KINDAHAN, JEZREEL M.

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LEONARDO DA VINCI’S BRIDGE, NORWAY

In 1501, Leonardo da Vinci designed a bridge to span the Golden Horn Inlet
between present-day Istanbul and Pera, Turkey. The bridge plan was part of a larger
public works project presented to Sultan Bejazet II in 1502.
Many of da Vinci’s concepts were hundreds of years ahead of their time, and
this bridge is a perfect example of that. Variously known as the “Golden Horn
Bridge” or “Queen of Bridges”, he designed a bridge with the then unprecedented
span of 720 feet (240 meters), using pressed-bow construction methods that would
not come into common use for another 300 years. Consequently, because the
bridge was too advanced for the builders of that time, it could not be constructed.
For centuries, the Golden Horn Bridge seemed destined to remain as a
concept and never a completed project. About 500 years later, the Norwegian artist
Vebjorn Sand saw a sketch of the bridge at a museum exhibiting da Vinci’s
architectural and engineering ideas. Sand was the perfect person to resurrect the
Golden Horn Bridge project because besides, being a respected painter, he also is
acclaimed for his gigantic public art installations. His former works include the
Kepler Star installed on the northern and southern side of oslo Airport Gardemoen,
and his spectacular installation “Trollslottet” (Troll Castle), an outdoor exhibition of
paintings from his expeditions to Antarctica, it attracted the largest audience for a
contemporary artist exhibit in Norwegian history.
 The bridge now spans a motorway in the less exotic setting of Aas, small town
20 miles north of Oslo, Norway. However, it is the first major civil engineering
project to be built from da Vinci’s drawings. The bridge is smaller and simpler than
the one first sketched by da Vinci, but it exploits the same structural principles. One
arch supports the bridge from below, with two more leaning inwards to distribute
its weight to the banks on either side.
The da Vinci Bridge is located just outside Oslo and is a pedestrian footbridge.
Mr. Sand envisioned the bridge as a global public art project whereby the da Vinci
design was re-imagined to suit individual communities by using local materials. In
collaboration with local artisans the installation would be constructed on every
continent on earth.
The Leonardo da Vinci Bridge has become a national landmark in Norway.

References:
Jepsen, E. (2012). Leonardo da Vinci’s Bridge – in Norway. Thornews, February 22. Retrieved from:
https://thornews.com/2012/02/22/leonardo-da-vincis-bridge-in-norway/

Knight, W. (2001). Da Vinci bridge finally built after 500 years. Daily News, November 1. Retrieved from:
https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn1510-da-vinci-bridge-finally-built-after-500-years/

2014. Retrieved from: https://weather.com/travel/news/2014-08/18/weirdest-bridges-world-photos-

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