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Trajan's Bridge

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Also known as Bridge of Apollodorus over the Danube

Roman segmental arch bridge over the lower Danube

Key facts

Crossed
Danube
Locale
Drobeta-Turnu Severin ( Romania ), Kladovo ( Serbia )
Heritage status
Historic Monument (Romania), Monuments of Culture of Exceptional Importance , and Archaeological Sites of Exceptional Importance (Serbia)
Material
Wood, stone
Total length
1,135 m (3,724 ft)
Width
15 m (49 ft)
Height
19 m (62 ft)
Number span no of spans
20 masonry pillars
Architect
Apollodorus of Damascus
Construction start
103 AD
Construction end
105 AD
Collapsed
Superstructure destroyed by Aurelian around 270 AD
Official name
Pontes with Trajan's Bridge
Type
Archeological Site of Exceptional Importance
Designated
28 March 1981
Reference no
AN 44

via Wikipedia infobox

~9 min read

Encyclopedic overview

Trajan's Bridge (Romanian: Podul lui Traian; Serbian: Трајанов мост, romanized: Trajanov most), also called Bridge of Apollodorus over the Danube, was a Roman segmental arch bridge, on the modern Serbian - Romanian border, the first bridge to be built over the lower Danube and considered one of the greatest achievements in Roman architecture. Though it was functional for only 165 years, it is often considered to have been the longest arch bridge in both total span and length for more than 1,000 years.

The bridge was completed in 105 AD and designed by Emperor Trajan's architect Apollodorus of Damascus before the Second Dacian War to allow Roman troops to cross the river. Fragmentary ruins of the bridge's piers are still in existence.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Trajan's Bridge” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

On the map