There are very few bridges with buildings in the world. This list attempts to identify all the existing ones and notable former ones featuring significant closed commercial, residential, governmental, or religious worship structures. There exist numerous proposals for inhabited bridges, including 73 designs submitted in the Royal Institute of British Architects' competition at the 800th anniversary of London Bridge,[1] but the table here presents only bridges actually built. Various blogs and magazines itemize a small number of them.[2] [3] [4] Many bridges include pavilions or other shelters serving pedestrians crossing the bridge, without providing commercial, residential, governmental, or religious worship space; these are not included.
Some "covered" or "roofed" bridges, such as Pont de Rohan, in Landerneau, and the Pont des Marchands, in Narbonne, both in France, have residential buildings; these two are among at least 45 inhabited bridges in Europe. Other covered bridges in Germany,[5] the United States, and elsewhere might be seen as "buildings" in that their roof protects an enclosed area, but the purpose of the covering is to preserve the structure and the enclosed space is primarily for traffic to pass through. The term "covered bridges" is also used for structures in China such as Chengyang Bridge (1912) and Xijin Bridge (rebuilt 1718) which have large enclosed spaces, but for these it appears that space is not provided for commercial or residential use.
The term "covered bridge" is sometimes used broadly to describe any "bridge-like structure" that is covered by a roof. However, bridge-like structures such as Heilig-Geist-Spital, a hospital built out over two arched spans into the Pegnitz river in Nuremberg, but which did not ever provide a complete crossing to the other side, are not included, nor are certain other bridge-like structures that provide complete spans but are not open to the public for crossing.
Bridges having buildings (with significant commercial, residential, governmental, or religious worship space) include:
| width = 18% | Bridge | width = 8% class="unsortable" | Image | Location | River | width = 10% | Dates | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walter Taylor Bridge | Brisbane, Queensland-27.5058°N 152.9736°W | Suspension bridge across Brisbane River | Opened 1936 | Included residential space for "bridge-keeper" and family, no longer in use. Asserted to be the only habitable bridge in the southern hemisphere.[6] | ||||
| width = 18% | Bridge | width = 8% class="unsortable" | Image | Location | River | width = 10% | Dates | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Covered Bridge, Lovech | Lovech | |||||||
| width = 18% | Bridge | width = 8% class="unsortable" | Image | Location | River | width = 10% | Dates | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Esplanade Riel | Winnipeg, Manitoba 49.5326°N 97.0737°W | Red River of the North | 2004 | Side-spar cable-stayed bridge with restaurant | ||||
| width = 18% | Bridge | width = 8% class="unsortable" | Image | Location | River | width = 10% | Dates | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anshun Bridge | Chengdu, Sichuan 30.6442°N 104.0834°W | Jin River | 13th century; 1746; 2003 | Arch bridge with restaurant | ||||
| Five-Pavilion Bridge | Yangzhou, Jiangsu 32.4098°N 119.4161°W | Slender West Lake | 1757 | Arch bridge with pavilions | ||||
| width = 18% | Bridge | width = 8% class="unsortable" | Image | Location | River | width = 10% | Dates | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stříbro bridge | Stříbro, Tachov District 49.7503°N 13.0013°W | Crosses Mže River | One of five towers survives. | |||||
| Cloak Bridge of Český Krumlov Castle | Český Krumlov | |||||||
| width = 18% | Bridge | width = 8% class="unsortable" | Image | Location | River | width = 10% | Dates | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frome bridge | River Frome | 23 May 1983 | ||||||
| High Bridge, Lincoln | Lincoln, England 53.2285°N -0.5407°W | River Witham | 1160 | The current row of timber framed shops on the west side of the bridge dates from about 1550. | ||||
| "Old" London Bridge | Thames river, London | 1209–1831 | The number of houses on the bridge reached a maximum of 140. Many of the houses were later merged, into 91. In the seventeenth century, almost all had four or five storeys. All the houses were shops, and the bridge was one of the City of London's four or five main shopping streets. The three major buildings on the bridge were the chapel, the drawbridge tower and the stone gate. The drawbridge tower was where the severed heads of traitors were exhibited. | |||||
| “Old” Newcastle Bridge | Tyne river, Newcastle | 1248-1771 | On the site of the current Newcastle Swing Bridge, the medieval bridge was swept away in the Great Flood of Newcastle in 1771. | |||||
| Pulteney Bridge | Bath, Somerset | River Avon, Bristol | Built 1769-1774 | |||||
| Old Exe Bridge | Exeter, Devon 50.7191°N -3.5358°W | River Exe (originally) | c.1200-1778 | ruins are among England's oldest surviving bridge works | ||||
| St Ives Bridge | St Ives, Cambridgeshire 52.3228°N -0.0753°W | Great Ouse in St Ives, Cambridgeshire | 1400s | One of four bridges in England having a chapel.[7] [8] Chapel space was a bawdy house in 1700s. | ||||
