Franz Joseph Bridge (), later renamed Štefanik Bridge (), was a

suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...

over the

Vltava The Vltava ( , ; ) is the longest river in the Czech Republic, a left tributary of the Elbe River. It runs southeast along the Bohemian Forest and then north across Bohemia, through Český Krumlov, České Budějovice, and Prague. It is com ...

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, opened in 1868. The bridge was designed by the English engineer

Rowland Mason Ordish Rowland Mason Ordish (11 April 1824 – 1886) was an English engineer. He is most noted for his design of the Winter Garden, Dublin (1865), for his detailed work on the single-span roof of London's St Pancras railway station, undertaken with Wil ...

. The design, which used the

Ordish–Lefeuvre system The Ordish–Lefeuvre system or principle is an early form of cable-stayed bridge design, patented by English engineers Rowland Mason Ordish and William Henry Le Feuvre in 1858. The Ordish–Lefeuvre system differs from conventional suspension br ...

, was originally created for the Albert Bridge over the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. However, after construction of the Albert Bridge was delayed, Ordish decided to build a bridge in Prague first. The foundation stone was laid on 19 October 1865, and engineer František Schön was charged with supervising the construction work.

Emperor Franz Joseph Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death in 1916. In the early part of his reig ...

, after whom the bridge was named, attended the ceremonies for its opening on 13 May 1868. Much like its London counterpart, the Franz Joseph Bridge featured a combination of stay and suspension rods. The latter formed a cable which held the diagonal stay rods. The main span was long and wide, while the entire structure was over long. The bridge was gradually strengthened and rebuilt in the 1890s. In 1919, following the fall of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

and its monarchy, the Franz Joseph Bridge was renamed in honour of the Slovak politician and astronomer

Milan Rastislav Štefánik Milan Rastislav Štefánik (; 21 July 1880 – 4 May 1919) was a Slovak politician, diplomat, aviator and astronomer. During World War I, he served at the same time as a general in the French Army and as Minister of War for Czechoslovakia. ...

. In the 1930s, the bridge could no longer bear the increasing traffic in

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

's capital, and the authorities began considering its replacement. It was named after the Czech composer

Leoš Janáček Leoš Janáček (, 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, Music theory, music theorist, Folkloristics, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian folk music, Moravian and other Slavs, Slavic music, includin ...

for a short period in the 1940s. The bridge was demolished in 1941 and replaced with a

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having higher tensile strength or ...

one named after the communist activist

Jan Šverma Jan Šverma (23 March 1901, Mnichovo Hradiště – 10 November 1944, Mt. Chabenec, Low Tatras) was a Czechs, Czech journalist, communist activist and resistance fighter against the Nazi Germany, Nazi-backed Slovak State. Šverma was considered a ...

in 1951. In 1997, the new bridge was renamed the Štefánik Bridge.

References

External links

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Bridge over the Moldau
{{Coord, 50.0942, 14.4270, type:landmark_region:CZ, display=title, format=dms Bridges completed in 1868 Bridges in Prague Bridges over the Vltava Former bridges Suspension bridges Former buildings and structures in the Czech Republic 1868 establishments in Austria-Hungary Bridges completed in 1951 1951 establishments in Czechoslovakia