The Blauwbrug (English: Blue bridge) is a historic

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually someth ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

over the river

Amstel The Amstel () is a river in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands. It flows from the Aarkanaal and Drecht in Nieuwveen northwards, passing Uithoorn, Amstelveen, and Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, to the IJ in Amsterdam. Annually, the ri ...

. It connects the

Rembrandtplein Rembrandtplein (English: Rembrandt Square) is a major square in central Amsterdam, Netherlands, named after Rembrandt van Rijn who owned a house nearby from 1639 to 1656. History The square has its origins in the defensive walls constructed in t ...

area with the

Waterlooplein Waterlooplein (Waterloo Square) is a square in the centre of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The square near the Amstel river is named after the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. The daily flea market on the square is popular with tourists. The Stopera ...

area, and lies south to the

Stopera The Stopera is a building complex in Amsterdam, Netherlands, housing both the city hall of Amsterdam and the Dutch National Opera and Ballet, the principal opera house in Amsterdam that is home of Dutch National Opera, Dutch National Ballet and ...

. The bridge owes its name to a wooden "blue bridge" that was there from around 1600 but no longer exists and which was painted the characteristic blue of the

Dutch flag The national flag of the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlandse vlag) is a horizontal tricolour of red, white, and blue. The current design originates as a variant of the late 16th century orange-white-blue ''Prinsenvlag'' ("Prince's Flag"), evolvi ...

. It kept the name after 1883 when it was replaced by the spans of a new bridge which is inspired by the architecture of several of the bridges over the

Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/ Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributa ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

such as

Pont Alexandre III The Pont Alexandre III is a deck arch bridge that spans the Seine in Paris. It connects the Champs-Élysées quarter with those of the Invalides and Eiffel Tower. The bridge is widely regarded as the most ornate, extravagant bridge in the ci ...

. The stone bridge has three openings for ships and is richly decorated. The bases are formed like ships' bows and on top columns with leaf-motifs, masks and finally the

Imperial Crown of Austria The Imperial Crown of Austria (german: Österreichische Kaiserkrone) is a crown formerly in use by the monarchs of the Habsburg monarchy. The crown was originally made in 1602 in Prague by Jan Vermeyen as the personal crown of Holy Roman Emperor ...

, as also present in the city's coat of arms. Also the lantern poles have shipping decorations and the lanterns themselves are again in the shape of crowns. The bridge carries a road which is also used by the

tram 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 ...

way.

In culture

The title of A. F. Th. van der Heijden's controversial 1983 novel ''De Slag om de Blauwbrug'' refers to this bridge.

Gallery

File:De Blauwbrug over de Binnen-Amstel, verbouwd in 1883.jpg, The Blauwbrug before 1883 File:Blauwbrug lithograph.png, The Blauwbrug in circa 1905 File:Brug236c.jpg, Monumental lantern with Imperial crown on the Blauwbrug File:Blauwbrug amsterdam.jpg, South side of the Blauwbrug seen from the Amstel File:RiotsInaugurationBeatrix1980NL.jpg, Riot on the Blauwbrug in 1980 File:Lantern,_Blauwbrug,_Amsterdam.jpg, Close-up of Imperial crown lanterns on the Blauwbrug in 2014 File:Amstel vanaf Blauwbrug 2017.jpg, View of the Amstel from the Blauwbrug in 2017

External links

* Bridges completed in 1883 Bridges in Amsterdam Road bridges in the Netherlands Road-rail bridges Stone bridges in the Netherlands Tourist attractions in Amsterdam {{Netherlands-bridge-struct-stub