Most Świętej Klary, Wrocław

Most Świętej Klary is the small road bridge carrying you between Słodowa Island and Bielarska Island. Beneath its deck runs the Klary spillway, a water channel within the Piaskowy water-control structure. What appears a simple island crossing is built over the working channels of the former Saint Clare’s Mills, which no longer exist.

The bridge you see now dates from 1992. Its two unequal spans cross the old mill channels, divided by a central pier; together they stretch just over twenty metres. The structure rests on steel I-beams, but the surface underfoot and the railings are timber, giving this piece of river engineering an unexpectedly warm, restrained character.

It was refurbished in 2001 at the same time as the former mill channels. Take in the water passing below the bridge: this short crossing neatly explains Wrocław’s island landscape, where channels, river works, and routes between small islands are woven closely together.