Railway Bridge, Riga

Bridge in Riga, Latvia

56°56′32″N 24°06′24″E / 56.9422588°N 24.1067505°E / 56.9422588; 24.1067505CrossesDaugavaLocaleRiga, LatviaCharacteristicsMaterialSteelHistoryConstruction start1909Inaugurated1914 (rebuilt in 1918 and 1955)Location Map

The Railway Bridge (Latvian: Dzelzceļa tilts) is a bridge that crosses the Daugava river in Riga, the capital of Latvia.

The first iron railway bridge in Riga, over 600 ftm long, was erected in 1871–1872^[1] for the Riga–Jelgava Railway.

The new bridge was inaugurated 1914, shelled twice, during World War I in 1917 and World War II in 1944, and was rebuilt both times.^[2] The bridge is nowadays the only railway bridge in Riga.

The bridge will be duplicated as part of the new Rail Baltica line through Riga.

Gallery

Iron Bridge, erected 1871-1872
Inauguration of first bridge in 1914
German troops crossing the shelled bridge 1917
Bridge today, pylons from former Iron Bridge still visible

References

^ Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego..., Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland, vol. 10, p. 176, "Ryga" (in Polish): "...Jeden drewniany, pływający, drugi żelazny (przeszło 600 sążni), zbudowany w latach 1871-72..."
^ Gunta Vilka. "Latvijas Dzelzceļa Vēstures Muzejs" (PDF) (in Latvian). University of Latvia. p. 29. Retrieved 2009-07-23. ^{[dead link]}