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One of the most interesting monuments of medieval
architecture is the bridge over the Khram river. It is
located along the Gazakh-Tbilisi highway, just on the state
border between Azerbaijan and Georgia. The bridge was
constructed in XII century. The length of the bridge is 175
meters and the width is 4.3 m. The width of its entrance
from both sides is 12.4 m. The highest point of the
bridge over the water is 26m. It has four spans with
different sizes (8.2m, 16.1m, 8m, 26.1m). All construction
lined with red baked brick. That is why it is called the "Girmizi
korpu" (The Red Bridge).
A multicellular inner space between the spans on both
banks of the bridge served as caravansary in the past. The
area of the rooms is 168 sq. meters on the left bank and 116
sq. metres on the right bank. The presence of such large
caravansaries demonstrates the strategic importance of the
Red Bridge on the vital trade routes. The style of the Red
Bridge is similar to medieval bridges, located in
Khudaferine, Ganja, Maraga and Ardebil.
Among the folk, there is another name in use for this
bridge - "Siniq Korpu" (The Broken Bridge). However,
historically the ancient Broken Bridge was located 100
meters from the current bridge downstream. The remains of
the old bridge still exist along the flow of the river. |
