Lions' Bridge ( bg, Лъвов мост; ''Lavov most'') is a bridge over the
Vladaya River in the centre of
Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...
, the capital of
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 Macedo ...
, built 1889–1891 by
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus'
Places
* Czech, ...
architect Václav Prošek, his brother Jozef and his cousins Bohdan and Jiří. It gives the name to the important and busy junction of
Marie Louise Boulevard and
Slivnitsa Boulevard, at which it is located, connecting the
Central Railway Station with the city centre and marking its northern border.
Overview
The bridge was built from stone at the place of an older bridge called ''Sharen Most'' (Шарен мост, "Motley Bridge") because it was decorated with red and yellow stripes. The name of Lions' Bridge comes from the four bronze sculptures of
lions, its most recognizable feature. All metal elements of the bridge were produced by the
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n company of Rudolph Philipp Waagner, and electric lights were installed in the early 1900s. The entire construction of the bridge cost 260,000
golden lev.
The Prošek family also designed and built the similar but
eagle
Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, j ...
-themed
Eagles' Bridge
Eagles' Bridge ( bg, Орлов мост, ''Orlov most'' ) is a bridge over the Perlovska River in downtown Sofia, capital of Bulgaria.''Travel Sofia: Illustrated Guide, Phrasebook and Maps'', MobileReference, 2010 The bridge and junction where it ...
marking the city centre's eastern border in 1891.
One of the bronze lions is depicted on the
reverse of the Bulgarian 20
lev
Lev may refer to:
Common uses
*Bulgarian lev, the currency of Bulgaria
*an abbreviation for Leviticus, the third book of the Hebrew Bible and the Torah
People and fictional characters
*Lev (given name)
*Lev (surname)
Places
*Lev, Azerbaijan, a ...
banknote, issued in 1999 and 2007.
Since 2012 the area around Lions' Bridge is served by the
Lavov most station of the
Sofia Metro
The Sofia Metro ( bg, Софийски метрополитен, translit=Sofijski Metropoliten, also colloquially called ) is the rapid transit network servicing the Bulgarian capital city Sofia. It began operation on 28 January 1998. , the Sofi ...
M2 line.
In 2014, a major reconstruction of the square was completed, converting the intersection into a two-level interchange. The automobile traffic was removed from the bridge, reserving it only for
trams
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ar ...
and pedestrians.
References
*
Buildings and structures in Sofia
Transport in Sofia
Bridges in Bulgaria
Bridges completed in 1891
1891 establishments in Bulgaria
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