most unique bridges in the world

The Langkawi Sky Bridge can be accessed via cable car. The bridge is a 410 ft long curved pedestrian bridge above Gunung Matchincang roughly 2,300 ft above sea level. Once you travel up the mountain via the the cable car, the bridge gives tourists the opportunity to view some of the most beautiful sights of the Malaysian mountains and rainforests.

This unique bridge is found in the Paddington Basin area of London. Something that makes this bridge so special is how every Friday, the octagonal shape rolls out to reveal itself as a bridge. Later on during the day, it will curl itself back up into its original form, hiding itself away again until it reemerges the next Friday. The bridge uses hydraulics to achieve this and it was completed in 2004. It was designed by Thomas Heatherwick, who also designed the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Cauldron.

Nicknamed the Wind and Rain Bridge and hidden amongst the rice fields and mountains, this bridge is found in the Guangxi Province of China spanning the Linxi River. Built in 1916 by the Dong people, an ethnic minority in China, the bridge has five separate pagoda structures with porches and pavilions. The traditional Chinese architecture makes for a fantastic looking structure but the most amazing thing about this bridge is that during construction, not a single nail was used, relying instead on some amazing architectural tricks.

Located in the town of Lucerne, this stunning bridge was built in 1333 and crosses over the Reuss river diagonally. Rich in history, it is the oldest wooden covered bridge in Europe. The inside of the bridge is decorated by 17th century paintings depicting events in local history all of which was nearly destroyed in a fire roughly 20 years ago. About two thirds of the bridge and 85 of the 110 paintings were lost, some dating back to 1611. Only 25 could be saved or restored and the bridge itself was rebuilt a year later.

This bridge across the Singapore river is unique in how it was designed to look like the structure of DNA. Opened in 2010, the Helix Bridge is made mostly from steel and is illuminated at night by ribbons of LED lighting to compliment its unique design.

It was opened by The Queen in 2002 and is found in the city of Newcastle, crossing over the Tyne River. The Gateshead Millennium Bridge is unique in that it is one of the few bridges in the world that tilts When it is tilted one way, it turns into a normal pedestrian bridge that the public can cross over. When it is tilted the other way though it let boats and ships pass beneath. The bridge has won many architectural awards for its design and is nicknamed the Winking Eye Bridge because it looks like an eye winking every time it tilts.

Quite literally translated as Old Bridge in English, Stari Most was thought to be built in 1566 and managed to withstand the test of time until the bridge was destroyed in 1993 during the outbreak of the Bosnian war. More than $13 million had been spent on rebuilding the 16th Century bridge and surrounding buildings until it was finally restored and opened to the public again in 2004. It is a tradition for locals to dive off this bridge into the river below and the bridge is also recognized as a world heritage site.

One of Japan s greatest pieces of engineering, this bridge holds the record for bring the longest suspension bridge in the world with a total length of 3,911 m. It would take four Brooklyn Bridges to span the same distance Opening in 1998, it took 12 years to build and it links the city of Kobe in Hyogo Prefecture to Iwaya in the Awaji Island. Funnily enough it was never built with the intention of being the longest suspension bridge in the world but in 1995 the Kobe Earthquake hit halfway during it s construction and consequently added an extra 3 ft which gave the bridge its record. The length of the cables used in the bridge totals 300,000 km. That s enough to circle the earth 7.5 times.

This is another bridge that is rich in history. Built in the 15th century, it crosses over the Grand Canals of Venice. The bridge was technically built before that, in 1181 as a small barge that served as the only crossing to get to the other side of the Grand Canal. It was in 1551 when authorities asked for the bridge to be upgraded. Some of the best architects in history, including Michelangelo and Palladio, offered plans to redesign the bridge but the honor eventually went to Antonio da Ponte. Many architects were skeptical of his plans and predicted failure of the bridge but he has defied his critics even till this day. The classic venetian architecture adds to its appeal and until the nineteenth century, Rialto Bridge was still the only bridge to span the Grand Canal and the only link between the two sides of Venice until more modern day bridges were built.

No, this one isn t fake This extremely bizarre bridge is found in Leeuwarden. Because of the vast amount of rivers running throughout the Netherlands and boat traffic as high as the volume of vehicles, the country needed a bridge able to quickly raise and lower itself to benefit both road and river traffic. This is how this bridge came to be. Constructed in 2000 from iron and steel, the bridge is raised and lowered 10 times a day with the use of hydraulics.