DOLNI MORAVA, Czech Republic: The world’s longest pedestrian suspension bridge has opened at a mountain resort in the Czech Republic.
The 2,365-foot-long bridge sits more than 3,610 feet above sea level, connecting two mountains at an elevation of 312 feet above the ground.
Named Sky Bridge 721, the bridge is located in the Kralicky Sneznik mountain range near the border with Poland, some 125 miles east of Prague.
The bridge is built to hold 500 pedestrians at one time, though only half that number will be allowed on the bridge for the first two weeks.
Regulations call for the bridge to be closed when winds reach 84 mph.
The $8.3 million bridge took two years to build.
There has been criticism of the bridge from some who say it is too large for the surrounding environment, to others who say it will attract too many tourists to a town of fewer than 500.
Czech tourism officials, however, hope the bridge will attract tourists from throughout the world.
“Marvelous, impressive, the bridge moves, so you think something is going to happen,” he said. “I wonder what is going to happen when it is windy?” said Theo Scheepens, 59, from the Netherlands, who was among the first to cross the bridge, as reported by the Associated Press.
Prior to the opening of the Czech bridge, the longest pedestrian bridge was in Arouca, Portugal, and is 1,693 feet long.
