Tyrs Bridge in Prerov
The new bridge is designed as a social part of the pedestrian walkway into the historical centre of the city. It’s not pretending to be a reconstruction of the previous conditions; just a transfer of some characteristics and qualities of the original bridge. The character of the walkway is enhanced by gray granite paving, sculptures and the benches.
The site has a long history. It was an important crossing on the Amber Trail - an ancient merchant route heading to the Baltic Sea. In 1903 a former wooden bridge was replaced by the bridge made of armed concrete. It was one of the first concrete bridges in former Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. In 1932 the bridge was named after Miroslav Tyrs – a famous art historian, sports organizer and founder of the Sokol movement. In 1945 the bridge was destroyed by retreating German troops and it was never repaired to the original state. Only a temporary steel footbridge served to pedestrians.
The bridge itself is curved, has foundations in the place of the original piers and the form is decoratively shaped. However, it is a contemporary bridge in its proportion of the concrete beams and the sculptures update it to the present-day. The superstructure of the bridge is made of reinforced concrete beams; it's continuous and has three spans. Substructure is made of reinforced concrete and partially uses the original bridge substructure. There are pedestrian walkways, cycle routes and one-way traffic lane situated on the bridge. The bridge is equipped with several works of art. The reconstruction of the bridge also includes both foregrounds of the bridge and embankment walls.
The message is carried by the sculpture of a wisent, with a ring in its nostrils, which has its origin in the heraldry of the blazon of the city. It is represented as monumental figure of a strong and self-confident animal scaled to the structure of the bridge. The sculpture sits on a plinth above the horizon of pedestrians and welcomes arrivals to the historic town.
This sculpture is completed with the figure of a bird – a symbol of freedom, placed in the centre of the bridge. There is also another theme of nature – three concrete trees on the opposite side of the bridge.
(photos by Ivan Nemec)
