Vizcaya suspension bridge: monuments in Getxo, Vizcaya

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Architecture and monuments / Neoclassicism and the 19th century / Getxo

Vizcaya suspension bridge

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View of the Vizcaya suspension bridge. Portugalete, Vizcaya-Bizcaia © Turespaña
View of the Vizcaya suspension bridge. Portugalete, Vizcaya-Bizcaia © Turespaña

Category

Bridge

Date

Siglo XIX

Style

Neo-classical

Puente de Vizcaya Zubia
(Las Arena), Getxo
Vizcaya - Bizkaia, Basque Country

Telephone+34 944801012

E-mailpromocion@puente-colgante.com

Websitehttp://puente-colgante.com

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It has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Puente de Vizcaya Bridge is very close to Bilbao, and is the world's oldest transporter bridge. It is fully functional to this day: almost six million passengers cross it every year. It was inaugurated in 1893, the work of architect Alberto de Palacio. The structure is 45 metres high and 160 metres long. It crosses the Nervión River between the towns of Portugalete and Getxo. It was a revolutionary work of engineering and was the world's first transporter bridge, allowing boats to cross underneath at the same time, thanks to the hanging gondola that moves from one side to the other. This technique was later used on many similar bridges in Europe, Africa and America.

Puente de Vizcaya Bridge was the first Industrial Heritage Site declared in Spain. UNESCO describes it as "a perfect combination of functionality and aesthetic beauty, in an exceptional expression of technical creativity". Furthermore, we should also mention its influence in the development of future transporter bridges, many of which have since disappeared.