Pančevo Bridge

Pančevo Bridge (Pančevački most) or colloquially Pančevac (Панчевац) is a bridge over the Danube in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It was named after the northern city of Pančevo (in Vojvodina) which is connected to Belgrade by the road continuing from the bridge. It was the first permanent bridge across the Danube in Belgrade, and until December 2014, when the Pupin Bridge opened further upstream in the municipality of Zemun, the only one. The bridge is located in the Belgrade municipality of Palilula, which is the only municipality in the city that lies on both banks of the Danube. Geographically, it connects two large regions of Serbia, Šumadija and Banat (Pančevački Rit). The bridge approaches begin well back from the bridge itself in the neighborhoods of Bogoslovija (roundabout at Mije Kovačevića Street) and Ada Huja (Višnjička Street), while the direct approach begins from the Boulevard of Despot Stefan. The bridge spans the industrial zone along the Danube's right bank in the neighborhood of Viline Vode, the Danube (at approximately river's ), and reaches the Banat side in the neighborhood of Krnjača, between the sub-neighborhoods of Blok Braća Marić, on the right, and Blok Branko Momirov, on the left. There is a large access interchange on this side, too, with the carriageways forking in two, marking the borders of the sub-neighborhood Blok Grga Andrijanović. The Zrenjanin Road is to the left, the Pančevo Road to the east, with the railway between them. Construction of the original bridge began in 1933. On 27 October 1935 it was inaugurated by the Prince regent of Yugoslavia, Pavle Karađorđević and mayor Vlada Ilić, and named after the still minor King of Yugoslavia, Petar II (Most Kralja Petra II). The construction of the bridge attracted international attention, especially due to its length. At the time of the construction, it was one of the longest bridges in Europe, so it cause international media attention. The original bridge had arched steel construction, and arched access pillars on both banks.