Poniatowski Bridge

Poniatowski Bridge is a notable and historic bridge in Warsaw, Poland. Originally built between 1904 and 1914, it was damaged in each of the World Wars, and rebuilt afterwards. It spans the Vistula river, connecting the neighborhoods of Powiśle and Praga on the other side. Its viaduct is an extension of the Jerusalem Avenue, the main street and thoroughfare of Warsaw.

History

The 506 m long steel bridge, consisting of eight spans, was designed by Stefan Szyller. Its construction, begun in 1904, was carried out by the K. Rudzki i S-ka company and supervised by engineers Mieczysław Marszewski and Wacław Paszkowski. Kazimierz Ołdakowski was another engineer who worked on the bridge, before he took over the directorship of Fabryka Broni. Despite being viewed by many as an extravagance (opponents of its construction included the then mayor of Warsaw and the writer Bolesław Prus), it was opened on January 6, 1914, by the Russian Governor General, Georgi Skalon, as Warsaw\'s third bridge; hence it was nicknamed "third bridge" (Polish: "trzeci most") by the city\'s residents, though its official name was "Bridge of Our Most Gracious Ruler, Tsar Nicholas II" (Warsaw then being part of the Russian Empire, following the 18th-century partitions of Poland). After Poland regained independence in 1918, the bridge was renamed after Prince Józef Poniatowski and acquired a new nickname — "Poniatoszczak" — which it retains to this day.