The story of Hendrix
Bridges are structural buildings that bridge a natural or artificial obstacle. Bridges connect coasts and people. They are affordable, built to be driven or walked on. With their appearance, they represent magnificent examples of architecture. They have an aesthetic value and a political and social function.
People experience bridges personally. Bridges are most attractive for their beauty and accessibility. This attraction sometimes becomes a source of danger. Young people are not even aware of the dangerous danger they are entering due to curiosity and adrenaline. They ignore the "No Walking on the Track" warning board. There are peculiarities that carry different dangers:
1. the absence of a pedestrian path on the bridge and a narrow space when a train approach
2. the existence of a contact network on bridges and the danger of electric shock
3. the possibility of objects falling from the train.
Beautiful constructions tempt you to leave your own "artistic" mark, thus putting young people in great risk and mortal danger.
In order not only to record the consequences of accidents on bridges, it is necessary to act preventively. The forecast can be reactive (maintaining the current state of safety), proactive (emphasizing the beauty of bridges) and creating profit (riveted bridges are part of the tradition and history of construction culture, and hardly anyone still deals with their maintenance). The therapy manifests itself through proposing different solutions:
• information boards with qR code
• prominent clips or joints that connect the bridge, with a play of colors, restore the bridge to its old glory with new solutions
• graffiti
• illustrations on the walls under the bridges
• unification of all railway bridges
• creating recognition
• educational solutions and others.
Some bridges stand out for their beauty, some for their size, and Hendrix's bridge also stands out for its interesting story. The story begins with the information that it is the oldest bridge in Zagreb that is used for vehicle traffic. In 1862, a single-track steel lattice railway bridge was built on that spot. Due to dilapidation and failure to meet traffic needs, in the 1930s it was decided to bridge the Sava riverbed with a structure with one large span of 135 meters. At the time of construction, it was a bridge arch (Langer's beam) with the largest span on railway bridges in Europe.
The Hendrix bridge got its 'popular' name in the mid-80s, when someone wrote the graffiti 'Hendrix' on it, not realizing that they would write history like that. Thanks to the "Hendrix" graffiti, that bridge gained an almost cult status and became one of the symbols of the urban culture of the city of Zagreb and part of the collective consciousness of the people of Zagreb. In the following years, the famous graffiti was regularly repeated several times, whenever the communal services removed it. Persistence caused generations of the capital's residents to informally call that bridge Hendrix's.
Today, the Hendrix Bridge attracts the attention of every person. For some, it is a motive for risky behavior, for some, unfortunately, for suicide, and for some, it is a motive for organizing various sports and cultural events. Like the Hendrix Half and the Green River Music Festival. For the last two years, members of the safety.guru INSTITUTE have provided support by participating in the Hendrix half. In addition, the safety.guru INSTITUTE showed its admiration for the bridge and its contribution to improving the safety of life and health of people through the Hendrix House of Wisdom educational card, where you can find the most important Hendrix quotes and use them to find solutions and face life's challenges.