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| Punakha Dzong with bridge in 2023 |
When visiting Punakha Dzong in the year 2000, I haven't been aware of the intersting history of the bridge to the dzong, which lies at the confluence of the Pho Chhu and Mo Chhu rivers. I crossed the river over a suspension bridge. J. Claude White has written in his book [1]: „[...], we managed in time to reach the bridge across Mo-chhu, and after little pause, under a salute of guns – fifty now instead of thirty – heartily glad to reach the shelter of our camp, where a wooden house of two rooms was prepared for us.“ And a few pages later [2]: „In case of Poonakha, however, the building is situated on a tongue of land running down between the rivers Mo-chhu and Po-chhu just above junction, as both rivers are unfordable three sides of the parallelogram are most efficiently protected. Access to the Jong on the river side is by means of two cantilver bridges, strengthend by strong gateways of heavy timber studded with iron, with strong defense towers at each end, through which the roadway runs.“
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| „Original bridge built about 1740, photograph from 1906“ [3] titled „Poonakha-Jong“ in [1] |
This covered cantilever bridge was built together with the Dzong in the 17th century. This very bridge, that J. Claude White crossed with gun salute, has been washed away by a flash flood in 1957. After 1957 a suspension bridge had been built across the Mo Chhu and I used this one. You might have be confused as the first picture shows a cantilever bridge. Harald N. Hestroy wrote [3]: „A steel cable bridge, for the use of pedestrians and cattle like the original wooden bridge, was built to reach the Dzong from Punakha. This ungainly improvised solution which offended the beauty of the Dzong lasted until 2007.“
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| The suspension bridge in 2000 |
Harald N.Nestroy is a retired German diplomat (ambassador to Costa Rica, Namibia, Malaysia and the Republic of the Congo), who is the chairman and founder of the society non-profit association Pro Bhutan [4]. The new cantilever bridge of Punakha was planned, built and financed by Pro Bhutan. It is called Puna Mochhu Bazam, which spans 55 m. The traditional cantilever bridge has a capacity of 500 pedestrians – however, the word bazam means cattle bridge, as ba means cattle and zam bridge [6]. On 10th of May 2008, an auspicious day, the bridge was inaugurated by H.E. Jigmi Thinley, Prime Minister of Bhutan, and Harald N. Nestroy. The new bridge was hailed as a celebration of „100 years of Wangchuck Monarchy in 2008 and to the coronation of His Majesty King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck in the Punakha Dzong".[5]
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| A closer view of the cantilever bridge in 2023 |
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| Walking under the roof of the bridge |
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| A retired gentleman praying on the bridge |
Links and Annotations:
[1] J(ohn). Claude White: Sikhim & Bhutan: Twenty-One Years On The North-East Frontier, 1887-1908. Edward Arnold (Publ.). London 1909. Reprinted New Delhi 1999. Again available as Paperback, 2012: ASIN: B00AWKMGQY. P. 138 and picture opp p. 138.
[2] loc. cit. p. 144
[3] The picture in PDF is better than the scan I've made from my copy of J. Claude White's book. https://web.archive.org/web/20150924082038/http://www.probhutan.com/lib/Info-Bridge_10-05-08_e.pdf
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harald_Nestroy
[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punakha_Dzong
[6] Actually while writing this, I felt like Mark Twain, when he has written on „orgies“ -: „It's a word that's made up out'n the Greek „orgo“, outside, open, abroad; and the Hebrew „jeesum“, to plant, cover up ...“. But bazam is cattle-bridge!
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