Europe's Devil's Bridges

Constructed between 1515 and 1518 in the early 16th century by a builder Dimitar from the nearby village of Nedelino, Dyavolski most, the Devil’s Bridge or also known in Turkish as “Sheytan Kyupriya”, is the most stunning of the humpbacked bridges that cross the Arda River in Bulgaria. It was built over a demolished Roman bridge and cuts from the steep slopes of the Rhodope Moutains along an ancient road linking the Aegean Sea and the Northern Thracian Valley (Gornotrakiiskata Nizina).

The bridge is located near the town of Ardino, which even has a water fountain shaped like the bridge. It’s one of several “devil’s bridges” found around Europe. Its span is 185 feet long, 11.5 feet wide, and at its gravity-defying central arch stands 37.7 feet high. Interior semi-circular arches were built in to monitor the water level.

The reason some locals are hesitant to cross at night is rooted in dark lore. One story is that the head builder’s wife passed away during construction, so her shadow was encased in the structure. Another tale has it that the devil’s footprint can be found somewhere on the rocks. While this is all folkloric myth, its towering form does make for a somewhat unsettling vista in the darkness.

The bridge was declared a cultural monument in 1984. It was also the spot for filming several scenes from the 1988 Bulgarian movie “Time of Violence” (“Vreme Razdelno”).

so number five isnt the original one either. thankyou

Nestled among the verdant foliage in Kromlau, Germany’s Kromlauer Park, is a delicately arched devil’s bridge known as the Rakotzbrücke, which was specifically built to create a circle when it is reflected in the waters beneath it.

Commissioned in 1860 by the knight of the local town, the thin arch stretching over the waters of the Rakotzsee is roughly built out of varied local stone. Like many similarly precarious spans across Europe, the Rakotzbrücke is known as a “devil’s bridge,” due to the colloquialism that such bridges were so dangerous or miraculous that they must have been built by Satan. While the bridge (as with all the others) was created by mortal hands, its builders did seem to hold the aesthetics of the bridge in higher regard than its utility.

Either end of the Rakotzbrücke is decorated with thin rock spires created to look like natural basalt columns, which occur in many places in Germany. In addition, the curvature of the bridge is designed to be one half of a perfect circle, so that when the waters are still and the light is right, it creates the illusion of a complete stone circle.

Today, the bridge can still be viewed in the park, but crossing the aging relic is prohibited in order to preserve it.

jirqoadai wrote:so number five isnt the original one either. thankyou

It was built between 1515 and 1518 over an older Roman bridge so not the original but still hundreds of years old.

First you say they are in Italy which none of them are and now you are saying one was built after 2000 which is BS.   How about a link?

I honestly can't be bothered posting the history on all of them.   Why can't you just enjoy them?

Red Lily wrote:

jirqoadai wrote:so number five isnt the original one either. thankyou

It was built between 1515 and 1518 over an older Roman bridge.  

yes. thankyou. you said these were never rebuilt. thankyou for correcting yourself

jirqoadai wrote:

Red Lily wrote:

jirqoadai wrote:so number five isnt the original one either. thankyou

It was built between 1515 and 1518 over an older Roman bridge.  

yes. thankyou. you said these were never rebuilt. thankyou for correcting yourself

The bridges I posted have never been rebuilt.   One was built over an older bridge that the Romans built.   It was not rebuilt per se nor was it blown up by the Germans.

Now how about proving your claim that one was built after 2000 with a credible link. I'll wait :)

Red Lily wrote:

jirqoadai wrote:

Red Lily wrote:

jirqoadai wrote:so number five isnt the original one either. thankyou

It was built between 1515 and 1518 over an older Roman bridge.  

yes. thankyou. you said these were never rebuilt. thankyou for correcting yourself

The bridges I posted have never been rebuilt.   One was built over an older bridge that the Romans built.   It was not rebuilt per se.

you are in error. even number three wasnt built all at one time, although it was built after the year 2000

Red Lily wrote:Now how about proving your claim that one was built after 2000 with a credible link.   I'll wait  :)

look at the mortar. its still not set.

now look at number one. you like how thats built? its arch is set upon just one layer of stone that arises out of the river bed. you like the infill to the right of the arch, to the right towards the abutment? before the abutment?