Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, is located on two major rivers, the Danube and the Sava which are spanned by 11 bridges in total.
Introduction
The Greek historian Zosimus mentions the bridge in Belgrade (at that time, Singidunum) already in the 5th century, which is the oldest historical mention of any bridges in the city. Other historical records observe other bridges, from the Byzantine and later periods, like in 1521, 1595, 1688Map of Zemun 1688 or 1717, but they were all temporary, pontoon bridges, constructed solely for the purpose of conquering the city during the numerous battles and sieges of Belgrade through history.
In 1521, Karaca Pasha, military commander of the Ottoman sultan Suleiman the Magnificent built a pontoon bridge across the Sava. The Ottoman first conquered less fortified city of Zemun in Syrmia, and then built the bridge back to Belgrade. Foreign chroniclers were spreading news of the Ottomans "piling up" the bridge materials in Belgrade, and claimed the bridges were built in 1529, 1532 and 1566, but this can't be confirmed. They also probably were only temporary, military pontoon bridges. Ottoman traveler Evliya Çelebi, who visited Belgrade in the 1660s, mentioned a former bridge, built in 1526 or 1529.
Regarding the construction, the craftsmen were from Dubrovnik, while the workforce (corvée labor) was made of Serbs and Jews. In 1595 Ottomans built a pontoon over the Danube, near the village of Višnjica. A bridge across the Sava was described in 1608, as being 4,000 paces long, of which 800 paces was above the river. Part of the bridge was mobile, serving as a bascule bridge, to allow the river transport. Another bridge across the Sava was mentioned in 1662. Built by 1,500 workers, it was 15 paces wide and 3,380 paces long. There may be another bridge at the same time, as this one was referred to as the "New Bridge". The bridge had poles, decorated with maces, battle axes, and crescent moons. Çelebi crossed the bridge in 1663, estimating it as having 400 paces across the river, and additional 4,000 paces across the swamps. It was held by 50 ships.
In the late 17th century, another bridge across the Sava's Ada Ciganlija island was also mentioned. Sources mention the pontoon bridge across the Danube in 1698. The bridge in 1717 was built on the orders of the Austrian commander Prince Eugene of Savoy. The chronicles mention no less than 10 pontoon bridges on the location of the modern Branko's Bridge - 5 Austrian and 5 Ottoman.
Types
They can be categorized in several ways:
a) 10 across the Sava, 2 across the Danube;b) 8 road bridges, 3 railway and 1 combined;c) 7 urban, 4 suburban and 1 combined;
Bridges by water body Sava 1884 - Old Railroad Bridge
Old Railroad Bridge () was built within the project of constructing the first railway in Serbia. It was built on a French concession which included the construction of the Belgrade–Niš railway, the railway bridge over the Sava and a railway which will connect Belgrade to Zemun, at the time, the border town of Austria-Hungary. It was demolished in both World Wars and the present construction was placed after the World War II ended. As the only connection between Serbia and the Austria-Hungary, who already positioned its army near the bridge, it was demolished by the Serbian army on 29 July 1914. It was reconstructed in 1919. When Germany attacked Yugoslavia on 6 April 1941, the High Command decided to demolish all three existing bridges in Belgrade, including the railway bridge. It was reconstructed again in 1945, funded by the war reparations. Though projected as a temporary link in 1945, the bridge was reconstructed in 1986, when the tracks were replaced. Minor repairs on the bridge have been done in 1995 and 1996. It was the only bridge in Belgrade until 1934. Also, it was the only railway bridge until 1935 and the only one across the Sava until 1979 when the New Railroad Bridge was open.
Type: a) Sava; b) railway; c) urban;
1942 - Old Sava Bridge
Old Sava Bridge (Стари савски мост) was built during the German occupation. The construction of the bridge was installed over the Tisa river near Žabalj, but the demolition of the King Alexander Bridge, led to the installation of the construction over the eight pillars on the Sava river. It was cut in pieces and transferred to Belgrade. It was the only big European bridge that was not demolished during the German withdrawals. The bridge had a wooden driveway until 1964, when the planners suggested the reconstruction of the bridge to the mayor Branko Pešić. After a five-year reconstruction a new concrete panel was placed in 1969. After opting against the construction of metro, despite developing the project for over a decade, in 1984 the tramway tracks were laid over the bridge and the concrete panel was replaced with the steel one. In March 2016, mayor of Belgrade Siniša Mali announced the massive reconstruction of the bridge, slated to begin in the late 2017. He named the Tehran's Tabiat Bridge as an inspiration. However, in May 2017, after the city publicized the project papers, it was obvious that all the time they wanted to demolish the bridge completely and build a new one but the old bridge will not be demolished. Instead it will be moved to another location which is still not chosen, as a pedestrian bridge.
Type: a) Sava; b) road; c) urban;
1953 - Ostružnica Railroad Bridge
Ostružnica Railroad Bridge (Остружнички железнички мост) was built in order to move the transport of toxic and explosive materials from downtown Belgrade. Built in 1953, it was damaged by NATO during the bombing of Serbia in 1999. The long bridge was repaired and open on 15 September 2006.
