, located in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. It is a universal inland port consisting of two parts, a cargo port and a passenger port. The former is a key facility for Slovakia's economy as the largest of three international ports in Slovakia, the others being in Komárno and Štúrovo. The port lies at the strategic intersection of the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal with the Baltic-Adriatic Corridor, part of the Trans-European Transport Networks, and it is located near two major ports: Port of Vienna and Port of Budapest.
Bratislavský lesný park or Bratislava Forest Park is a forest park in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, located in the foothills of the Little Carpathians. Officially, it is part of numerous boroughs of Bratislava: Dúbravka, Karlova Ves, Záhorská Bystrica, Vinohrady, Old Town, New Town and Rača. The park is administered by Mestské lesy v Bratislave, a specialized non-profit organization. It covers an area of 27.3 km² (10.54 mi²), of which 96% is covered with forests; the rest consists of meadows, water and built-up areas. The Vydrica river originates in the park's territory.
Vydrica is a small 17 km long river in south-western Slovakia, which originates in the Little Carpathians mountains at about 450 m AMSL and flows into the Danube through the capital Bratislava.
Bratislava's geographical position in Central Europe has long made Bratislava a natural crossroads for international trade traffic. Various ancient trade routes, such as the Amber Road and the Danube waterway have crossed the territory of today's Bratislava. Today Bratislava is a road, railway, waterway and airway hub.
Bratislava fortifications usually refers to the medieval city fortifications of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, of which one gate and two sections of walls remain today. The Bratislava Castle was also heavily fortified. Other fortification systems were built in the following centuries, including a World War I artillery fortification system and World War I shelters, system of bunkers and fortifications built by the First Czechoslovak Republic between the World Wars, World War II aircraft raid shelters, fortifications built by the Nazi Germany in the city during World War II and finally Cold War-era city defenses including a system of 8,602 air raid and nuclear shelters capable of holding over 760,000 citizens, far more than the number of inhabitants. The pinnacle of the communist era city defense was a military rocket base located on the Devínska Kobyla hill, the highest point in the city.
Bratislava is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 150% of the official figures. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia at the foot of the Little Carpathians, occupying both banks of the River Danube and the left bank of the River Morava. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two sovereign states.
Public transport in Bratislava is managed by Dopravný podnik Bratislava, a city-owned company. The transport system is known as Mestská hromadná doprava, and the network is the largest in Slovakia. The history of public transportation in Bratislava began with the opening of the first tram route in 1895, when the city was in the Kingdom of Hungary, part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Passengers must buy their tickets before entering the vehicle. Revenue from tickets covers approximately 40% of expenses, with the other 60% paid by the city.
Bratislava Železná studienka railway station is a small railway station inside the Bratislava Forest Park recreational zone in northern Bratislava, Slovakia.
Botanical Garden of the Comenius University is the only botanical garden in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. It is located in the Karlova Ves borough, next to the Old Town district and the Lafranconi Bridge by the Bratislava Riverfront and it contains over 4,000 plant species covering an area of 6.6 hectares.
Bratislava Riverfront is a riverfront on the river Danube located on the Old Town side of Bratislava, Slovakia. It extends from the Karloveská bay near the Lafranconi Bridge to the Port of Bratislava and Harbour Bridge. In the past, the riverfront included the Coronation Hill, where the newly crowned Kings of Hungary would recite an oath and make crosses with their sword in four cardinal directions to show their resolution to defend the country. The hill was demolished in 1870 when the shores of the Danube were strengthened.
The architecture of Slovakia has a long, rich and diverse history. Besides Roman ruins, Slovakia hosts several Romanesque and Gothic castles and churches, most notably Spiš Castle, which were built at the time of the Kingdom of Hungary. Renaissance architecture was of particular relevance in town hall squares, such as in Bardejov and Levoča. Affluent architecture in the following centuries made use of Baroque, Rococo and historicist styles, while vernacular architecture in the countryside developed a specific style of wooden houses and wooden churches. In the 20th century, Slovakia knew Art Nouveau and modernist architecture, including socialist modernism, and finally contemporary architecture.
