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Branko's Bridge

July 01, 2023

Branko's Bridge (Serbian: Бранков мост, romanized: Brankov most) is the second-largest bridge (after Gazela) of Belgrade, Serbia, connecting the city center with New Belgrade across the Sava river. Built in 1956 on the foundations of the 1934 King Alexander Bridge, which was destroyed in World War II, it reconnected Belgrade and Zemun as the only motorway bridge at the time. After several official and unofficial names, the present name stuck after the Brankova Street, which extends into the bridge from the direction of the old section of Belgrade.

Branko's Bridge
Бранков мост
Brankov most
Branko's bridge at night
Coordinates44°48′53″N 20°26′54″E / 44.81472°N 20.44833°E / 44.81472; 20.44833
CrossesSava river
Maintained byPutevi Srbije
Characteristics
Total length450 m (1,480 ft)
Longest span261 m (856 ft)
History
Opened1956; 67 years ago (1956)
Statistics
Daily traffic90,000 vehicles
TollNo
Location

Location

On the right (eastern) bank, the bridge starts at the Sava Port, above the Karađorđeva Street, central street in the neighborhood of Savamala. The bridge is an extension of the Brankova Street, which delineates it from the neighborhood of Kosančićev Venac on the north and Zeleni Venac on the south. Through the Terazije tunnel, the Brankova connects it directly to downtown. On the left (western) bank, the bridge enters New Belgrade between the neighborhoods of Staro Sajmište, on the south, and Ušće, on the north. It extends into the Bulevar Mihajla Pupina which, passing between the Ušće Tower and Hyatt Regency Belgrade Hotel, connects it with New Belgrade and continues to the neighborhood of Zemun.[1][2]

Name

Official name of the bridge during the communist rule was "Brotherhood and unity bridge" (Most bratstva i jedinstva), but that name never caught on. Citizens referred to it as the "Savski most" (Sava bridge), "Zemunski most" (Zemun bridge) and the "bridge in Branko's street", as the bridge is an extension of the Brankova street, named after Branko Radičević, Serbian romanticist poet. The latter name was colloquially shortened to Brankov most (Branko's bridge) and the name prevailed.[3] Urban myth is that the bridge got its name after the writer, Branko Ćopić, committed a suicide by jumping from the bridge in 1984.[4][5][6]

The official, administrative name is: Bridge across Sava in extension of Brankova Street.[7]

History

 
King Alexander Bridge, 1934–1941 predecessor of Branko's Bridge

The bridge was built in 1956,[6] replacing the former chain-stayed King Alexander Bridge (built by a joint venture of Gutehoffnungshütte and Société de Construction des Batignolles) that was opened on 16 December 1934 and blown up in 1941.[8] The bridge actually uses lower parts of the former bridge's pylons (decorated by Ivan Meštrović with two couples of reinforced concrete in Serbo-Byzantium style) as outer constraints for its two secondary spans.[6] It is 450 m (1,480 ft) long, made as continuous steel box girder, with central span of 261 m (856 ft) and side spans of 81 m (266 ft) each. It is crossed by nearly 90,000 vehicles daily, and traffic congestions are frequent.[9]

German company MAN is behind the original project of the bridge. Belgrade-based "Mostprojekt" company executed the project of doubling the bridge capacity in the 1970s. Head of the project team was Danilo Dragojević.[10] Since the works were finished in 1979, the bridge has dual carriageway with three lanes in both directions and actually consists of two separate constructions in each direction.[11]

In the Interbellum, the trams connected Belgrade to Zemun via King Alexander I bridge. After the war, in the 1950s, the general idea was that trolleybuses should take over the major role in the public transportation. Line to Zemun was opened in 1956, and in time three lines over the bridge were formed: Line 14 – Zeleni Venac-Gornji Grad (Zemun) (which was considered a successor line to the pre-war tram line), Line 15 – Zeleni Venac-Novi Grad (Zemun) and Line 16 – Zeleni Venac-Pohorska, New Belgrade. The lines were closed in 1973.[12] However, as of 2017, over 25 bus lines of public transport crosses the bridge.[11]

