The Erasmus Bridge is the Dutch bridge in Rotterdam, opened in 1996, that is nicknamed “The Swan” for its distinctive white shape.
Designed by Ben van Berkel and Caroline Bos, the bridge crosses the Nieuwe Maas and connects Rotterdam’s northern city centre with the Kop van Zuid district. Its asymmetrical steel pylon rises 139 metres above the roadway.
The cable-stayed bridge is approximately 802 metres long. A bascule section at its southern end opens to allow taller vessels to pass along the river.
The bridge quickly became one of Rotterdam’s defining landmarks and appears in city images, films and televised events. Its nickname refers to the elegant, angled pylon and the sweeping arrangement of its cables, not to an actual swan sculpture.