Santurtzi’s sea-front promenade is a great place to admire the El Abra Bay, feel the sea breeze and enjoy the landscape, the people and the monuments.
It is just 20 minutes’ walk from the fishing port at Santurtzi to the transporter bridge, known popularly as the Puente Colgante or “hanging bridge”, which is a Human Heritage Site.
This was the world’s first metal-structured transporter bridge, and it is still operating.
It was designed in the late 19 th century by Alberto de Palacio and engineer/builder Ferdinand Arnodin, who studied under Eiffel, to link the banks of the river estuary without obstructing shipping.
This complex work of engineering took three years of hard work to build, and was opened on 28 July 1893. It has now become a symbol of the history, the industrial past and the people of the local area.
The Puente Bizkaia spans the Nervión River estuary, and can be crossed in two ways:
– Via the car, which carries foot passengers, cyclists and motor vehicles. This has always been the main job of the bridge.
– Via the walkway: take the glass lift up to the pedestrian walkway 50 m above the water. The views from the top are extraordinary and take in the whole of the mouth of the Nervión.
