This iron bridge, also called the Bridge of Sighs or Monster of Iron and Steel, is a true Willebroek icon.
The name "Vredesbrug" comes from the fact that the 11th Armoured Division of the British army followed the canal on its way to Antwerp in 1944.
Because this bridge was the only way to cross the canal until the construction of the ring road around Willebroek, the bridge often had to be raised. Several times a day there would be a long line of waiting cars. This event led to the pet name Bridge of Sighs.
(willebroek.info)

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Viviane

May 2, 2024

The Peace Bridge or Bridge of Willebroek is an industrial lifting bridge with a remarkable metal structure over the Brussels-Scheldt Sea Canal in Willebroek.
The bridge is of the portal type in steel truss construction, and was built in the years 1947-1952 by the Société Anonyme de Construction et des Ateliers de Willebroeck. Further along the Sea Canal, similar bridges were built in the same period, the Jan Bogaerts Bridge in Kapelle-op-den-Bos and the still existing Buda Bridge in Neder-Over-Heembeek.

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Viviane

May 2, 2024

In 1990 the bridge was sung about by Wannes Van de Velde in his song "De Brug van Willebroek":[4]
(Chorus)
I stood in front of the bridge of Willebroek,
I was blocked at the canal.
I stood in front of the bridge of Willebroek,
sample of iron and steel.
I saw hundreds of ships pass by,
auf wiedersehen, how do you do?
I wasn't at that rendezvous,
Because the Willebroek bridge was ready.

Translated by Google •

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Elevation 10 m

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Wednesday 22 October

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Location: Willebroek, Mechelen, Antwerp, Flanders, Belgium

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