1. Rio-Antirio Bridge(officially the Charilaos Trikoupis Bridge) is one of the world’s longest multispan cable-stayed bridges of the fully suspended type. The bridge spans the western end of the Gulf of Corinth near Patras linking Western Greece and Peloponnisos. The 2.38km long bridge designed by Berdj Mikaelian was opened ahead of schedule the day before the launch of the Athens 2004 Olympics on 12 August, 2004, and was used by runners to bring the Olympic flame to Athens. Its 28m-wide span allows for two vehicle lanes each way as well as a pedestrian walkway.
2. Tsakona Arch bridge (490m) is one of the world’s longest multi-span arch bridges. The bridge across the Tsakona Valley in Peloponnisos links Megolopoli to Kalamata. Work began in 2008 and was completed by January 2016. Its construction proved extremely challenging. It was originally budgeted at 94 million euro but the final cost was 131.5 million euro.
3. Tatarna Bridge is 465m long and provides a link over the man-made Lake Kremasta which was created when a dam across the Acheloos River. The box-girder bridge with three spans was completed in 1973. A 17th century stone arch bridge once spanned the river at the same spot. The bridge marks the border between Aetolia-Acarnania and Evrytania.
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4. Euripus Bridge (694m) spans the Euripus Strait to link Euboea to the Greek mainland at Chalcis. Built in 1992, it is Greece’s first cable-stayed road bridge.
5. Konitsa (Aoos bridge) spans the Aoos River in Epirus built in 1870, it was the work of local architect and engineer Ziogas Frontzos from Pyrsogianni, a small village 32 km from Konitsa. It is 20m high 35m long and just wide enough for pedestrians, livestock, and carts to pass from one side to the other. When the Turks asked him where he had studied, he said he had studied at the University of Pyrsogianni, in the “quarry outside the village where young craftsmen were taught the secrets of this art.” He did a good job because the bridge has withstood several attempts by invading armies to destroy it.
6. The Bridge of Arta (142m). The original bridge that spans the Arachtos River in Epirus may have been built in Roman times but it has been rebuilt a number of times over the centuries. The current bridge was built by the Turks around 1606. A line in the traditional folk song The Bridge of Arta reflects the problems of building it: “All day they were building it, and in the night it would collapse”. According to the song, the problems only stopped once the head builder sacrificed his wife by burying her in the bridge’s foundations.
7. Portitsa Bridge (2.27m) in Grevena spans the Portitsa river gorge in Western Macedonia. There are few bridges in the world that can offer such a spectacular backdrop as this beautiful stone arch bridge. It was built in 1743 with help from the nearby monastery at Spilaio.
8. De Bosset Bridge in Argostoli Bay Kefalonia. Built in 1813 it is 689.9m long. It is the longest bridge made of stone over the sea in the world. It was the brainchild of Swiss engineer Charles de Bosset. He was also the governor for the island which had come under British protection at the end of the Napoleonic wars. The bridge was first made of wood which was then replaced piece by piece with sandstone blocks.
9. Arkadiko Bridge is 22m long, 3.6m wide and nearly 4m high. Dating to the Mycenaean period, it was built between 1300 and 1190 BC. It is the oldest arch bridge in the world that is still in use. It links Tiryns and Epidaurus in the Peloponnese and was was probably built specifically for the easy passage of chariots. It is made of limestone boulders and smaller stones.
10. Eleutherna Bridge (9,35m). This ancient corbel arch bridge with false arch near Eleutherna in Crete is made of limestone was built during the Hellenistic period, some time between the 4th and 3rd Centuries BC. It crosses the confluence of the Pharangitis and Chalopota streams and is still in use.
