The Long Bridge () was the first permanent bridge in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

. It was built in 1688, spanning across the

Sava The Sava, is a river in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. From its source in Slovenia it flows through Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally reac ...

river.

History

The Greek historian

Zosimus Zosimus, Zosimos, Zosima or Zosimas may refer to: People * * Rufus and Zosimus (died 107), Christian saints * Zosimus (martyr) (died 110), Christian martyr who was executed in Umbria, Italy * Zosimos of Panopolis, also known as ''Zosimus Alch ...

mentions the bridge in Belgrade (at that time,

Singidunum Singidunum ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Сингидунум, Singidunum) was an ancient city which later evolved into modern Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. The name is of Celtic origin, going back to the time when the Celtic tribe Scordisci settled the a ...

) already in the 5th century, which is the oldest historical mention of any bridges in the city. Other historical records observe other bridges, like in 1521, 1595 or 1717, but they were all temporary,

pontoon bridges A pontoon bridge (or ponton bridge), also known as a floating bridge, is a bridge that uses float (nautical), floats or shallow-draft (hull), draft boats to support a continuous deck for pedestrian and vehicle travel. The buoyancy of the support ...

, constructed solely for the purpose of conquering the city during the numerous battles and sieges of Belgrade in history.

Location

The bridge was constructed further to the south from the city, near the village of

Ostružnica Ostružnica ( sr-cyr, Остружница) is a List of Belgrade neighborhoods, suburban settlement of Belgrade, Serbia, in the municipality of Čukarica. It has a population of 4,218 people (2011). Geography Ostružnica is located on the right b ...

Šumadija Šumadija ( sr-Cyrl, Шумадија, ) is a geographical region in the central part of Serbia. The area used to be heavily covered with forests, hence the name (from ''šuma'' 'forest'). The city of Kragujevac is the administrative center of t ...

side of the river. As the

Syrmia Syrmia (Ekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srem, Срем, separator=" / " or Ijekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srijem, Сријем, label=none, separator=" / ") is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is div ...

n side across the Sava was a vast marsh at the time (modern

New Belgrade New Belgrade (, ) is a Subdivisions of Belgrade, municipality of the city of Belgrade. It was a Planned community, planned city and now is the central business district of Serbia and South East Europe. Construction began in 1948 in a previously un ...

), the bridge didn't stop at the bank but continued for some length above the swamp. Because of that, the people also called it the Bridge above the marsh (''Most preko močvare'').

Construction

Just like all the previous temporary bridges, the Long Bridge was also built by the Austrians to help them conquer Belgrade from the

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

during the 1688 Siege of Belgrade. According to the records, a seasoned Belgrade

master craftsman Historically, a master craftsman or master tradesman (sometimes called only master or grandmaster) was a member of a guild. The title survives as the highest professional qualification in craft industries. In the European guild#organization, gui ...

Đorđević "in only one month, with the help of his 400 workers, built the Long Bridge, using 2,000 tree trunks, 1,100 wooden piles, 15,500 bundles of palings and 12,000 palisade pickets."

Demolition

If not before, the bridge had to be demolished by 1691 when the Ottomans reconquered Belgrade.

Importance

The Long Bridge is the first permanent bridge in Belgrade history. Right next to it, bit closer to the island of

Ada Ciganlija Ada Ciganlija ( sr-Cyrl, Ада Циганлија, ), colloquially shortened to Ada, is a river island that has artificially been turned into a peninsula, located in the Sava River's course through central Belgrade, Serbia. The name can also ...

, the Austrians constructed another, classical pontoon bridge, which "leaned on the Long Bridge". Maps show another pontoon bridge, on the boats, directly connecting the road from

Zemun Zemun ( sr-cyrl, Земун, ; ) is a Subdivisions of Belgrade, municipality in the city of Belgrade, Serbia. Zemun was a separate town that was absorbed into Belgrade in 1934. It lies on the right bank of the Danube river, upstream from downtown ...

to the

Belgrade Fortress The Belgrade Fortress ( sr-Cyrl, Београдска тврђава, Beogradska tvrđava, Hungarian: Nándorfehérvár), consists of the old citadel (Upper and Lower Town) and Kalemegdan Park (Large and Little Kalemegdan) on the confluence of th ...

.Map of Zemun 1688
/ref>

References

Bridges completed in the 17th century Buildings and structures completed in 1688 Transport infrastructure completed in the 1680s Buildings and structures in Belgrade Bridges in Belgrade Bridges over the Sava in Serbia {{Serbia-struct-stub