Nusle Bridge ( cs, Nuselský most) is a

prestressed concrete Prestressed concrete is a form of concrete used in construction. It is substantially "prestressed" ( compressed) during production, in a manner that strengthens it against tensile forces which will exist when in service. Post-tensioned concreted i ...

viaduct in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. It connects

Prague 2 Prague 2, formally the Prague 2 Municipal District (''Městská čast Praha 2''), is a second-tier municipality in Prague. It is co-extensive with the national administrative district (''správní obvod'') of the same name. As of the end of 2004 ...

and

Prague 4 Prague 4, formally the Prague 4 Municipal District (''Městská čast Praha 4''), is a second-tier municipality in Prague. The administrative district (''správní obvod'') of the same name consists of municipal districts Prague 4 and Kunratice. ...

, across a valley which forms part of the

Nusle Nusle () is a district of Prague. It became part of the city in 1922. Location Part of Nusle is in Prague 2 while most is in Prague 4. Nusle is located south of the city centre in ''Nuselské údolí'' (Nusle Valley) on the Botič brook. It bo ...

district. The bridge is one of the longest in the country and carries two

footpaths A footpath (also pedestrian way, walking trail, nature trail) is a type of thoroughfare that is intended for use only by pedestrians and not other forms of traffic such as motorized vehicles, bicycles and horses. They can be found in a wide v ...

, a multi-lane road and part of the city's

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be ...

network. The bridge links the city center to its south-eastern districts such as Pankrác, and joins the D1 motorway leading to Brno. It is crucial to Prague's transportation network, since almost all north-south traffic flows across it. Below the six-lane highway on the surface, lies part of Prague Metro Line C between I.P. Pavlova and

Vyšehrad Vyšehrad ( Czech for "upper castle") is a historic fort in Prague, Czech Republic, just over 3 km southeast of Prague Castle, on the east bank of the Vltava River. It was probably built in the 10th century. Inside the fort are the Basil ...

stations. Image:NuselskyMost.jpg, View from the north Image:Nuselsky-most.jpg, View from the south Image:Nusle and Nusle Bridge Prague CZ 747.jpg, View from the west (from

) Image:Nuselsky most23.jpg, View from below

Description

The bridge is 485 metres long and 26.5 metres wide, consisting of a reinforced concrete structure with four pillars. Two sections of the bridge span 68.5m and the other three span 115.5m. The average height above the valley is 42.5m. The conduit for the metro line C has a

trapezoid A quadrilateral with at least one pair of parallel sides is called a trapezoid () in American and Canadian English. In British and other forms of English, it is called a trapezium (). A trapezoid is necessarily a convex quadrilateral in Eu ...

cross section Cross section may refer to: * Cross section (geometry) ** Cross-sectional views in architecture & engineering 3D *Cross section (geology) * Cross section (electronics) * Radar cross section, measure of detectability * Cross section (physics) **Abs ...

, with a height of almost 6.5 m and wall thickness from 30 to 110 cm. The road is illuminated by lamps mounted in the central reservation.

Position

The bridge crosses, ''inter alia'', Folimanka Park, Botič stream and the railway line from Prague main station to

Smíchov Smíchov () is (since 1909) a district of Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, and is part of Prague 5. It is on the west bank of the Vltava river. History Between 1945 and 1989, the district contained a monument dedicated to Soviet ta ...

. The majority of the bridge belongs to the

administrative district Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

of Prague 2. The section which lies to the south of the railway track below, however, belongs to Prague 4.

History

Construction began in 1967 and it opened on 22 February 1973 under the name Klement Gottwald Bridge (Czech: ''Most Klementa Gottwalda''), honouring the late communist revolutionary and former president

Klement Gottwald Klement Gottwald (; 23 November 1896 – 14 March 1953) was a Czech communist politician, who was the leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia from 1929 until his death in 1953–titled as general secretary until 1945 and as chairman fro ...

Suicides

A total of 200 to 300 people have been recorded to have taken their own life by jumping from the bridge, garnering the nickname "

Suicide bridge A suicide bridge is a bridge used frequently by people to end their lives, most typically by jumping off and into the water or ground below. A fall from the height of a tall bridge into water may be fatal, although some people have survived jump ...

". Since 2011, the deceased have been commemorated in the monument named ''Of One's Own Volition'' by

Krištof Kintera Krištof Kintera (born 20 September 1973 in Prague) is a Czech artist and sculptor. He was nominated for the Jindřich Chalupecký Award three times. He was one of the co-creators of the '' Entropa'' sculpture, which was displayed in Brussels as p ...

, in the park below. The original safety railing was 1m high. In 1990, a 1.5m wide net was hung underneath the railing. Between 1996 and 1997, further fencing was added, heightening the barrier to 2.7 m. In 2007, the fencing was topped off with another meter of polished metal to make it near-impossible to climb.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Viaducts Bridges completed in 1973 Bridges in Prague