Ura e Zogut (Zogu Bridge) or Ura e Matit (Mat Bridge) was built in 1927 over the Mat River in Northern Albania.
The bridge is renowned for its architectural structure, its length and the style of its steel arches.
As a masterpiece of civil engineering from the early 20th century it's of the first bridges with prestressed concrete members in Europe.
It is considered an important achievement in the field of metal construction and concrete structures built over rivers.
Designed by German and Swiss engineers, the construction of the bridge was implemented by the Albanian engineer Gjovalin Gjadri, using materials imported from Italy.
Named after King Zog I of Albania, the bridge is also known as the “five arches bridge”.
Originally, it consisted of six arches but one of the arches was destroyed during the Second World War.
Despite its industrial heritage importance and the fact that the Zogu Bridge was declared a Cultural Monument of first category by the National Institute for Cultural Heritage in Albania, the bridge has been poorly maintained and is in an advanced state of decay. The structure is in imminent danger of collapse due to damage caused to one of its columns. Since the construction of two new bridges over the Mat river in 1987 and 2000, the Zogu Bridge has been disused, but it is frequently visited by tourists given its original design and historic value.
Local people have started a petition to save the bridge and raise awareness of its current state. A petition, addressed to the Albanian government has amassed more than 3000 signatures and some protests have taken place.
The Advisory Panel of the 7 Most Endangered Programme commented: “The Zogu Bridge is officially a national monument but no maintenance has been carried out over many years, resulting in the fact that one of the piles has suffered a relevant subsidence and the entire bridge is facing a very high risk of collapse related to other secondary damages. Nevertheless, as long as the solution for its repair can be easily identified and implemented, if carried out soon, it would not need a big mobilisation of funds.”
