Green Bridge, Steel road bridge in central Vilnius, Lithuania
Green Bridge is a steel road bridge in central Vilnius that crosses the Neris River and connects the city center to the Šnipiškės district on the opposite bank. The roadway is about 79 feet (24 meters) wide, offering space for several traffic lanes alongside separate areas for pedestrians and cyclists.
The first crossing at this spot was built in 1536 and included housing for toll collectors who charged a fee to cross. Grand Duke Sigismund the Old granted the bridge special rights to stop any competing crossing from being built upstream or downstream.
The name of the bridge traces back to a green color applied to a wooden predecessor in the 18th century, and it stuck through every later rebuild. Today the crossing is used daily by drivers, cyclists, and people on foot moving between the old city center and Šnipiškės.
The bridge is open at all times to vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians, and it can be reached on foot easily from both banks. The walkway along the side offers a clear view of the Neris River, and early mornings tend to be the quietest time to cross.
In 1673, the Italian architect Giovanni Battista Frediani attempted to build a wooden single-arch bridge with a span of roughly 73 meters at this same location. The structure collapsed shortly after it was finished, making it one of the more dramatic engineering failures in the city's history.
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