| Rotherham Bridge | Rotherham 53.4326°N -1.3583°W | One of four bridges in England having a chapel | ||||||
| Chantry Bridge, or Wakefield Bridge | Wakefield 53.676°N -1.489°W | 14th-century, nine-arched, stone bridge | One of four bridges in England having a chapel | |||||
| Town Bridge, Bradford-on-Avon | Bradford-on-Avon 51.347°N -2.251°W | One of four bridges in England having a chapel Has a lock-up. | ||||||
"Between 12th and 16th century many bridges were built with houses on them. They were solution for limited accommodation in walled cities and only France had as many as 35."[9]
Ponts Couverts, Strasbourg, a covered bridge in Strasbourg, has four massive towers that are buildings, but these are on islands not the bridge itself. (See)
| width = 18% | Bridge | width = 8% class="unsortable" | Image | Location | River | width = 10% | Dates | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pont d'Avignon, or Pont Saint-Bénézet | Avignon 43.9539°N 4.805°W | Rhône | Built 1177 - 1185 | Has Chapel of Saint Nicholas | ||||
| Pont Valentré | Cahors 44.445°N 1.4317°W | Arch bridge with six spans, crosses Lot | Built 1308-1378 | |||||
| Château de Chenonceau | Loire Valley 47.3247°N 1.0704°W | Cher | 1514-1559 | |||||
| Pont des Marchands | Narbonne, Aude 43.1832°N 3.0037°W | Canal de la Robine | Segmental arch bridge with one (once six) span | |||||
| Pont de Rohan | Landerneau, Brittany 48.4503°N -4.2493°W | Crosses the Élorn until 1930 and the construction of the Pont Albert Louppe near Brest. | ||||||
| Barrage Vauban | Strasbourg 48.5794°N 7.7381°W | 120m (390feet) bridge crosses Ill | Opened in 1690 | |||||
| Pont Ambroix | 200px | Ambrussum, Languedoc-Roussillon 43.7172°N 4.1519°W | Stone arch bridge which carried the Roman road Via Domitia across the Vidourle; only one of its 11 arches survives; | 1st century BC. During the High Middle Ages, a chapel devoted to St Mary was added. | ||||
| width = 18% | Bridge | width = 8% class="unsortable" | Image | Location | River | width = 10% | Dates | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Krämerbrücke | Erfurt 50.9786°N 11.0308°W | segmental stone arch bridge crosses Gera x | 1325 (stone bridge); 1486 (houses) | |||||
| Alte Nahebrücke (Bad Kreuznach) | Bad Kreuznach, Rhineland-Palatinate 49.8447°N 7.8578°W | Nahe river | c. 1300/1956 (bridge); 1612 (houses) | Stone arch bridge, x | ||||
| Amberg 49.4428°N 11.8574°W | Vils | The "Stadtbrille" (literally: town spectacles) bridge was part of the town's fortifications, and its arches reflected on the river resemble a pair of spectacles. | ||||||
| Innere Brücke | Esslingen am Neckar, Baden-Württemberg 48.7333°N 9.3167°W | Neckar | ||||||
| width = 18% | Bridge | width = 8% class="unsortable" | Image | Location | River | width = 10% | Dates | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ponte Vecchio, Florence | Florence 43.768°N 11.2532°W | Crosses Arno River | Closed-spandrel segmental stone arch bridge with main span | |||||
| Rialto Bridge | Venice | Stone arch bridge with span over Grand Canal | wide | |||||
| Ponte Coperto | Pavia 45.1807°N 9.1533°W | Crosses Ticino River | long. Bridge of 1354 and 1949-51 replacement have a chapel.[10] | |||||
| Ponte Vecchio, Bassano | Bassano del Grappa | Crosses Brenta (river) |
| width = 18% | Bridge | width = 8% class="unsortable" | Image | Location | River | width = 10% | Dates | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Puente Nuevo | Ronda 36.7407°N -5.1659°W | Built 1759-1793 | Crosses Guadalevín River in El Tajo gorge. Chamber above central arch has been used as a prison, including during Spanish Civil War | |||||
| width = 18% | Bridge | width = 8% class="unsortable" | Image | Location | River | width = 10% | Dates | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spreuerbrücke | Lucerne 47.052°N 8.3018°W | crosses Reuss | ||||||
| width = 18% | Bridge | width = 8% class="unsortable" | Image | Location | River | width = 10% | Dates | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irgandı Bridge | Bursa 40.1818°N 29.071°W | crosses Gökdere | ||||||
| Constantine's Bridge | Mysia 40.2042°N 28.4414°W | completed after 258 AD | Only ruins remain. Crossed Rhyndacus (Adırnas Çayı) In Byzantine times, had chapel created by Helena, mother of Constantine I | |||||
| width=18% | Bridge | width=8% class="unsortable" | Image | Location | River | width=10% | Dates | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main Street Bridge | Rochester, New York 43.1561°N -77.6108°W | Genesee River | 1857 | The buildings were removed in the mid-1960's. Earlier bridges at this site also had buildings.[11] |
| width = 18% | Bridge | width = 8% class="unsortable" | Image | Location | River | width = 10% | Dates | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chùa Cầu, or Japanese Bridge | Hội An, Quảng Nam 15.8771°N 108.326°W | Has a small temple, Bac De Tran Vu, which worships a Chinese general, also known as Huyen Thien Dai De.[12] | ||||||
| width = 18% | Bridge | width = 8% class="unsortable" | Image | Location | River | width = 10% | Dates | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monnow Bridge | Monmouth, Wales 51.809°N -2.7199°W | River Monnow | c.1272 | A central tower, variously used as a gaol, garrison, toll-house and museum. The only surviving such bridge-tower in Britain. | ||||