As the name suggests, the city of Newcastle upon Tyne is located on the River Tyne. Newcastle is on the north bank, while the town of Gateshead is located on the south bank. Naturally, the two cities are linked by a number of bridges, amongst them of which there are some very interesting ones.
The first bridge over the River Tyne was built as early as the Romans. Then stone bridges were built, and in 1876 they were replaced by the Swing Bridge, because... there was a need to provide passage along the river for large ships. By this time there was already a High Level Bridge, a two-level bridge, built in 1849. The lower level, 26 m high above the water, is pedestrian and vehicular, and the upper level, 40 m high, is railway.
In the early 20th century, after years of debate in the city council, the Tyne Bridge was built Tyne Bridge In 1928 it was inaugurated by King George V. It is single span bridge, and at the time of its construction it was the longest single span single span bridge in the world. The bridge soon became one of the symbols of Newcastle.
A very unusual bridge has been connecting Gateshead and Newcastle since 2001 and goes by the the name Millennium Bridge. Officially, it is considered to be located in the city of Gateshead. It is the world's first lean-to bridge. Two arcs connect the banks of the River Tyne. The one arc, which is horizontal, is a is a cycle-pedestrian bridge. If a vessel approaches on the river that doesn't pass the height of the horizontal arc, the two arcs rotate 40°. Because of this, the bridge is nicknamed the "flashing" or "winking" bridge. The bridge parts were transported along the river and installed using the “Asian Hercules” - the name of the largest floating crane in Europe. The bridge rotates about 200 times a year and always attracts crowds of people who want to admire this spectacle.