Bicycle elevator, directly connecting the promenade along the Sava and the bicycle path across the bridge, was designed by Milutin Gec, and built in 2004.[13]

 
Bicycle elevator on the Old Belgrade bank of Sava river

2010s reconstruction

In the summer of 2013, the left pedestrian and bicycle path began to show signs of deterioration. Soon, the path was completely closed. City government for several years ignored the protests of citizens who wanted for the path to be repaired and open again. The administration claimed that there are no funds in the budget and that it appears the path can't be simply repaired. Instead, the entire left side had to be completely renovated. In the summer of 2015, Mayor of Belgrade Siniša Mali announced that city will fix the problem but the tender was announced in October 2016 and in November the "Mostogradnja" company was chosen.[11]

In the late February 2017 a 210 million dinars (€1.75 million) contract was signed with Mostogradnja. Mali claimed that the study was done in 2014 and that it showed the situation was worse than previously thought.[14] However, only in June 2017, Mali announced "preparatory works". Deadline was set at 260 days since the beginning of the "proper" works.[11] The repair began in early July 2017, four years after the path was closed, and the deadline was shortened to 180 days, but the mayor then shortened it even more, saying it will be finished by October or November 2017.[15]

Mali also announced that three shifts will be organized. Still in August, a month later, it was obvious that not much was happening on the bridge. Mali said that the city displaced the permit, but after the criticism, reconstruction was fastened. Mali announced new deadline, end of 2017, but few days later again changed it to 2–2,5 months. Despite the speedup, by October it was obvious that the bridge will not be finished by the end of the year. That same month, city manager Goran Vesić announced that the bridge will be completely finished by the end of March 2018, or the originally planned 9 months.[14] In the end, all lanes were open on 9 February 2018,[16] and, after five years, the works were fully finished and the pedestrian and bicycle path was open on 31 May 2018.[17]

Characteristics

The decorative elements by Nikolay Krasnov on the remaining pylons from the King Alexander's Bridge survived both bombings, but were removed in the 1960s by the new authorities.[18] In June 2020 it was announced that the decorative coats of arms will be recreated on the pylons.[19]

The bridge gained an infamous reputation as the suicide bridge. Some 40 people try to commit suicide jumping of the Branko's Bridge every year.[6]

House of Architecture

In the late 2010s, city administration announced plans for the Spanish House building, which is located almost under the bridge on the old Belgrade side, to be adapted into the House of Architecture. In 2019 the building was returned to its pre-World War II owners in the restitution process, so the city decided to use the massive pylon of the bridge instead. Inside the pylon, there is room for an exhibition space and artistic workshops on 400 m2 (4,300 sq ft) of space, on two levels.[20]

Police garage

Under the New Belgrade side of the bridge, there is an open air garage for the vehicles of the Ministry of the Interior. The parking lot covers an area of 3,000 m2 (32,000 sq ft) and is mostly used for the overused vehicles. In September 2019 it was announced that the area will be adapted into the Museum of the automobiles and the Museum of the Ministry of the Interior. Museum of the automobiles is currently located in downtown Belgrade, in the Majke Jevrosime Street, but the building in which it is located will be returned to the pre-World War II owners in the process of the Restitution.[21]

 
Panoramic view from Branko's Bridge

The larger area will allow for more than 50 cars to be exhibited, which is the number at the present museum. As the streets and paths in the neighboring Ušće neighborhood have been used for the rally races, they can be used also for the revue races organized by the museum. The new garage will be owned jointly by the city and the state. It is still not known whether the present garage embedded under the bridge will be just adapted or completely demolished and some other object will be built instead.[21] As the car collection belonged to Bratislav Petković, a playwright and former minister of culture, after his death in May 2021, city announced that the future museum will be named after him.[22]

In May 2022 it was announced that the ministry abandoned the idea of its museum under the bridge. In addition, city also announced that the Museum of the Automobiles will probably remain in its present location, as the negotiations with the new building owners are going in the good direction.[23]

