Longest Pedestrian-Cycling Bridge in Europe Located Between Sremska Mitrovica and Macvanska Mitrovica

In the past year, there has been a lot of focus on pedestrian-cycling bridges in Belgrade and Novi Sad. Novi Sad has had two contests, one for the bridge over the DTD Canal and the other for the bridge over the Danube, whereas, in Belgrade, the latest project announced is the bridge between Block 70 and Ada Ciganlija.

Still, it remains largely unknown, even among experts, that Serbia has had the longest pedestrian-cycling bridge in Europe for over 25 years! This bridge over the Sava connects Sremska Mitrovica and Macvanska Mitrovica.

In the 1970s, the state decided to connect these “twin” towns on the opposite coasts of the Sava river.

The bridge and the connecting traffic routes were built on the outer borders of these towns, as the complex structure couldn't be raised anywhere else. For decades, this has been a problem for residents on both sides, who had to travel several kilometers in order to cross the river.

An initiative for the construction of a new bridge, for pedestrians, was launched in the late 1980s. The engineering design was entrusted to famous civil engineer Nikola Hajdin, and the construction of the bridge began in 1990. Due to the outbreak of war, the bridge was completed in late 1993 and officially opened in 1994.



Engineer Hajdin offered a very simple design, with two reinforced concrete pylons carrying the rest of the structure through cables. In order for the span to be bridged as efficiently as possible, the pylons were set up 35 meters away from each coast, with the span between them being 192.5 meters. With a total of 262.5 meters, it became the longest suspended pedestrian bridge in Europe. It's interesting that the bridge is only 5.5 meters wide.

The bridge is named after Saint Irenaeus of Sirmium, a Christian martyr.

Sava

Sava river

Mačvanska Mitrovica

DTD Canal

pedestrian cycling bridges

bridge on DTD Canal

longest pedestrian cycling bridge in Europe

Nikola Hajdin

pylons

suspended pedestrian bridge

longest suspended pedestrian bridge in Europe

Saint Irenaeus Bridge