Bizkaia Bridge

    • Hugging the coast
      Bilbao — Lekeitio
    • A journey between beginnings and the future
      Orduña — Bilbao

    Description

    The Bizkaia Bridge spans the Nervión estuary, connecting the municipalities of Getxo and Portugalete in the Basque Country. Built in the late 19th century, it was the world's first transporter bridge with a metal structure — an engineering solution designed to carry passengers and vehicles across the river without obstructing maritime traffic.

    Popularly known as the Puente Colgante (Hanging Bridge), it stands as one of the most significant surviving monuments of the Industrial Revolution. Its exceptional technical design and remarkable state of preservation led to its inscription as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a recognition shared by only a handful of transporter bridges worldwide.

    Within the cultural heritage of the Basque Country, the Bizkaia Bridge holds a unique place: it embodies the industrial history of the Nervión estuary and remains fully operational today, combining its role as a working infrastructure with its status as an enduring symbol of the territory.

    Dentro del patrimonio cultural de Euskadi, el Puente Bizkaia es un referente ineludible: un lugar que condensa la historia industrial de la ría del Nervión y que sigue en funcionamiento, manteniendo su valor tanto como infraestructura activa como como símbolo territorial.