See also

References

  1. ^ Tamara Marinković-Radošević (2007). Beograd – plan i vodič. Belgrade: Geokarta. ISBN 978-86-459-0006-0.
  2. ^ Beograd - plan grada. Smedrevska Palanka: M@gic M@p. 2006. ISBN 86-83501-53-1.
  3. ^ Dejan Aleksić (3 May 2007). "Kad kreneš u Srpskih vladara, a prijatelj te čeka u Maršala Tita" (in Serbian). Politika.
  4. ^ Z.Nikolić (9 October 2013). "Beogradske priče: Bezimeni Brankov most" (in Serbian). Večernje novosti.
  5. ^ "Sporno ime mosta" (in Serbian). 21 February 2000.
  6. ^ a b c d M.Luković (8 July 2010), ""Gazelini regenti" preuzimaju dužnost", Politika (in Serbian)
  7. ^ Dejan Aleksić (23 February 2020). "Sastanak kod "Lole", na utakmicu u "Pionir"..." [Date at "Lola", to the ballgame in "Pionir"...]. Politika (in Serbian).
  8. ^ . Serbia-info.com. Archived from the original on 18 January 2008.
  9. ^ . Direkcija za građevinsko zemljište i izgradnju Beograda. 2 August 2006. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007.
  10. ^ "Malo ih je, ali su značajni" (in Serbian). 14 January 2008.[permanent dead link]
  11. ^ a b c d Dejan Aleksić (14 June 2017), "Počinju pripremni radovi za obnovu leve trake", Politika (in Serbian), p. 16
  12. ^ Dejan Aleksić (2 May 2017), ""Trole" vozile Novobeograđane i Zemunce", Politika (in Serbian), p. 31
  13. ^ Mare Janakova Grujić (2018). Dragan Stanić (ed.). Српска енциклопедија, том III, књига I (чланак: Милутин Гец) [Serbian encyclopedia, vol, III, book I (article: Milutin Gec)]. Matica Srpska, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Zavod za udžbenike. p. 235. ISBN 978-86-7946-232-9.
  14. ^ a b Dejan Aleksić (25 October 2017), "Realan rok za završetak radova – proleće" [Realistic deadline for the end of works – spring], Politika (in Serbian)
  15. ^ Dejan Aleksić (15 July 2017), "Pešaci i biciklisti obnovljenom stazom i pre zime", Politika (in Serbian), p. 14
  16. ^ Dejan Aleksić (9 February 2018). "Од вечерас проходне све траке на Бранковом мосту" [All lanes on Branko's Bridge will be open tonight]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 14.
  17. ^ Dejan Aleksić (1 June 2018). "Posle pet godina cela pešačka staza prohodna" [After five years, the entire pedestrian path is operational]. Politika (in Serbian).
  18. ^ Grbovi na javnim zdanjima Beograda, Vol. III [Coats of arms on the public edifices in Belgrade, Vol. III]. City of Belgrade Yearbook, Book XLIII, 1996.
  19. ^ Branka Vasiljević, Dejan Aleksić (5 July 2020). "Duh monarhističkog Beograda vraća se na stara zdanja" [Spirit of monarchist Belgrade returns on the old mansions]. Politika (in Serbian).
  20. ^ Daliborka Mučibabić (11 November 2019). Кућа архитектуре у пилону Бранковог моста [House of Architecture in the pylon of the Branko's Bridge]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 13.
  21. ^ a b Daliborka Mučibabić (13 September 2019). "Ispod Brankovog mosta – muzeji automobila i MUP-a" [Museums of automobiles and Ministry of the Interior under the Branko's Bridge]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 16.
  22. ^ Beta (11 May 2021). "Vesić: Muzej automobila ispod Brankovog mosta će nositi ime Bratislava Petkovića" [Vesić: Car museum under Branko's Bridge will be named after Bratislav Petković] (in Serbian). N1.
  23. ^ Daliborka Mučibabić (12 May 2022). "Muzej automobila možda ostane na staroj adresi" [Depo has been sMuseum of the Automobiles may remain on its old address]. Politika (in Serbian). p. 15.

