The Eiffel Bridge ( ro, Podul Eiffel) is a bridge over the River Prut and a checkpoint between Moldova and Romania. The bridge is located between

Ungheni Ungheni () is a municipality in Moldova. With a population of 35,157, it is the seventh largest town in Moldova and the seat of Ungheni District. There is a bridge across the Prut and a border checkpoint to Romania. There is another border t ...

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

and

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

History

On a Russian diplomatic agent, Ivan Alekseevich Zinov'ev, and

Gheorghe Costaforu Gheorghe Costaforu (October 26, 1820 – November 28, 1876) was a lawyer, university professor and Romanian politician who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Life and career A graduate of Law School at Sorbonne University, Costaforu b ...

signed a rail junction convention, which was ratified on .Frederick Kellogg, ''The Road to Romanian Independence'', 1995, p. 84 and the Iaşi-Ungheni railway was opened on August 1, 1874. The railway Chişinău- Corneşti-Ungheni (built 1871–1875) was opened on June 1, 1875, by the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

in preparation for the

Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 ( tr, 93 Harbi, lit=War of ’93, named for the year 1293 in the Islamic calendar; russian: Русско-турецкая война, Russko-turetskaya voyna, "Russian–Turkish war") was a conflict between th ...

. Ungheni customs were established in 1875 after putting into operation the Chişinău-Ungheni-Iaşi railroad. The railway Chişinău- Corneşti was already opened in 1873. In 1876, after the spring flooding of the river

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 ...

, the railway bridge that linked

Bessarabia Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Be ...

and

was almost destroyed. The Railway Department invited

Gustave Eiffel Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (born Bonickhausen dit Eiffel; ; ; 15 December 1832 – 27 December 1923) was a French civil engineer. A graduate of École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, he made his name with various bridges for the French railway ...

(Moldova) to redesign and rebuild the bridge, which was opened on , just three days before the outbreak of the

. On , Russian troops entered Romania at Ungheni and, the next day, Russia declared war on the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. Today, the bridge remains a strategically positioned construction under the supervision of border guards. In the nearby city of Iaşi,

also built the Grand Hotel Traian (1882).

Gallery

File:Eiffel Bridge, Ungheni.gif, File:Eiffel Bridge Ungheni.jpg, The bridge in 2010 File:Eiffel Bridge Ungheni Panorama.jpg, Panoramic photograph of the bridge in 2016 File:Eiffel Bridge Ungheni Distance.jpg, A distance look on the bridge

Notes

External links

Customs Service of the Republic of Moldova
* {{in lang, ro}

Bridges in Moldova Bridges completed in 1877 Bridges over the Prut Railway bridges in Romania Railway bridges in Moldova Moldova–Romania border crossings Romania–Soviet Union relations Buildings and structures in Iași County Ungheni 1877 establishments in the Russian Empire Gustave Eiffel's designs

History

Gallery

See also

Notes

External links