Maria Valeria Bridge

The Maria Valeria Bridge joins Esztergom in Hungary and Sturovo in Slovakia, across the River Danube. The bridge is some 500 metres in length. It is named after Archduchess Marie Valerie of Austria, 1868–1924, the fourth child of Emperor Franz Josef, and Elisabeth. The bridge was designed by János Feketehazy in 1893; he built several bridges on the Danube, including the Liberty bridge in Budapest and the Elisabeth bridge between Komarno and Komárom. Since its opening on 28 September 1895,

the bridge has been destroyed twice. On 22 July 1919 the bridge was destroyed by a detonation at its first pier on its western side but the bridge was renovated in 1922 and completely reconstructed in 1926. During World War II, retreating German troops blew up the bridge on 26 December 1944 along with other bridges near Esztergom. Decades of intransigence between the Communist governments of Hungary and Czechoslovakia meant that the bridge was not rebuilt until the new millennium, finally reopening on 11 October 2001.