Lions' Bridge ( bg, Лъвов мост; ''Lavov most'') is a bridge over the

Vladaya River The Vladayska (Владайска река, ''Vladayska reka'') is a river in western Bulgaria, a tributary of the Perlovska. The river flows from the northwestern slopes of Cherni Vrah on Vitosha, Vitosha Mountain, crossing Torfeno Branishte Nat ...

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 ha ...

, 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 Macedon ...

, 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 Maria Luiza Boulevard ( bg, Булевард Мария Луиза), also called Maria Luiza, which is the Bulgarian transliteration of Marie Louise, is a central boulevard in Sofia. It connects Central Railway Station and Vitosha Boulevard whic ...

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

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

s, 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, just ...

-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 Reverse or reversing may refer to: Arts and media * ''Reverse'' (Eldritch album), 2001 * ''Reverse'' (2009 film), a Polish comedy-drama film * ''Reverse'' (2019 film), an Iranian crime-drama film * ''Reverse'' (Morandi album), 2005 * ''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 are ...

and pedestrians. File:Lavov most detail.JPG, File:Lavov most view 123.JPG, Lions' Bridge File:Sofia - Bulgaria - Lion's Bridge and the surrounding area in 1910.jpg, Lion's Bridge and the surrounding area in 1910

References

* Buildings and structures in Sofia Transport in Sofia Bridges in Bulgaria Bridges completed in 1891 1891 establishments in Bulgaria {{Bulgaria-bridge-struct-stub