Interesting facts

In 1771, during the reign of Maria Theresa, the first permanent bridge was constructed at the Morava. Masonry bridge arches at the riverbanks supported a wooden construction. As a consequence, ice and war had continuously taken their toll, yet the bridge was always reconstructed. But one day a new ice jam led to the final demise of the bridge. In May 1989 the foreign ministers of Czechoslovakia and Austria began dreaming of a thaw. Bohuslav Chnoupek recounted to his Austrian counterpart Alois Mock how he used to ride his bicycle as a boy from his hometown of Bratislava to Austria to play football. Both ministers remembered such times fondly. But according to their judgement, that would never come to pass in their lifetimes. Just a few months later, the Iron Curtain fell. Twenty years after that, discussions began concerning a new bridge over the Morava, connecting both sides of the border. Architect Milan Beláček from Bratislava gave the bridge a simple design. In September 2012, the ‘Bicycle Bridge of Freedom’ was opened. And with that, the seamless border crossing by bicycle between Slovakia and Austria became possible again.