Stupendous bridges in Holland

A 600-metre-long, 19th-century railway cuts through nature in De Moerputten, a stunning, wet low moor between Den Bosch and Geertruidenberg. It is no longer used which explains how it has since become a popular hiking trail with fantastic views of this marshy nature area.

As if the road surface extends into the clouds: that’s what it looks like when the Slauerhoffbrug is open. While movable bridge sections are not unusual in the Netherlands, this bascule bridge is raised by a huge counterweight. The roadway or slab of asphalt, which measures 15 metres by 15 metres, is positioned at an angle of 90 degrees, a few times a day because of the boats that pass through here.

As if Moses parts the seas before your eyes: this bridge runs through instead of over the water. The bridge was designed and built in just two months by RO&AD architecten. The idea was to make the bridge as invisible as possible. It is situated near the remnants of the overgrown 17th-century Fort De Roovere, which was part of the West Brabant Water line. The surrounding area is worth visiting because of the varied landscape and the many country estates. It also has several signposted walks and cycling routes.

Brabant has plenty of unique bridges. Gemert has the world’s very first 3D printed bridge, a collaboration between the Technical University of Eindhoven and the construction company BAM. The bridge is made from 800 printed layers of reinforced concrete and is strong enough to bear the weight of 40 lorries, even though it is for cyclists and pedestrians only. The TU/e also developed the technology for the first 3D printed concrete houses in the Eindhoven Meerhoven neighbourhood.

In 1944, the allied forces made a brave attempt to liberate the Netherlands from the German occupying forces but Operation Market Garden was a failure and stranded near this bridge in Arnhem. The John Frost Bridge was literally a bridge too far. It was destroyed, rebuilt, destroyed again during the war and has since become an icon of the reconstruction and a lasting reminder of World War II and the many soldiers that died here.

A bridge that is designed in such a way that it is immersed a few days every year. Go see Zaligebrug by NEXT architects in the near of Nijmegen. Nowadays, rivers break their banks more easily due to climate change, which is why the alluvial areas have been extended in various places throughout the Netherlands, including at the Waal in Nijmegen. This meandering 200-metre bridge runs through a river park and connects the new Veur-Lent island with the Northern Waal bank. At high tide, you must use the stepping stones if you want to avoid wet feet.

In the old days you could only get across the Oosterschelde by ferry (which is still fun to do) but as the ferry became busier, the longest bridge of the Netherlands was built here, in 1964, between Zierikzee on Schouwen-Duiveland and Colijnsplaat on Noord-Beveland. For quite some time, this was Europe’s longest bridge, measuring 5 km, until Sweden claimed the title seven years later with the Ölandsbron.