World's longest suspension bridge opens in the Czech Republic
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Loading... - Adela Chvatal
- 13 May 2022
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The longest suspension bridge in the world is opening up in the Czech Republic this Friday. At 721 metres in length, the bridge is nearly a third longer than the previous title holder and offers magnificent views of the surrounding mountain range that lies on the border between Czechia and Poland.
Skybridge 721 is not just really long, but also very high. The brave adventurer who chooses to make the three-quarter-of-a-kilometre-long journey across the mountain valley enters onto the bridge at an altitude of 1,125 meters above sea level and exits at a height of 1,135 metres. The lowest point is 95 metres.
The Skybridge supersedes the previous title holder for the world’s longest bridge, Portugal’s Arouca 516, by 205 metres. On some days, when the mountain mist lies low, you almost feel as if you’re walking above the clouds, surrounded only by forested mountain peaks.
The Skybridge is part of the Dolní Morava Mountain Resort, a popular destination for skiers and nature lovers which also houses the Czech Republic’s longest mountain bobsleigh track as well as the biggest mammoth model in the world.
The resort’s marketing director, Tomáš Drápal, told Czech Radio that the sheer size of the structure made its construction a challenge by itself.
“There were dozens of security measures and technical anomalies that had to be taken into account when setting up the bridge. We had to install the pylons deep into the hardest mountain rock.
“Acquiring the cables that suspend the bridge was also a challenge. No one makes ropes that long here. We had to import them from Italy and this was during the coronavirus pandemic, so it meant dealing with all sorts of legal and logistical barriers.” Read More...
