Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
The original London Bridge was built between 1176-1209 and represented an architectural marvel. While bridges in general have been built to serve a purpose, designers have always been inspired to make them visually impressive. Below are what we consider to be the most interesting bridges in the world.
Amsterdam’s High Bridge, better known to locals as the “Python Bridge,” is one of the most recently-constructed bridges on this list. The 90-meter span was completed in 2001, and won the International Footbridge Award the following year.
Designer and architect Adriaan Geuze wanted the structure, which connects Amsterdam’s Sporenburg neighborhood to Borneo Island, to resemble a slithering snake. While a unique and intriguing design, it has unfortunately made High Bridge difficult for those with physical disabilities to traverse.
The Lego-Brücke is located in the German city of Wuppertal. The bridge is not actually built out of the popular children’s building toy – an artist simply painted it to look as if it is. The city was even given approval for the project from LEGO itself!
The decision was a smart one for this North Rhine-Westphalian (NRW) city, as the bridge has become an incredibly popular tourist attraction, drawing people from across the world. It even received the Deutscher Fassadenpreis in 2012.
At one point, a boat would ferry people between the Maldonado and Rocha departments of Uruguay. The two-vehicle ferry, however, only worked during the day when the weather was good. Therefore, it was decided the vessel would be replaced with a bridge, designed by world-famous Uruguayan architect, Rafael Viñoly.
Viñoly designed the bridge in a circular shape to ensure drivers would have to slow down. In addition, the span has an area for pedestrians to cross.
The Eshima Ohashi Bridge runs over Nakaumi Lake and is the largest rigid-frame bridge in Japan. There was once a drawbridge running over the waterway, but the constant passing through of boats created mass amounts of traffic.
This bridge is tall enough that ships can simply pass under it without disrupting the flow of traffic. While its gradient isn’t all that extreme, photos of the structure make it look as if it reaches high into the sky.
The Murinsel in Graz, Austria was initially built to connect the two banks of the Mur river. The design was created by Vito Acconci, a New York City-based architect in the early 2000s, and features a 74-meter circular area shaped like a seashell.
The enclosed space in the middle of the bridge features with a café and even a playground. As a result, many of those who cross it choose to hang out for a while.
Construction on the Tientsin Eye began in 2007. The massive ferris wheel stands over the Yongle Bridge, which spans the Hai River in Tianjin, China. It’s a popular tourist attraction due to its beauty and size.
Better known as the “Tianjin Eye,” the attraction is the fourth tallest ferris wheel in the world, coming in behind the London Eye, the Singapore Flyer and the Star of Nanchang. It features 48 passenger capsules, each capable of holding eight people during the 30-minute ride.
Dragons are a very important mythical creature in Asia, and Da Nang, Vietnam decided to incorporate one into an important city bridge. The unique structure connects the airport to the city’s center and opened in 2013 on the 38th anniversary of the liberation of Da Nang during the Vietnam War.
The dragon sculpted into the span doesn’t just look cool. At night, the bridge features led lights, while on weekends the sculpture breathes fire and water. Those wishing to capture the breathtaking scene should situate themselves near the structure at 9:00 PM local time.
The Elastic Perspective is unlike any of the other bridges on this list for one specific reason: it doesn’t go anywhere. The span, located in Barendrecht, Netherlands, doesn’t connect one point to another – it’s positioned in the middle of nowhere.
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The Elastic Perspective is an art project based on the Möbius strip, a unique geometric shape. Depending on where you stand and from what angle you’re looking at it, the structure looks completely different.
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