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 over the Danube River connecting the Bulgarian bank to the south with the Romanian bank to the north and the cities of Ruse 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 between the cities of Vidin and Calafat.

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 and land routes. Decorations were designed by Bulgarian architect

Georgi Ovcharov Georgi may refer to: * Georgi (given name) * Georgi (surname) See also * Georgy (disambiguation) * Georgii (disambiguation) {{disambig ...

. 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 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. Border control will be completely removed when Bulgaria and Romania join the Schengen Agreement. 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 tolls apply for crossing the Danube Bridge:

Gallery

File:Pont_de_l%27amiti%C3%A9_Rouss%C3%A9-Giurgiu.jpg, Romanian side of the bridge File:Danube_Bridge_from_the_train.jpg, Middle of the bridge seen from the '' Bosphorus Express'' train ( Bucharest– Istanbul)

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