The Indonesian island of Sumatra has its own Venice: this is the name of the city of Palembang here. Situated near the Musi River and its tributaries, lined into islets and peninsulas with canals on the map, this city is largely dependent on bridges that connect the banks.

The Musi River, one of the longest rivers in Sumatra, divides the city into two large districts: Seberang Ulu and Seberang Ilir. The Ampera Bridge (Jembatan Ampera) plays the main connecting role – it shortens the ways and adorns the embankment.

The bridge has its controversial history: a kind of «student’s book» for engineers. The bridge was designed in the middle of the 20 century, during the era of Indonesian President Sukarno. In the country, the ruler wanted to see a bridge that would remind him of the famous construction near the Tower of London. The construction was financed with money from Japanese war reparations, and a Japanese company took responsibility for the design and construction. However, the executor of the presidential order did not have the experience of building bridges like the London one! This affected the further functions of the structure.

The opening of the bridge happened in 1965. It was called Bung Karno in honor of the president. But after the overthrow of his regime, the bridge got the new name of Ampere.

At first, it was a drawbridge: ships up to 44.5 meters high could pass under the central span. However, this possibility and functional similarity with the famous «Brit» did not last long.

Silting up of the river led to a displacement of the foundation of the bridge towers. The bridge was deformed, and the lifting mechanism broke. Even before the start of construction, experts warned about the features of the river soil! But their fears fell on deaf ears that wanted to please the president.

The balancing and reconstruction of the bridge were carried out for two decades. From the 1990s to the present day, it has been performing its direct function, but without letting ships to pass.

Besides active car traffic, the bridge also serves as an excellent observation deck.