Magere Brug

The Magere Brug ("Skinny Bridge") is a bridge over the river Amstel in the city centre of Amsterdam. It connects the banks of the river at Kerkstraat (Church Street), between Keizersgracht (Emperors' Canal) and Prinsengracht (Princes' Canal).

The central section of the Magere Brug is a bascule bridge made of white-painted wood. The present bridge was built in 1934. The first bridge at this site was built in 1691 as Kerkstraatbrug and had 13 arches. Because this bridge was very narrow, the locals called it magere brug, which literally means "skinny bridge". In 1871 the state of the bridge was so bad that it was demolished and replaced by a nine-arched wooden bridge. Fifty years later this bridge also needed to be replaced. Architect Piet Kramer made several designs for a steel and stone bridge, but the city decided to replace it with a new bridge that looked the same as the previous, only slightly bigger. In 1934 the bridge was demolished and replaced. The last major renovation was in 1969. Until 1994 the bridge was opened by hand, but now is opened automatically.

Use of the bridge has been limited to pedestrians and cyclists since 2003. It is however opened many times a day in order to let through river traffic. The boats used for sightseeing tours are low enough to pass underneath the bridge when closed. The bridge is decorated with 1200 light bulbs that are illuminated in the evening.

A story told to tourists about the origins of the 1691 version of the bridge is that it was built by two wealthy sisters who lived on opposite sides of the Amstel river and wanted to be able to visit one another every day (and were presumably too busy, or not in good enough health, to go the long way round via another bridge, of which there must surely have been at least one). In one variant of the story the sisters, although wealthy, were not quite wealthy enough to afford a bridge of adequate width for general use and so built a very narrow bridge, hence its name. In another variant of the story the sisters' last name was Mager, hence the bridge's name (rather than from its narrowness).

The bridge can be seen in a number of films, such as the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever from 1971.

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Ollie Martin
6 May 2013
Mr Wint and Mr Kidd are seen on the Skinny Bridge photographing the body of Margaret Lacey as it is pulled from the Amstel in Diamonds Are Forever (1971).
Clemens M. M. Buur Vredenburgh
the name means 'meager bridge', when the lady was hammered over the river from te dike she's praised for geniality of design only seen in Holland, this is still the way of meager here..ye/me say so s'
Irwan van Runt
3 January 2011
Instead of crossing the bridge rapidly like most inhabitants of this city do, just take a break at the center point of the bridge and enjoy the scenery!
Andreas Nellas
15 December 2017
Must visit spot in Amsterdam. Probably the most famous bridge of the city.
Ângelo Miguel Geraldo
31 March 2016
Esta tradicional ponte holandesa, levadiça e de duas folhas, é um dos mais distintivos 'ex-libris' da cidade e um dos mais fotografados, sobretudo à noite.
hussein s
17 September 2019
Pont Maigre en néerlandais se lèvent plusieurs fois par jour pour laisser passer plusieurs bateaux. Eh oui vous l'avez vu dans James bond les diamants sont éternels
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