The Anghel Saligny Bridge (formerly King Carol I Bridge) is a complex of two

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

truss bridge A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...

s in

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 ...

, across the

Danube River The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

and the Borcea branch of the Danube, connecting the regions of Muntenia and

Dobruja Dobruja or Dobrudja (; bg, Добруджа, Dobrudzha or ''Dobrudža''; ro, Dobrogea, or ; tr, Dobruca) is a historical region in the Balkans that has been divided since the 19th century between the territories of Bulgaria and Romania. I ...

. The bridge is listed in the National Register of Historic Monuments.

History

The bridge was built between 1890 and 1895 over the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

, the

Borcea Borcea is a commune situated in the eastern part of Călărași County, Muntenia, Romania. It is one of the most populous communes in the county and it is situated on the west bank of the Borcea branch (a section of the Danube). The commune was ...

branch of the Danube, and the Balta Ialomiței island, and when it was completed, with a total length (with viaducts) of , it became the longest bridge in Europe and the second longest in the world. The bridge was designed by the Romanian engineer

Anghel Saligny Anghel Saligny (; 19 April 1854, Șerbănești, Moldavia – 17 June 1925, Bucharest, Romania) was a Romanian engineer, most famous for designing the Fetești-Cernavodă railway bridge (1895) over the Danube, the longest bridge in Europe at tha ...

. The two cities on the banks of the river which was built were

Fetești Fetești () is a city in Ialomița County, Muntenia, Romania. It is located in the Bărăgan plain, on the Borcea branch of the Danube. Fetești has the second largest population in Ialomița, after Slobozia. In 1895, the King Carol I railway ...

on the left side, located on the Borcea branch of the Danube, and Cernavodă on the right side, located on the main branch of the Danube. The crossing of Danube at Cernavodă was provided through a bridge with a central span of (the largest in continental Europe) and other four spans of , beside to a viaduct with 15 spans of each. Another bridge, with three spans of and 11 spans of , was designed and realized over the Borcea branch. The two bridges have a total length of of which over the Danube and over Borcea, and are above the water, allowing tall ships to pass under it. Between the two bridges there was a viaduct over the Balta Ialomiței island, with 34 spans of each. The entire bridge was inaugurated on 26 September 1895, and as a test on the opening, a convoy of 15 whistling locomotives sped at 60 km/h, followed by a train reserved for 'guests', at 80 km/h. In the 1960s, after large parts of the Balta Ialomiței island were reclaimed for agriculture, the original viaduct over it was replaced with an

embankment Embankment may refer to: Geology and geography * A levee, an artificial bank raised above the immediately surrounding land to redirect or prevent flooding by a river, lake or sea * Embankment (earthworks), a raised bank to carry a road, railwa ...

. Anghel Saligny Bridge complex has been exclusively used for almost a century, until 1987, when the new

Cernavodă Bridge The Cernavodă Bridge is a complex of two freeway-railroad truss bridges in Romania, across the Danube River, connecting the cities of Cernavodă and Fetești, between the regions of Dobruja and Muntenia. Inaugurated in 1987, the bridges have ...

complex, built next to it, was inaugurated.Danube bridges

Gallery

File:Podul Cernavoda.JPG, The bridge during the early 20th century File:Spoorbrug Anghel Saligny over de Donau 08.jpg, Bridge archway File:Cernavoda bridges 2.jpg, Anghel Saligny Bridge (right) and

(left) File:Spoorbrug Anghel Saligny over de Donau 10.jpg, Anghel Saligny Bridge over the main branch of the Danube File:Rumania Puente en Fetesti sobre rio Borcea.jpg, The bridge over the Borcea branch of the Danube

References

External links

King Carol I Bridge
at Structurae
Bridge over the Borcea Branch
at Structurae
The history of the Romanian Danube bridges (14 figures available)
at Semantic Scholar {{Authority control Bridges in Romania Railway bridges in Romania Bridges over the Danube Bridges completed in 1895 Buildings and structures in Constanța County Buildings and structures in Ialomița County Historic monuments in Constanța County Historic monuments in Ialomița County

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links