Puente Romano (Mérida)

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Coordinates: 38 ° 54 ′ 47 "  N , 6 ° 21 ′ 3"  W.

Puente Romano
Puente Romano
View from the city center to the Puente Romano (2014)
Crossing of Guadiana
place Mérida (Spain)
construction Arch bridge with vaulted vaults
overall length 792 m (including ramps)
width Approx. 7.1 m
Number of openings 60 (including 3 buried in the embankment)
Clear width Max. 11.6 m
construction time Time of Trajan (98-117 AD)
location
Puente Romano (Mérida) (Extremadura)
Puente Romano (Mérida)
Puente Romano in Mérida (2006)

The Puente Romano ( Spanish for Roman Bridge ) in the southern Spanish city ​​of Mérida is considered to be the longest preserved bridge from ancient times . In Roman times , the structure spanned the Guadiana on 62 arches with a total length of 755 m. Today the bridge is 721 m long (including the bridges: 792 m) and rests on 60 arches, three of which are hidden in the embankment.

history

The bridge was built on a shallow part of the river, on which there is also a river island. The river was originally spanned by two separate arch groups connected by a wooden structure. However, parts of the original bridge were destroyed in a flood in 1603. Then it was decided to connect the two arch groups with additional arches in the middle. Since then, the bridge has been running across the river in one piece. Cars could cross the bridge until 1990. In 1993 it was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with the archaeological sites of Mérida .

See also

literature

  • Colin O'Connor: Roman Bridges . Cambridge University Press, 1993, ISBN 0-521-39326-4 , pp. 106-107
  • José M. Álvarez Martínez: El Puente romano de Mérida . Consejo Provincial de Bellas Artes, Badajoz 1984, ISBN 84-500-9050-4 .
  • Fernández Troyano, Leonardo: Tierra sobre el agua . Colegio de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puertos, Madrid 1999, ISBN 84-380-0148-3 , p. 132.
  • J. Hernández Ramírez: El tajamar del puente romano de Mérida, un diseño hidraúlico , presented at the Actas del VII Congreso Internacional de Ingeniería Grafica.
  • Heinz-Otto Lamprecht. Opus Caementitium . 4th edition. Beton-Verlag, Düsseldorf 1993, ISBN 3-7640-0310-3 , pp. 175-176.
  • Marcel Prade: Les grands ponts du monde: Ponts remarquables d'Europe . Brissaud, Poitiers (France) 1990, ISBN 2-902170-65-3 , p. 194.
  • Heiner Sadler: Bridges . Harenberg Kommunikation, Dortmund 1986, ISBN 3-88379-498-8 , pp. 18-19.

Web links

Commons : Puente Romano (Mérida)  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ O'Connor, Roman Bridges, p. 106.