External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Branko's Bridge.
  • Fanovi "Stonsa" opasno zaljuljali Brankov most Blic, 17 July 2007
  • Policija nije dala da večeraju na Brankovom mostu

July 01, 2023
branko, bridge, serbian, Бранков, мост, romanized, brankov, most, second, largest, bridge, after, gazela, belgrade, serbia, connecting, city, center, with, belgrade, across, sava, river, built, 1956, foundations, 1934, king, alexander, bridge, which, destroyed. Branko s Bridge Serbian Brankov most romanized Brankov most is the second largest bridge after Gazela of Belgrade Serbia connecting the city center with New Belgrade across the Sava river Built in 1956 on the foundations of the 1934 King Alexander Bridge which was destroyed in World War II it reconnected Belgrade and Zemun as the only motorway bridge at the time After several official and unofficial names the present name stuck after the Brankova Street which extends into the bridge from the direction of the old section of Belgrade Branko s BridgeBrankov mostBrankov mostBranko s bridge at nightCoordinates44 48 53 N 20 26 54 E 44 81472 N 20 44833 E 44 81472 20 44833CrossesSava riverMaintained byPutevi SrbijeCharacteristicsTotal length450 m 1 480 ft Longest span261 m 856 ft HistoryOpened1956 67 years ago 1956 StatisticsDaily traffic90 000 vehiclesTollNoLocation Contents 1 Location 2 Name 3 History 3 1 2010s reconstruction 4 Characteristics 4 1 House of Architecture 4 2 Police garage 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksLocation EditOn the right eastern bank the bridge starts at the Sava Port above the Karađorđeva Street central street in the neighborhood of Savamala The bridge is an extension of the Brankova Street which delineates it from the neighborhood of Kosancicev Venac on the north and Zeleni Venac on the south Through the Terazije tunnel the Brankova connects it directly to downtown On the left western bank the bridge enters New Belgrade between the neighborhoods of Staro Sajmiste on the south and Usce on the north It extends into the Bulevar Mihajla Pupina which passing between the Usce Tower and Hyatt Regency Belgrade Hotel connects it with New Belgrade and continues to the neighborhood of Zemun 1 2 Name EditOfficial name of the bridge during the communist rule was Brotherhood and unity bridge Most bratstva i jedinstva but that name never caught on Citizens referred to it as the Savski most Sava bridge Zemunski most Zemun bridge and the bridge in Branko s street as the bridge is an extension of the Brankova street named after Branko Radicevic Serbian romanticist poet The latter name was colloquially shortened to Brankov most Branko s bridge and the name prevailed 3 Urban myth is that the bridge got its name after the writer Branko Copic committed a suicide by jumping from the bridge in 1984 4 5 6 The official administrative name is Bridge across Sava in extension of Brankova Street 7 History Edit King Alexander Bridge 1934 1941 predecessor of Branko s Bridge The bridge was built in 1956 6 replacing the former chain stayed King Alexander Bridge built by a joint venture of Gutehoffnungshutte and Societe de Construction des Batignolles that was opened on 16 December 1934 and blown up in 1941 8 The bridge actually uses lower parts of the former bridge s pylons decorated by Ivan Mestrovic with two couples of reinforced concrete in Serbo Byzantium style as outer constraints for its two secondary spans 6 It is 450 m 1 480 ft long made as continuous steel box girder with central span of 261 m 856 ft and side spans of 81 m 266 ft each It is crossed by nearly 90 000 vehicles daily and traffic congestions are frequent 9 German company MAN is behind the original project of the bridge Belgrade based Mostprojekt company executed the project of doubling the bridge capacity in the 1970s Head of the project team was Danilo Dragojevic 10 Since the works were finished in 1979 the bridge has dual carriageway with three lanes in both directions and actually consists of two separate constructions in each direction 11 In the Interbellum the trams connected Belgrade to Zemun via King Alexander I bridge After the war in the 1950s the general idea was that trolleybuses should take over the major role in the public transportation Line to Zemun was