Without any doubt, the Galata Bridge or the Golden Horn it is standing on is as historical as the Istanbul’s itself. As a Sultanahmet hotel which respects to the history of its lands, we have prepared this special historical article for you and it will consist of three parts in total.
If you look at the bridges built between the two coasts of the Golden Horn, you can reach back to the sixteenth century in which they have built the first bridge named as the Golden Horn Bridge with 12 arches.
If you want to explore Istanbul completely, you just cannot and should not miss this historical place.
Information About the Historical Galata Bridge
During the conquest of Istanbul, Mehmet the Conqueror ordered to build a bridge on the Golden Horn too. For this bridge which was built between the Ayvansaray and Kasımpaşa, they have used gigantic barrels and steel parts. This bridge was made for the transportation of the soldiers after the conquest. During the 1500ish years, the first permanent bridge was made by the order of Beyazıt II. And there is an interesting story about Leonardo Da Vinci too. Beyazıt asked a bridge plan from Leonardo Da Vinci and he actually sends one which was refused by the emperor. The name of the bridge was the Golden Horn and it consisted of 240 meters height and 24 meters wideness. If it was completed during that time, it would have been the worlds longest bridge but rather than that, an Italian artist whose name is Mikelanj was invited to Istanbul but the artist refused it so the building of the bridge didn’t start until the 19th century.
During the reign of Sultan Mahmut II, they have built a very long bridge between the Azapkapı and Unkapanı. The bridge which was opened in 1836, was the famous ”Old Bridge” or ”Cisr-i Atik”. The bridge was approximately 500 or 540 meters long and it was built with the help of barges. Old Bridge was destroyed in 1912 and the bridge which was designed by Leonardo Da Vinci was built as the first modern Galata Bridge with little changes in the project. With this, the history of the Galata Bridge had begun!
