There are very few bridges with buildings in the world. This list attempts to identify all the existing ones and notable former ones featuring significant closed commercial, residential, governmental, or religious worship structures. There exist numerous proposals for inhabited bridges, including 73 designs submitted in the Royal Institute of British Architects' competition at the 800th anniversary of London Bridge,[1] but the table here presents only bridges actually built. Various blogs and magazines itemize a small number of them.[2][3][4]
Many bridges include pavilions or other shelters serving pedestrians crossing the bridge, without providing commercial, residential, governmental, or religious worship space; these are not included.
Some "covered" or "roofed" bridges, such as Pont de Rohan, in Landerneau, and the Pont des Marchands, in Narbonne, both in France, have residential buildings; these two are among at least 45 inhabited bridges in Europe. Other covered bridges in Germany,[5] the United States, and elsewhere might be seen as "buildings" in that their roof protects an enclosed area, but the purpose of the covering is to preserve the structure and the enclosed space is primarily for traffic to pass through. The term "covered bridges" is also used for structures in China such as Chengyang Bridge (1912) and Xijin Bridge (rebuilt 1718) which have large enclosed spaces, but for these it appears that space is not provided for commercial or residential use.
The term "covered bridge" is sometimes used broadly to describe any "bridge-like structure" that is covered by a roof. However, bridge-like structures such as Heilig-Geist-Spital, a hospital built out over two arched spans into the Pegnitz river in Nuremberg, but which did not ever provide a complete crossing to the other side, are not included, nor are certain other bridge-like structures that provide complete spans but are not open to the public for crossing.
The number of houses on the bridge reached a maximum of 140. Many of the houses were later merged, into 91. In the seventeenth century, almost all had four or five storeys. All the houses were shops, and the bridge was one of the City of London's four or five main shopping streets. The three major buildings on the bridge were the chapel, the drawbridge tower and the stone gate. The drawbridge tower was where the severed heads of traitors were exhibited.
One of four bridges in England having a chapel[7] Has a lock-up.
France
"Between 12th and 16th century many bridges were built with houses on them. They were solution for limited accommodation in walled cities and only France had as many as 35."[9]
The "Stadtbrille" (literally: town spectacles) bridge was part of the town's fortifications, and its arches reflected on the river resemble a pair of spectacles.
^Cole, Andrew (1987). "Main Street Bridge"(PDF). Historic American Engineering Record. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. p. 1. Archived from the original(PDF) on October 23, 2012. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
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