A Pontiseum, or a museum of bridges, has been opened next to the Świętokrzyski Bridge on Warsaw's left bank. The museum offers visitors a chance to see fragments of old Warsaw bridges blown up during the two world wars.
Pontiseum (ponte means bridge in Latin) is a museum of bridges. Warsaw City Hall said in a statement that fragments of three bridges: Kierbedź, Poniatowski and Citadel Rail Bridge had laid in the riverbed for over 70 years. The Research Institute of Roads and Bridges extracted, secured and handed them to the city.
Prof. Barbara Rymsza is the originator of the Pontiseum. In the years 2008-2014, she conducted a research aimed at locating and extracting fragments of the first steel Warsaw bridges from the bottom of the Vistula.
"The remains of the steel bridges are a proof of Polish bridge builders' mastery. Crushed and contorted elements carry a memory of the destructive force of war, and serve as caution for the future. Today, beautifully exposed, they are a relic of technical culture and an important element of the national heritage" - the City Hall said.
Pontiseum is located where Tamka meets Zajęcza street, near the Świętokrzyski Bridge. This is yet another spot on the cultural map of the Vistula District (informal name for riverside areas)
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, tvnwarszawa.pl
Źródło zdjęcia głównego: Tomasz Zieliński/tvnwarszawa.pl