opened in 1956 and in time three lines over the bridge were formed Line 14 Zeleni Venac Gornji Grad Zemun which was considered a successor line to the pre war tram line Line 15 Zeleni Venac Novi Grad Zemun and Line 16 Zeleni Venac Pohorska New Belgrade The lines were closed in 1973 12 However as of 2017 over 25 bus lines of public transport crosses the bridge 11 Bicycle elevator directly connecting the promenade along the Sava and the bicycle path across the bridge was designed by Milutin Gec and built in 2004 13 Bicycle elevator on the Old Belgrade bank of Sava river 2010s reconstruction Edit In the summer of 2013 the left pedestrian and bicycle path began to show signs of deterioration Soon the path was completely closed City government for several years ignored the protests of citizens who wanted for the path to be repaired and open again The administration claimed that there are no funds in the budget and that it appears the path can t be simply repaired Instead the entire left side had to be completely renovated In the summer of 2015 Mayor of Belgrade Sinisa Mali announced that city will fix the problem but the tender was announced in October 2016 and in November the Mostogradnja company was chosen 11 In the late February 2017 a 210 million dinars 1 75 million contract was signed with Mostogradnja Mali claimed that the study was done in 2014 and that it showed the situation was worse than previously thought 14 However only in June 2017 Mali announced preparatory works Deadline was set at 260 days since the beginning of the proper works 11 The repair began in early July 2017 four years after the path was closed and the deadline was shortened to 180 days but the mayor then shortened it even more saying it will be finished by October or November 2017 15 Mali also announced that three shifts will be organized Still in August a month later it was obvious that not much was happening on the bridge Mali said that the city displaced the permit but after the criticism reconstruction was fastened Mali announced new deadline end of 2017 but few days later again changed it to 2 2 5 months Despite the speedup by October it was obvious that the bridge will not be finished by the end of the year That same month city manager Goran Vesic announced that the bridge will be completely finished by the end of March 2018 or the originally planned 9 months 14 In the end all lanes were open on 9 February 2018 16 and after five years the works were fully finished and the pedestrian and bicycle path was open on 31 May 2018 17 Characteristics EditThe decorative elements by Nikolay Krasnov on the remaining pylons from the King Alexander s Bridge survived both bombings but were removed in the 1960s by the new authorities 18 In June 2020 it was announced that the decorative coats of arms will be recreated on the pylons 19 The bridge gained an infamous reputation as the suicide bridge Some 40 people try to commit suicide jumping of the Branko s Bridge every year 6 House of Architecture Edit In the late 2010s city administration announced plans for the Spanish House building which is located almost under the bridge on the old Belgrade side to be adapted into the House of Architecture In 2019 the building was returned to its pre World War II owners in the restitution process so the city decided to use the massive pylon of the bridge instead Inside the pylon there is room for an exhibition space and artistic workshops on 400 m2 4 300 sq ft of space on two levels 20 Police garage Edit Under the New Belgrade side of the bridge there is an open air garage for the vehicles of the Ministry of the Interior The parking lot covers an area of 3 000 m2 32 000 sq ft and is mostly used for the overused vehicles In September 2019 it was announced that the area will be adapted into the Museum of the automobiles and the Museum of the Ministry of the Interior Museum of the automobiles is currently located in downtown Belgrade in the Majke Jevrosime Street but the building in which it is located will be returned to the pre World War II owners in the process of the Restitution 21 Panoramic view from Branko s Bridge The larger area will allow for more than 50 cars to be exhibited which is the number at the present museum As the streets and paths in the neighboring