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In La Vanguardia’s Readers’ Photos today, the protagonist is the watchman of the Vizcaya Bridge (Bizkaiko Zubia), an infrastructure that unites the two banks of the Bilbao estuary.
At the end of the bridge on the edge of Getxo is the sculpture that seems to watch over the estuary and the large structure. In 2006 it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
This bridge solved the communication problem that existed between the two banks of the Nervión estuary. It is a marvel of engineering, magnificent in its time, and an exceptional witness to history.
Its construction was due to the need to unite the existing spas on both banks of the estuary, of which the industrial bourgeoisie and tourists at the end of the 19th century were clients.
This toll ferry bridge, conceived, designed and built by private initiative between 1887 and 1893, was inaugurated on July 28, 1893.
It was the first bridge of its type in the world and one of the eight that still remain. It is also known as “Suspending Bridge” and “Portugalete Bridge”. Others also call it “Palace Bridge”, in honor of Alberto de Palacio y Elissague, the engineer who designed it.
