The Danube Bridge (also known as the Friendship Bridge;
bg, Мост на дружбата, ''Most na druzhbata'' or, more commonly, Дунав Mост, ''Dunav most''; ro, Podul Prieteniei or ''Podul de la Giurgiu'') is a
steel
Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
truss bridge
A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...
over the
Danube River
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
connecting the
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
n bank to the south with the
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
n bank to the north and the cities of
Ruse
Ruse may refer to:
Places
*Ruse, Bulgaria, a major city of Bulgaria
**Ruse Municipality
** Ruse Province
** 19th MMC – Ruse, a constituency
*Ruše, a town and municipality in north-eastern Slovenia
* Ruše, Žalec, a small settlement in east-ce ...
and
Giurgiu
Giurgiu (; bg, Гюргево) is a city in southern Romania. The seat of Giurgiu County, it lies in the historical region of Muntenia. It is situated amongst mud-flats and marshes on the left bank of the Danube facing the Bulgarian city ...
respectively.
It is one of only two bridges connecting Romania and Bulgaria, the other one being the
New Europe Bridge
The New Europe Bridge ( bg, Мостът Нова Европа, Mostŭt Nova Evropa; ro, Podul Noua Europă) is a road and rail bridge between the cities of Vidin, Bulgaria, and Calafat, Romania. It is the second bridge on the shared section o ...
between the cities of
Vidin
Vidin ( bg, Видин, ; Old Romanian: Diiu) is a port city on the southern bank of the Danube in north-western Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Romania and Serbia, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as o ...
and
Calafat
Calafat () is a city in Dolj County, southern Romania, in the region of Oltenia. It lies on the river Danube, opposite the Bulgarian city of Vidin, to which it is linked by the Calafat-Vidin Bridge, opened in 2013. After the destruction of the bri ...
.
History
Opened on 20 June 1954 and designed by Soviet engineers V. Andreev and N. Rudomazin, the bridge is long and was, at the time, the only bridge over the Danube shared by Bulgaria and Romania, with other traffic being served by
ferries
A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water tax ...
and land routes. Decorations were designed by Bulgarian architect
Georgi Ovcharov. The bridge has two decks; a two lane motorway and a railway. Sidewalks for pedestrians are also included. The central part of the bridge (85 m) is mobile and can be lifted for oversized boats passage. The maintenance of the mobile part is Romania's responsibility and is periodically checked. The bridge was constructed in two and a half years with the aid of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
.
The Soviets named it the "Friendship Bridge", but, since the fall of the communist regimes in both countries, the bridge got the more functional name of "Danube Bridge".
Border control
Border control refers to measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it a ...
stations are present on the bridge, due to its serving as a border crossing between the two countries. Since January 2007 there is no more customs control and the passport/identity card control is done "on one desk" either by the Bulgarian or the Romanian border police, being an "internal border" within the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
. Border control will be completely removed when Bulgaria and Romania join the
Schengen Agreement
The Schengen Agreement ( , ) is a treaty which led to the creation of Europe's Schengen Area, in which internal border checks have largely been abolished. It was signed on 14 June 1985, near the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, by five of the t ...
.
On 3 September 2011 the Bulgarian part of the bridge was opened, after two months of rehabilitation.
There are a pair of rectangular towers supported by pillars on both ends.
Tolls
The following
toll
Toll may refer to:
Transportation
* Toll (fee) a fee charged for the use of a road or waterway
** Road pricing, the modern practice of charging for road use
** Road toll (historic), the historic practice of charging for road use
** Shadow toll, ...
s apply for crossing the Danube Bridge:
Gallery
File:Pont_de_l%27amiti%C3%A9_Rouss%C3%A9-Giurgiu.jpg, Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
n side of the bridge
File:Danube_Bridge_from_the_train.jpg, Middle of the bridge seen from the ''Bosphorus Express
The Bosphorus Express, also known as the Trans Balkan Express ( tr, Bosfor Ekspresi), is an international passenger train running between Istanbul, Turkey and Bucharest, Romania. It runs together with the Istanbul-Sofia Express as far as Dimitr ...
'' train (Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
–Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
)
See also
*
European route E70
European route E70 is an A-Class West-East European route, extending from A Coruña in Spain in the west to the Georgian city of Poti in the east.
Itinerary
The E 70 routes through ten European countries, and includes one sea-crossing, ...
*
European route E85
European route E85 is part of the International E-road network, which is a series of main roads in Europe.
The E 85 starts from Klaipėda (Lithuania) runs south through Belarus, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria to Greece, ending at Alexandroupo ...
*
DN5 road in Romania
*
CFR Line 902 (Giurgiu –
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
) and CFR Line 903 (Giurgiu –
Videle
Videle () is a town in Teleorman County, Muntenia, Romania, with a population of 11,508 in 2011. It was upgraded to town status in 1968 by incorporation of a few villages nearby. Today, Coșoaia is the single associated village the town administe ...
) in Romania
*
Danube Bridge 2
The New Europe Bridge ( bg, Мостът Нова Европа, Mostŭt Nova Evropa; ro, Podul Noua Europă) is a road and rail bridge between the cities of Vidin, Bulgaria, and Calafat, Romania. It is the second bridge on the shared section o ...
, another bridge connecting Bulgaria and Romania
*
List of bridges in Bulgaria
This list of bridges in Bulgaria lists bridges of particular historical, scenic, architectural or engineering interest. Road and railway bridges, viaducts, aqueducts and footbridges are included.
Historical and architectural interest bridges
...
*
List of bridges in Romania
This list of bridges in Romania lists bridges of particular historical, scenic, architectural or engineering interest. Road and railway bridges, viaducts, aqueducts and footbridges are included.
Historical and architectural interest bridges
M ...
References
External links
*
*
Halfway down the Danube', a short story about crossing the bridge
{{Authority control
Truss bridges
Bridges in Bulgaria
Bridges in Romania
Bridges over the Danube
Bridges completed in 1954
Buildings and structures in Ruse, Bulgaria
Giurgiu
International bridges
Bulgaria–Romania border crossings
Railway bridges in Bulgaria
Railway bridges in Romania
Road-rail bridges
Steel bridges
Buildings and structures in Giurgiu County
Bulgaria–Soviet Union relations
Romania–Soviet Union relations
Toll bridges
Bulgaria–Romania relations
Soviet foreign aid
European route E85
Double-decker bridges