Crosses Prut Designer Gustave Eiffel Opened 21 April 1877 Body of water Prut | Preceded by A bridge built in 1874 Address Moldova Location Ungheni Architect Gustave Eiffel | |
Locale between Ungheni and Ungheni, Iași Similar Grand Hotel Traian, Maria Pia Bridge, Esglesia de Sant Feliu, Onyar, Eiffel Tower | ||
The Eiffel Bridge (Romanian: Podul Eiffel) is a bridge over Prut and a checkpoint between Moldova and Romania. The bridge is located between Ungheni and Ungheni, Iași.
History
On May 18 [O.S. May 6] 1872 a Russian diplomat agent, Ivan Alekseevich Zinov'ev and Gheorghe Costaforu signed a rail junction convention, which was ratified on January 21 [O.S. January 9] 1873. Iaşi-Ungheni railway was opened on August 1, 1874. The railway Chişinău-Corneşti-Ungheni (built 1871-1875) was opened on June 1, 1875 by the Russian Empire in preparation for the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878). Ungheni customs was established in 1875 after putting into operation the Chişinău-Ungheni-Iaşi railroad. The railway Chişinău-Corneşti was already opened in 1873.
In 1876 after the spring flooding of the river Prut the railway bridge that linked Bessarabia and Romania was almost destroyed. Railway Department invited Gustave Eiffel in Bessarabia (Moldova) to redesign and rebuild the bridge. The bridge was opened on April 21 [O.S. April 9] 1877, just three days before the outbreak of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878). On April 23 [O.S. April 11] 1877, the Russia's troops entered Romania at Ungheni and next day declared war on the Ottoman Empire. Nowadays it is still a strategically positioned construction under the supervision of frontier guard.
In the nearby city of Iaşi, Gustave Eiffel also built Grand Hotel Traian (1882).