GALATA BRIDGE

Description

Essentials about the Galata Bridge in brief

A walk or a (less recommended) car ride over the Galata Bridge should definitely be part of a visit to Istanbul. The bridge crosses the Golden Horn in the center of Istanbul and connects the districts of Eminönü and Karaköy. It is thus one of the most important transport links of the Turkish metropolis. Anyone crossing the bridge will immediately feel its unique flair: The hustle and bustle of pedestrians, cars and streetcars; the view of the silhouettes of the historic mosques on the surrounding hills; the screeching seagulls over the water; the many anglers; standing close together on the railing; the sunset, which bathes the sky and the sea of houses of Istanbul in a very special light. These impressions you get only on the Galata Bridge.

The architecture of the Galata Bridge

The current bridge, opened in 1992, is, unlike its floating predecessors, the first bridge firmly anchored underground at this location and the first bascule bridge on the Golden Horn. The steel structure is 466 meters long and 42 meters wide in total. It has two streetcar tracks in the middle on a separate trackbed, each flanked by three lanes for cars. There is a wide sidewalk on both the side facing the Bosphorus and the side facing the Golden Horn. The special feature of the bridge is that it has a basement just above the water with restaurants, cafes and stores. It is thus one of the few bridges in the world where traffic roars above and a lively, relaxed gourmet atmosphere prevails below.

Under the bridge, supported by 114 pillars, the water can circulate almost unhindered, which has contributed significantly to the improvement of water quality in the Golden Horn. In the middle of the bridge there is a bascule bridge with an 80-meter wide opening with a clear height of six meters, through which the usual ferries can pass unhindered at any time. For larger ships, the bascule bridge is opened – usually at night.

The history of the Galata Bridge

Today’s Galata Bridge has many predecessors. The first bridge over the Golden Horn was built already in the times of the Romans under Justinian the Great in the 6th century. At the beginning of the 16th century, there were plans for a new bridge on the present site. Sultan Bayezid II commissioned none other than Leonardo da Vinci, who designed a fabulous bridge structure with a span of 240 meters and a width of 24 meters. It would have been the largest bridge in the world at the time. However, the sultan rejected the technically demanding design. The project of crossing the Golden Horn was not to be taken up again until the 19th century.

Due to the population growth of the suburbs north of the Golden Horn, ferry traffic no longer met requirements at the beginning of the 19th century. Therefore, in 1836, a first wooden bridge was built under Sultan Mahmud II. It, too, was quickly worn out and was replaced in 1845 by a new floating bridge on the present site of the bridge at the instigation of Sultan Abdülmecid I’s mother. In 1863, the wooden bridge was again replaced by a new wooden structure.

In 1875, the first iron bridge was built, which was replaced by a new pontoon bridge with two levels in 1912. After a fire in 1992, the bridge was once again replaced by a new construction, which is largely based on its predecessor.