Type: a) Sava; b) railway; c) suburban;
1956 - Branko's Bridge
Branko's Bridge (Бранков мост) replaced in 1956 the former chain-stayed King Alexander Bridge, which was operational from 1934 to 1941. The bridge actually uses lower parts of the former bridge's pylons as outer constraints for its two secondary spans. After the World War II, in the 1950s, the general idea was that trolleybuses should take over the major role in the public transportation. Line to Zemun was opened in 1956, and in time three lines over the bridge were formed: Line 14 – Zeleni Venac-Gornji Grad (Zemun) (which was considered a successor line to the pre-war tram line), Line 15 – Zeleni Venac-Novi Grad (Zemun) and Line 16 – Zeleni Venac-Pohorska, New Belgrade. The lines were closed in 1973. The bridge gained an infamous reputation as the suicide bridge. Some 40 people try to commit suicide jumping of the Branko's Bridge every year.
Type: a) Sava; b) road; c) urban;
1970 - Gazela Bridge
Gazela Bridge (Мост Газела) is the most important, central bridge in the city, the main connection between downtown Belgrade and New Belgrade, carrying the transit traffic on E70 and E75 highways. Daily traffic exceeds 165,000 vehicles. It was built from 1966 to 1970. Immediately after the opening in 1970, a defect was noticed. Due to the miscalculations, the metallic construction began to depress in the middle of the bridge. By the 2010 reconstruction, it became visible both by watching the bridge from the side or crossing it. In order to alleviate the problem, on the metallic sections of the bridge, the concrete shoulders were replaced with the lighter, metallic ones. After a long debate, which lasted for years, on the condition of the bridge, a major reconstruction ensued in 2010-11. After the reconstruction, city officials stated the bridge would be able to handle 200,000 vehicles daily for the next 40 years. However, the bridge is still overloaded, despite the significant relief when the new Ada Bridge was opened for traffic on 1 January 2012. Additional relief is expected when the Belgrade bypass is completed.
Type: a) Sava; b) road; c) urban;
1979 - New Railroad Bridge
New Railroad Bridge (Нови желеѕнички мост) is a cable-stayed bridge, the second railway bridge across the Sava in the urban section of Belgrade. The construction of the bridge began in 1975 and it was completed and opened for traffic in 1979. The bridge was built as a part of the projected Belgrade railway junction and it directly connects New Belgrade with the, still unfinished, Belgrade Centre railway station in the neighborhood of Prokop. Designed by Nikola Hajdin, it was the first bridge in Europe to use cable-stayed girder system.
Type: a) Sava; b) railway; c) urban;
1998 - Ostružnica Bridge
Ostružnica Bridge (Остружнички мост) is a three-lane semi-highway girder bridge carrying the Belgrade bypass. It was constructed from 1990 to 1998. The bridge was bombed by NATO during the Kosovo War in 1999 and fully reconstructed by 2004. The additional, parallel three-lane twin bridge was officially opened on 14 June 2020.
Type: a) Sava; b) road; c) suburban;
2011 - Obrenovac-Surčin Bridge
Obrenovac-Surčin Bridge (Мост Обреновац-Сурчин) was built from 1994 to 2011. It was originally projected as the carrier for the district heating pipeline, hence the closeness to the power plant.), It was supposed to connect the TPP Nikola Tesla plant with New Belgrade. In 1997. the project was changed to include the possibility of transporting tanks and other military technics and then the idea was expanded to include the regular traffic. Due to the financial constraints, the works were halted in 1998 and the NATO bombing in 1999 pushed this project out of any future plans as so much other infrastructure had to be repaired. In the next years nothing new was done as works included only the maintenance of the already placed steel construction and the reparation of one of the pillars which was damaged by the barge. The idea resurfaced in 2006 when the discussions were held on the profitability of the heating pipeline and eventually the pipeline idea was dropped. Tentative works on further building began in April 2010 and the full blown construction ensued in 2011. The bridge was opened on 1 December 2011.
Type: a) Sava; b) road; c) suburban;
2012 - Ada Bridge
Ada Bridge (Мост на Ади) is a cable-stayed bridge which crosses the tip of Ada Ciganlija island, connecting the municipalities of Čukarica and New Belgrade. The bridge pylon is located on the tip of the island, which has been reinforced with large amounts of concrete and has been slightly enlarged to provide stronger foundations. Construction began in 2008, and the bridge was opened on 1 January 2012. Component parts of the deck were manufactured in China and delivered in transportable units on a sea and river-route via Rotterdam through the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal to the pre-assembly yard next to the construction site at Mala Ciganlija in Belgrade. The bridge is designed to significantly reduce traffic passing through the city center and the Gazela Bridge. It is planned to be part of the future . It has three road lanes and a tram (light rail) track in each direction. The bridge was featured in the fifth episode, season nine of the Discovery Channel documentary television series Build It Bigger.
Type: a) Sava; b) road; c) urban;
2019 - Obrenovac-Surčin Bridge (A2 motorway)
Obrenovac-Surčin Bridge on the A2 motorway, was in construction since 2017. Preparatory works began on 12 February and construction started on 23 May. The bridge crosses not only the Sava, but also its tributary Kolubara. This section of the A2 motorway and the access roads to the bridge were in construction since 1 March 2017. The construction company was China Communications Construction. The bridge was ceremonially opened for traffic, with the adjoining Obrenovac-Surčin section of the motorway, on 17 December 2019.
Type: a) Sava; b) road; c) suburban;
Danube 1946 - Pančevo Bridge