Borovsko Bridge, Unfinished concrete bridge in Borovsko, Czech Republic.
Borovsko Bridge is an unfinished highway bridge over the Sedlický potok near Borovsko in the Benešov district, built as part of Czechoslovakia's first motorway. It was designed as a pair of identical concrete arch bridges, each with its own separately banked roadway, because the route was to turn south just past the eastern end. Since 1976 the Želivka (Švihov) reservoir has covered almost the whole structure, leaving only the roadway a few metres above the water.
Construction began in 1939 as part of a highway project during the Nazi occupation and halted in 1942. Work resumed after the war from 1948 to 1950, with final approval granted in 1952.
Locals call it "Czech Avignon" and "Hitler's Bridge". The first name comes from the water surrounding most of the structure, recalling the Pont d'Avignon; the second from the wartime construction under the Protectorate. The bridge appears in an episode of the British documentary series Abandoned Engineering.
The bridge lies in the first protection zone of the Švihov drinking-water reservoir, so entry to the whole lake district is prohibited. The D1 highway was rerouted about a kilometre south, and the replacement bridge stands 1.4 km upriver. Views are only possible from outside the fenced watershed.
The nickname "Czech Avignon" comes from the bridge's arches standing in water, echoing the Pont d'Avignon. It also appears in an episode of the British documentary series Abandoned Engineering.
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