Queen Emma Bridge - Willemstad, Curacao
Posted by: 
Raven
N 12° 06.354 W 068° 56.107
19P E 507060 N 1338264
The Queen Emma Bridge is a pontoon bridge located in Willemstad, the capital of Curaçao. It was named after Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont, Queen Consort of the Netherlands and mother of Queen Wilhelmina (1880-1930).
Waymark Code: WM109GV
Location: Curaçao
Date Posted: 03/26/2019
Views: 7
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.
The bridge -- also known as the "Swinging Old Lady" or just "pontoon bridge" by the locals -- 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.
Several bridge repairs and renovations have been required over the years, the last one taking place in 2005/2006: this included removing the previously-placed asphalt on its deck and going back to a wooden structure, this time using 478 square meters of African hardwood. Likewise, the original wooden pontoons were replaced by more modern metal pontoons between 1983 and 1986 in order to accommodate a growing foot traffic.
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 stamp displayed as the waymark's default image was issued by Netherlands Antilles on February 5, 1975 as part of a set of 2 stamps dedicated to the 1974 opening of the Queen Juliana Bridge, the large arch bridge being pictured in the stamp's background.
More information about the stamp in question can be found on the following Collectors Portal
webpage. Please note that the Netherlands Antilles dissolved in 2010, so Curacao is now its own country.
Last but not least, several stamps in recognition of the Queen Emma Bridge have been issued over the years; below are just a few examples:
Opening of Queen Emma Bridge, 1888Bridge's 100th AnniversaryCuracao Tourist Attractions (1972)Curacao Tourist Attractions (2012)Curacao Virtues