The River Danube coursing its way through Budapest

The fact I

At one time, Budapest was the center of one of the great empires of the world. The Great War broke up the Austro-Hungarian Empire  into Austria, Hungary, and other Central European nation-states both great and small.

In this view, two main structural themes for building bridges are shown. In the foreground, the newer suspension bridge demonstrates the strength of many wires bundled together and attached to two magnificent columns and securely grounded far beyond the columns deep into the ground on both sides. This grounding at both ends keeps the bridge from collapsing into  the middle.

The second bridge in the distance shows the older method of bridge construction. The arch bridge has worked well for centuries, even as far back as the Romans colonizing England. Again, it is the secure attachment deep into the ground at both ends which keeps the bridge from  failing in the middle.  Arch bridges are limited by length.  On the other hand, theoretically  there seems no end to the rivalry over the length of suspension bridges.