Most Kotlarski, Kraków

Most Kotlarski is a steel arch bridge over the Vistula, joining Grzegórzki and Zabłocie. Poland’s longest arch bridge without a river pier, it combines road lanes, pavements, cycle paths and a central fast-tram route. Designed by Witold Gawłowski, it opened in 2001.

Most Kotlarski is the broad steel bridge carrying you across the Vistula between Grzegórzki and Zabłocie, linking Kotlarska Street with Herlinga-Grudzińskiego Street. Its engineering is unusually bold: this is Poland’s longest arch bridge with no pier planted in the river itself. Four long steel arches form its main structure; shorter arches brace them below, while eight cross-ribs stiffen them above.

The single span reaches one hundred and sixty-six metres, and the bridge is thirty-six point eight metres wide. Within that width are two carriageways, pavements and cycle paths on both sides, plus a central reservation used by Kraków’s fast tram route since 2010. Notice the sweeping arches above the deck: they make the bridge’s practical job visible rather than hiding it.

Built in 2000 and 2001, the bridge improved the connection between Podgórze and the city centre, easing pressure on several older crossings and streets. It opened officially on the eighth of December 2001. Witold Gawłowski designed it with the MTWW architectural office, and the project earned him Kraków Architect of the Year for 2008.