Seville would not be anything without its river Guadalquivir because much of its history and its wealth is due to it. And, of course, this river surpassed by nine bridges and a footbridge which are all from very recent times, despite the long history of the city and its river. Therefore, in today's article we are going to analyze the most famous and striking bridges that connect both banks of the Guadalquivir River to Seville.
1. Puente de Triana.
Officially called Puente de Isabel II, it is popularly known as Triana because it links the edge of the famous Sevillian neighborhood with the edge of the city. It was built in 1852 by the French engineers Bernadet and Steinacher. It replaced the famous bridge of boats that had previously uniting Triana and Seville from the 12th century and that was rebuilt in the 13th after the Reconquest.
This bridge is going to be a copy of the Carrousel bridge in Paris, and was built with the architectural style of iron, so typical in that period in Europe, where it can be seen, for example, in the Eiffel Tower. It is the oldest bridge that exists today in Seville and at its entrance to Triana gives access to the famous Altozano square, which is one of the oldest areas of the neighborhood; On the left, the river bank with Betis street; on the right, St. George Street and Castilla Street; and, in front, San Jacinto street. All of them are the most traditional streets in the area that take you back to former times of the old seafaring neighborhood of Seville. You can also see the smallest church in Seville, the chapel of the Virgen del Carmen, built in 1928 by Aníbal González, architect of the Plaza de España.
You can see it joining our free tours in the neighborhood of Triana, every day by booking on our website freetoursevilla.es
2. Centennial Bridge.
The bridge of the Centennial of Seville began to be built in 1987 for the famous Universal Exposition of 1992. It is the bridge located to the south of the city and that receives that name for the place where it is, the Centennial dock, named for commemorate the centenary of the Works Board of the port of Seville. In Seville it is mistakenly called the V Centenario, because Expo'92 coincided with the 500th anniversary of the Discovery of America.
It is a cable-stayed bridge and hosts the largest traffic in the city because it passes the SE-30 ring road and nowadays its expansion is being considered to improve traffic.
As a curiosity, during its construction the Sevillians resembled the bridge to the Golden State Bridge of San Francisco. And since it was smaller than the one of the American city it was known by the nickname and diminutive of Francisco, "Paquito".
3. Puente de la Barqueta.
The Barqueta Bridge was also built for the Universal Exposition of 1992 and was built between 1989 and 1992. Named for the area where it was built, it was originally pedestrian for access to the Expo'92 site. It was from the main entrances to the Isla de la Cartuja and was opened to vehicle traffic after the completion of the Exhibition. Nowadays it gives direct access to the amusement and thematic park of Isla Mágica.
4. Puente del Alamillo.
To finish our approach to the most known and curious bridges of Seville, we focus on the one that has more height. The Puente del Alamillo was built in 1992, again, for the Expo'92 and giving access to the Isla de la Cartuja. It is named for the Alamillo Park that is crossing the bridge from the shore of Seville, which is the largest park in Seville and is close to the Olympic Stadium of La Cartuja. The architect was Santiago Calatrava, one of the most famous Spanish architects in the world for the peculiarity of his designs. This one in particular is a cable-stayed bridge but only from one part and it was the first bridge in the world made in this way. The pillar of the bridge due to its height, which exceeds the Giralda Tower, can be seen from various points of the city of Seville and today is the symbols of the urban landscape of the city of Seville.
