The Lipcani-Rădăuți Bridge ( ro, Podul Lipcani-Rădăuţi) is a road bridge over

Prut The Prut (also spelled in English as Pruth; , uk, Прут) is a long river in Eastern Europe. It is a left tributary of the Danube. In part of its course it forms Romania's border with Moldova and Ukraine. Characteristics The Prut originates ...

and a checkpoint between Moldova and Romania.

History

The

Rădăuți Rădăuți (; german: Radautz; hu, Radóc; pl, Radowce; uk, Радівці, ''Radivtsi''; yi, ראַדעװיץ ''Radevits''; tr, Radoviçe) is a town in Suceava County, north-eastern Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Buko ...

Lipcani Lipcani (; uk, Липкани, russian: Липканы, yi, ליפקאַן ''Lipkon'') is a town in Briceni District, Moldova. It is also a border crossing between Moldova and Romania. Overview Lipcani is located on the banks of the Prut ...

bridge was built up in 1937 and blasted up in 1941 by retreating

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

, during the German-led invasion of the Soviet Union. It was rebuilt but destroyed again in 1944 during bombing in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. In 2000, the European Commission earmarked 11 million euros to Moldova and Romania to reconstruct the bridge. The construction was completed in 2005. The bridge is long and broad. The bridge is located more than away from Chișinău. The bridge and the border checkpoint between

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

and

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnistr ...

were re-unveiled on February 15, 2010. The inauguration ribbon was cut by

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Vlad Filat Vladimir Filat (born 6 May 1969), commonly referred to as Vlad Filat (), is a Moldovan businessman and politician, founder of Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova. He was the Prime Minister of Moldova from 25 September 2009 to 25 April 2013. He ...

, Romanian Administration and Interior Minister

Vasile Blaga Vasile Blaga (; born 26 July 1956) is a Romanian politician who was Speaker of the Upper Chamber of the Romanian Parliament, the Senate, from 2011 to 2012. He also served as Minister of Regional Development and Housing and twice as Minister of Ad ...

and the head of the

Delegation of the European Union to Moldova The Delegation of the European Union to Moldova ( ro, Delegația Uniunii Europene în Republica Moldova) was established to facilitate relations between Moldova and the European Union. It is located in Moldova's capital, Chișinău. History Th ...

, Dirk Schuebel. Filat noted that after 66 years, Moldovan citizens have again the possibility of crossing the bridge.Moldovan premier participates in opening of Radauti-Lipcani bridge
/ref> Besides Filat, Moldova was represented at the event by Interior Minister

Victor Catan Victor Catan (born 17 August 1949) is a Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east ...

, the head of the Customs Service Tudor Balițchi and the head of the Border Guard Service Alexei Roibu and Romania by the head of the Suceava County Council,

Gheorghe Flutur Gheorghe Flutur (born 8 July 1960 in Botoșana, Suceava County, Romania) is a Romanian politician, member of the National Liberal Party (PNL). He was also a member of the Liberal Democratic Party (PLD) as vice-president, since December 2006 u ...

, the head of the Botoşani County Council, Mihai Țîbuleac, and the

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

Botoșani County Botoșani County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in Western Moldavia (encompassing a few villages in neigbhouring Suceava County from Bukovina to the west as well), with the capital town ( ro, Oraș reședință de județ) at Botoșani. ...

, Cristian Roman. The new checkpoint at Lipcani-Rădăuți Prut will facilitate the implementation of the agreement on small-scale cross-border trade signed by the two states at the end of 2009. There are another seven Moldova–Romania border crossings.

External links

Customs Service of the Republic of Moldova

THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA BETWEEN NEUTRALITY AND NORMALITY 15 February 2010

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lipcani-Radauti Bridge Road bridges Bridges in Moldova Bridges in Romania Bridges completed in 1937 Bridges over the Prut Moldova–Romania border crossings Romania–Soviet Union relations Lipcani Buildings and structures in Botoșani County Road bridges in Europe

History

See also

External links

Notes