Kuradisild (''Devil's Bridge''; originally Aleksandri sild, German: ''Alexander Brücke'', ''Alexander's Bridge'') is a dark concrete bridge located on

Toomemägi Toomemägi (or Toome Hill; et, Toomemägi or et, Toome) is a hill in Tartu, Estonia. Geologically, Toomemägi is part of the Emajõgi's ancient valley. Toomemägi is site of Tartu's beginnings. By the 7th century CE, local inhabitants had ...

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of ...

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

, built to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the

Romanov Dynasty The House of Romanov (also transcribed Romanoff; rus, Романовы, Románovy, rɐˈmanəvɨ) was the reigning imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after the Tsarina, Anastasia Romanova, was married to ...

in 1913. Kuradisild is one of the few remaining concrete bridges built in early 20th century. It is one of the symbols and landmarks of Tartu alongside Inglisild (''Angel's Bridge'') located on the other side of Toome Hill. The elegant bridge is supported by two arches. The massive

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...

is decorated with ornamental panels and seating recesses. The first bridge located in the place now occupied by Kuradisild was built in 1809. The

Neogothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

wooden bridge was based on designs by the

University of Tartu The University of Tartu (UT; et, Tartu Ülikool; la, Universitas Tartuensis) is a university in the city of Tartu in Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is the only classical university in the country, and also its biggest ...

architect Johann Wilhelm Krause. This bridge was later replaced by a single span wooden bridge designed by J. G. Köningsmann and built in 1842–1844. The current single span concrete bridge was built to commemorate the

300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty The Romanov Tercentenary was a country-wide celebration, marked in the Russian Empire from February 1913, in celebration of the ruling House of Romanov. After a grand display of wealth and power in St. Petersburg, and a week of receptions at the ...

after designs made by Tartu city architect

Arved Eichhorn Arved is a masculine given name. Notable people with the given name include: *Arved Birnbaum (b. 1962), German actor * Arved Crüger (1911–1942), German WWII Luftwaffe wing commander *Arved Deringer (1913–2011), German lawyer and politician * ...

. The Toome Hill side of the bridge is decorated with the numbers 1613 and 1913, commemorating the jubilee; the Toome Valley side of the bridge bears a bronze relief of

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. The son of ...

(made by Constanze von Wetter-Rosenthal) and the words "Alexandro Primo".Kuradisild
in the Estonian National Registry of Cultural Monuments The bridge is a protected heritage site.

Origin of the name

The origin of the name of the Devil's Bridge is unclear. The name may have derived from the dark color of the bridge which stands in sharp contrast with the nearby, much lighter, Angel's Bridge. It has also been suggested that the name may have originated from the name of the supervisor of the construction of the bridge, Professor of Medicine and surgeon

Werner Zoege von Manteuffel Werner Maximilian Friedrich Zoege von Manteuffel (13 July 1857, in Määri, Estonia – 14 March 1926, in Tallinn, Estonia) was a Baltic German medical surgeon. He was the earliest advocate of sterilised gloves. He studied at the University of D ...

("Teufel" – the German for "Devil"), from its similarity to the Teufelsbrücke on

Reuss Reuss may refer to: *Reuss (surname) *Reuss (river) in Switzerland *Reuss (state) or Reuß, several former states or countries in present-day Germany, and the Republic of Reuss *Reuss Elder Line and Reuss Younger Line (House of Reuss), members incl ...

References

{{Coord, 58.3789, N, 26.7159, E, source:wikidata, display=title Bridges in Tartu