Vizcaya Bridge Still Transports Passengers in Spain

Why this is here: The Vizcaya Bridge’s gondola still transports people and vehicles across the Nervión estuary using a system that began operating more than 130 years ago, in 1893.

In Getxo and Portugalete, Spain, the Vizcaya Bridge continues to carry passengers and vehicles. Constructed in 1893, this bridge was the first of its kind to suspend a gondola to transport people across water without interrupting ship traffic. Basque architect Alberto de Palacio, a student of Gustave Eiffel, designed the bridge to connect both sides of the Nervión estuary while maintaining navigability for industrial and commercial ships.

The bridge features metal towers reaching 51 meters high and a suspended gondola that still operates today. It can move roughly 200 passengers and a dozen vehicles per trip. UNESCO designated the Vizcaya Bridge a World Heritage site in 2006, recognizing its historical and technological importance as a model for similar bridges around the world.

Though it briefly ceased operation during the Spanish Civil War due to damage, the bridge was restored and remains in use. Few similar bridges still exist today, and researchers continue to study its enduring design.