At a formal ceremony, the Nemzeti összetartozás hídja (Bridge of National Unity) in Sátoraljaújhely received a Guinness World Records certificate: at 723 metres, it has become the world's longest-span pedestrian suspension bridge.
The Nemzeti összetartozás hídja links Szárhegy and Várhegy. The crossing connects the Hungarian Calvary (Magyar Kálvária), the St Stephen's Chapel there, the 100th National Flag (Országzászló) and the turul statue made for the Trianon 100 commemoration, as well as the rope courses of the Magas-hegyi Turisztikai és Sportközpont (Magas-hegy Tourism and Sports Centre), with the viewing promenade built on the ruins of the former Újhely castle.
The bridge spans the Májuskút valley at a height of 84 metres, and in the middle visitors can walk across an eight-metre stretch of glass. Each of the bridge's six supporting cables is 70 millimetres in diameter, and the cables weigh more than 245 tonnes in total. The walkway is 1.2 metres wide, up to 300 people can be on the bridge at once, and it can be used in wind speeds of up to 10 m/s.
The Sátoraljaújhely bridge beats the previous record holder by two metres, making it, at 723 metres, the world's longest-span pedestrian suspension bridge. Opened on 4 June last year, the bridge welcomed more than 300,000 visitors by the end of the year, and the aim is to double that number this year.
Source: MTI