Usce neighborhood have been used for the rally races they can be used also for the revue races organized by the museum The new garage will be owned jointly by the city and the state It is still not known whether the present garage embedded under the bridge will be just adapted or completely demolished and some other object will be built instead 21 As the car collection belonged to Bratislav Petkovic a playwright and former minister of culture after his death in May 2021 city announced that the future museum will be named after him 22 In May 2022 it was announced that the ministry abandoned the idea of its museum under the bridge In addition city also announced that the Museum of the Automobiles will probably remain in its present location as the negotiations with the new building owners are going in the good direction 23 See also EditList of bridges in Serbia Transport in BelgradeReferences Edit Tamara Marinkovic Radosevic 2007 Beograd plan i vodic Belgrade Geokarta ISBN 978 86 459 0006 0 Beograd plan grada Smedrevska Palanka M gic M p 2006 ISBN 86 83501 53 1 Dejan Aleksic 3 May 2007 Kad krenes u Srpskih vladara a prijatelj te ceka u Marsala Tita in Serbian Politika Z Nikolic 9 October 2013 Beogradske price Bezimeni Brankov most in Serbian Vecernje novosti Sporno ime mosta in Serbian 21 February 2000 a b c d M Lukovic 8 July 2010 Gazelini regenti preuzimaju duznost Politika in Serbian Dejan Aleksic 23 February 2020 Sastanak kod Lole na utakmicu u Pionir Date at Lola to the ballgame in Pionir Politika in Serbian Twentieth Century Innovations in Belgrade 1930 1950 Serbia info com Archived from the original on 18 January 2008 Cevovod na Brankovom mostu Direkcija za građevinsko zemljiste i izgradnju Beograda 2 August 2006 Archived from the original on 29 September 2007 Malo ih je ali su znacajni in Serbian 14 January 2008 permanent dead link a b c d Dejan Aleksic 14 June 2017 Pocinju pripremni radovi za obnovu leve trake Politika in Serbian p 16 Dejan Aleksic 2 May 2017 Trole vozile Novobeograđane i Zemunce Politika in Serbian p 31 Mare Janakova Grujic 2018 Dragan Stanic ed Srpska enciklopediјa tom III kњiga I chlanak Milutin Gec Serbian encyclopedia vol III book I article Milutin Gec Matica Srpska Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts Zavod za udzbenike p 235 ISBN 978 86 7946 232 9 a b Dejan Aleksic 25 October 2017 Realan rok za zavrsetak radova prolece Realistic deadline for the end of works spring Politika in Serbian Dejan Aleksic 15 July 2017 Pesaci i biciklisti obnovljenom stazom i pre zime Politika in Serbian p 14 Dejan Aleksic 9 February 2018 Od vecheras prohodne sve trake na Brankovom mostu All lanes on Branko s Bridge will be open tonight Politika in Serbian p 14 Dejan Aleksic 1 June 2018 Posle pet godina cela pesacka staza prohodna After five years the entire pedestrian path is operational Politika in Serbian Grbovi na javnim zdanjima Beograda Vol III Coats of arms on the public edifices in Belgrade Vol III City of Belgrade Yearbook Book XLIII 1996 Branka Vasiljevic Dejan Aleksic 5 July 2020 Duh monarhistickog Beograda vraca se na stara zdanja Spirit of monarchist Belgrade returns on the old mansions Politika in Serbian Daliborka Mucibabic 11 November 2019 Kuћa arhitekture u pilonu Brankovog mosta House of Architecture in the pylon of the Branko s Bridge Politika in Serbian p 13 a b Daliborka Mucibabic 13 September 2019 Ispod Brankovog mosta muzeji automobila i MUP a Museums of automobiles and Ministry of the Interior under the Branko s Bridge Politika in Serbian p 16 Beta 11 May 2021 Vesic Muzej automobila ispod Brankovog mosta ce nositi ime Bratislava Petkovica Vesic Car museum under Branko s Bridge will be named after Bratislav Petkovic in Serbian N1 Daliborka Mucibabic 12 May 2022 Muzej automobila mozda ostane na staroj adresi Depo has been sMuseum of the Automobiles may remain on its old address Politika in Serbian p 15 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Branko s Bridge Fanovi Stonsa opasno zaljuljali Brankov most Blic 17 July 2007 Policija nije dala da veceraju na Brankovom mostu Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Branko 27s Bridge amp oldid 1100230131, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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