photo - Radio Opole

Europe’s oldest hanging steel and iron bridge at Ozimek, near the south-western city of Opole, will ceremoniously re-open in May after repairs.

The bridge was dismantled, all its elements were inspected, cleaned, reinforced with steel cables and will be put back together in its original place.

The bridge opened in September 1872 over river Mała Panew and was the first construction of this kind in Europe, made in a local foundry, and even included in the town’s crest. Originally calculated to bear 3 tonnes, the bridge proved that it could withstand transports five times heavier.

Unaffected by floods last year which devastated much of southern Poland, the only graver damage it suffered was caused by a carelessly driven Soviet tank in 1945.

Some of the architectural solutions applied in the bridge at Ozimek were later used in the construction of other cable bridges in Europe and even the Golden Gate in San Francisco. (ek)