Ponte Cagrana, Footbridge over the New Danube in Donaustadt, Vienna, Austria
Ponte Cagrana is a pontoon footbridge over the Neue Donau in Vienna's 22nd district, Donaustadt, a short way upstream of the Reichsbrücke. It crosses from the left bank, where the Copa Cagrana restaurants stand, to the Donauinsel. Its middle section is a raised walkway, so boats, surfers and swimmers can pass beneath; the rest rests on floating bodies.
The bridge opened in 2000 as part of Vienna's ongoing urban development. It was built to improve connections between the residential Kagran neighborhood and the popular leisure areas on Donauinsel.
The bridge takes its name from the Copa Cagrana, the row of restaurants and bars on the left bank of the New Danube, renamed Copa Beach in July 2015. The name plays on Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana, and the spot is a summer meeting point for bathers, surfers and cyclists.
Access is step-free at both bridgeheads, so wheelchairs and strollers can cross. The middle section is a raised walkway that lets boats, surfers and swimmers pass underneath. Outside the season, roughly late October to early April, and before floodwater is diverted into the New Danube, the pontoons are turned to face the current and the crossing becomes impassable, as happens at the Waluliso Bridge.
For the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, the bridge was renovated and fitted with panels showing every previous Eurovision winner. The middle section is a raised walkway that lets boats, surfers and swimmers pass underneath.
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