The Place:The Queen Emma Bridge is a pontoon bridge located in Willemstad, the capital of Curaçao. It is 168 m (~550 ft) long and the only floating wooden swing bridge in the world.
Also known as the "Swinging Old Lady" or just "pontoon bridge" by the locals, the bridge crosses the St. Anna Bay, a deep but narrow sea inlet splitting the capital roughly in half. It was the only bridge between its two most historical districts -- known as Punda and Otrobanda -- up until 1974. Originally used for all types of transportation, it became restricted to pedestrians only once it was no longer the sole means for direct non-ferry access between the two sides. The bridge currently serves about 15,000 pedestrians a day.
It floats on 16 pontoons and is hinged so that it can be opened to enable unobstructed passage of vessels sailing between the open seas and the capital's inner harbor of Schottegat further "upstream". On the opposite end of the hinge are two diesel-engine propellers mounted perpendicular to the length of the bridge, thereby allowing it to be swung completely parallel to the shoreline -- a process which only takes a few short minutes to complete. A free small ferry a few hundred meters away connects Punda and Otrobanda whenever the bridge is open -- which can sometimes happen up to 30 times a day!
The bridge was originally built by the American entrepreneur and US Consul Leonard B. Smith back in 1888. The pontoons were built in Camden, Maine (USA) and transported to Curacao by sailboat. The movable section was locally built (in two separate parts) on the Motet wharf nor far from the bridge's current location. Mr. Smith considered naming the bridge “Alliance” since it connected the two halves of Willemstad, but the Governor at that time -- Nicolaas van den Brandhof -- proposed to name it after Her Majesty Queen Emma of The Netherlands... rumor has it Smith kindly obliged, particularly since his daughter was also named Emma.
The bridge was at one time a toll bridge, up until 1934 when the toll was finally lifted. Individuals wearing shoes had to pay 0.02 NAFls (Netherlands Antilles Florins) to cross over, but those without shoes were allowed free passage. It is common folklore on the island that savvy pedestrians would take off their shoes prior to crossing in order to dodge the toll, whereas some poor but proud pedestrians who did not have the luxury of wearing shoes on a daily basis would save theirs for crossing on special occasions and proudly pay their 2 cents at that time.
The Person:From
Wikipedia: Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont (2 August 1858 – 20 March 1934) was Queen consort of the Netherlands and Grand Duchess consort of Luxembourg by marriage to King-Grand Duke William III. An immensely popular member of the Dutch Royal Family, Queen Emma served as regent for her daughter, Queen Wilhelmina, during the latter's minority from 1890 until 1898.
Emma was born a princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont on 2 August 1858 in Arolsen Castle in Arolsen, the capital of the small German principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont. She was the fourth daughter of Georg Viktor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont, and Princess Helena of Nassau. Her brother, Friedrich, was the last reigning prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont. Her sister, Helena, was the wife of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, a son of Queen Victoria.
Her maternal grandfather was William, Duke of Nassau, a grandson of Princess Carolina of Orange-Nassau, through which she inherited a place in the line of succession to the Dutch Crown until 1887.
Emma had a religious education from a very liberal minded pastor. With her English governess, Emma studied crafts, drawing, and French literature.
Princess Emma married the elderly King William III in Arolsen on 7 January 1879, two years after the death of his first wife, Sophie of Württemberg. The aging, licentious king, once described as "the greatest debauchee of the age", is supposed to have previously been rejected by Princess Thyra of Denmark, who had more interest in his youngest son. Emma's elder sister Pauline was the king's obvious first target, but Emma was the one who stepped in with the words: "I wouldn't mind becoming Queen of the Netherlands!"
With William, Emma had her only child, the future Queen Wilhelmina, on 31 August 1880. The king also had three sons from his first marriage, William, Maurice, and Alexander, all of whom died before him without any legitimate offspring.
Three days before William died on 23 November 1890, Emma became regent for her incapacitated husband. She continued her regency into the reign of his successor, their underage daughter, Wilhelmina, until Wilhelmina's eighteenth birthday on 31 August 1898. The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the crown of which according to the House-Treaty should not be inherited by a woman, passed to Adolf, Duke of Nassau, who happened to be Queen Emma's maternal uncle.
Emma took her position of regent seriously. She met personally with every government minister at least once every two weeks and strictly adhered to the rules of the constitutional monarchy. She was open to anyone who wanted to talk to her and insisted that she personally open and handle as much mail as possible. In addition to her administrative duties, Emma paid great attention to the education of her daughter. When Wilhelmina reached the age of 16, Emma considered her childhood over and Wilhelmina spent the next two years being prepped for her job as a reigning queen.
The queen mother died in The Hague on 20 March 1934, of complications from bronchitis at the age of 75, and was buried in Delft.