Czech Republic Open World’s Longest Suspension Footbridge

A record-breaking suspension footbridge has opened in the northeast of the Czech Republic between the crests of the Kralicky Snezník Mountain, offering spectacular views to hikers.

The Sky Bridge 721 is now the world’s longest suspension footbridge, spanning 721m between two mountain ridges.

It cost 200M Czech crowns (£6.9M) to build and hangs 95m above the valley floor.

Located near the holiday resort of Dolní Morava and crossing the Mlynicke udolí valley, the bridge was built near the Skywalk, a 55m-high viewing platform where you can slide down on a 100m-long slide.

The bridge can be accessed by cable car and on the other side, visitors can make their way along a paved forest path lined with signs detailing Czech history. There is also a corresponding virtual reality phone game.

The winter sports and hiking resort of Dolní Morava is located around 200km east of Prague, close to the Polish border.

Until now, the world’s longest suspension bridge for pedestrians has been located near the Portuguese town of Arouca. It measures 516m and hangs 176m above the ground.

It sits at more than 1,100 meters above sea level and connects two mountain ridges in the country’s northeast region, 200km from Prague and near the border with Poland.

The new Czech bridge, though, is not without its critics.

The Czech Nature Conservation Agency’s regional director Michal Servus told Czech TV this week the bridge caused problems with protecting the surrounding areas and changed the character of the area.

Officials hope it will boost tourism in the area by giving a different look at the forested landscape.

“For me this is a great view,” Michal Hofirek, A first-time visitor to the bridge first said