Starý most () is a bridge over the river

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

. Before its reconstruction, the bridge included a wooden pathway for pedestrians, a two-lane road, and a railway track, connecting the historic old city of Bratislava with the newer region

Petržalka Petržalka (; ; ) is the largest borough of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Situated on the right bank of the river Danube, the area shares a land border with Austria, and is home to around 100,000 people. Names and etymology The German name ...

. The bridge was closed for cars in 2009 and for buses on 14 May 2010. On 2 December 2013 it was also closed for pedestrian and bicycle traffic as deconstruction of the old bridge began. At the time of its closure it was the oldest standing bridge in Bratislava. , the bridge was replaced by a new one for pedestrians, cyclists and trams, as part of new tram track to Petržalka. At various times in the past, the bridge was called ''Most Červenej armády'' (i.e. ''Red Army Bridge''), ''Štefánikov most'', ''Ferenc József híd'' and ''Franz Josef Brücke''.

History

Aside from short-lived wooden bridges before the 19th century, which were often damaged or destroyed by floods and frost, the first bridge in Pozsony (today's Bratislava) was a pontoon bridge, which was built in 1825, standing somewhere around Koronázási domb tér or Krönungshügel platz ''(today's Ľudovít Štúr Square)''. It lasted until 1891, when a new steel bridge called ''Ferenc József híd'' or ''Franz Josephs Brücke'' (

Franz Joseph Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

Bridge), was opened, which was part of the railroad track Pozsony-

Szombathely } Szombathely (; ; also see #Etymology, names) is the 10th largest city in Hungary. It is the administrative centre of Vas County in the west of the country, located near the border with Austria. Szombathely lies by the streams ''Perint'' and '' ...

. It was built by

Gábor Baross Gábor Baross de Bellus (6 July 1848 – 8 May 1892) was a Hungarian statesman in Hungarian parliament, was born at Barossháza now Pružina near Trencsén (now Trenčín, Slovakia). He was for a time one of the professors there under Cardinal ...

' order. During the

First Czechoslovak Republic The First Czechoslovak Republic, often colloquially referred to as the First Republic, was the first Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak state that existed from 1918 to 1938, a union of ethnic Czechs and Slovaks. The country was commonly called Czechosl ...

(1918 - 1938) it was called ''Štefánikov most'' ( Štefánik Bridge). During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the steel part of the bridge was destroyed, but the stone pillars survived. After the occupation of Bratislava from the collaborationist

Slovak Republic Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's ...

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

troops in 1945, the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

prisoners-of-war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

rebuilt the bridge. It was later used by the

Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

and the Hungarian People’s Army to invade Czechoslovakia during the

Prague Spring The Prague Spring (; ) was a period of liberalization, political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected Secretary (title), First Secre ...

of 1968. Soviet soldiers killed five

Comenius University Comenius University Bratislava () is the largest university in Slovakia, with most of its faculties located in Bratislava. It was founded in 1919, shortly after the creation of Czechoslovakia. It is named after Jan Amos Comenius, a 17th-century ...

students attempting to resist the invasion. In 1972, after Most SNP ''(lit. Slovak National Uprising Bridge) '' was opened, it was Old Bridge renamed to

Bridge, in honour of Soviet troops that liberated the city.

Car-free future

On January 1, 2009 the city of Bratislava closed the bridge to motor vehicles except buses because of problems with statics and on May 15, 2010 also for buses, pedestrians and cyclists. The bridge was reopened to cyclists and pedestrians a few months later after the road for cars was removed and remained open until 08:00 on 2 December 2013 when it was closed for all traffic again due to its deconstruction which started in late November 2013. , the bridge was replaced by a new one for pedestrians, cyclists and trams, as part of new tram track to Petržalka.

Gallery

File:Nový Starý most 01.jpg File:Nový Starý most 02.jpg File:2017-06-15 SK Bratislava V, Starý most (50154313481).jpg

References

http://www.mostynaslovensku.sk/en

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stary most (Bratislava) Railway bridges in Slovakia Bridges over the Danube Bridges completed in 1945 Former toll bridges Transport in Bratislava Bridges in Bratislava 20th-century architecture in Slovakia