Jincheon Nongdari Bridge

{{Short description|Bridge in Jincheon, South Korea}}

{{use dmy dates|date=September 2023}}

{{Infobox bridge

|bridge_name = Jincheon Nongdari Bridge

|image = 진천_농다리.jpg

|caption =Jincheon Nongdari Bridge

|official_name =

|carries =

|crosses =

|locale = North Chungcheong, South Korea

|maint =

|id =

|designer =

|design = stone bridge

|material =

|spans =

|pierswater =

|mainspan =

|length = {{convert|93|m}}

|width = {{convert|3.6|m}}

|height =

|load =

|clearance =

|below =

|traffic =

|begin =

|complete =

|open =

|heritage =

|collapsed =

|preceded =

|followed =

|closed =

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|coordinates = {{coord|36|49|33|N|127|29|36|E|display=inline,title}}

}}

{{Infobox Korean name

|img=

|hangul=진천 농다리

|hanja=鎭川 籠다리

|rr=Jincheon nongdari

|mr=Chinch'ŏn nongdari

}}

Jincheon Nongdari Bridge ({{Korean|hangul=진천 농다리}}) is South Korea's oldest stone bridge.{{Cite web |last=Nam |first=Sang-Hyun |date=2021-08-20 |title=S. Korea's oldest stone bridge |url=https://en.yna.co.kr/view/PYH20210820106300315 |access-date=2023-09-21 |website=Yonhap News Agency |language=en}} Located in Jincheon County, North Chungcheong Province, this 93-meter long and 3.6-6m wide bridge was built over Sesecheon Stream on the orders of General Lim during the time of the Goryeo dynasty (918-1392).{{Cite web |title=Jincheon |url=https://www.jincheon.go.kr/site/eng/sub.do?menukey=2684 |access-date=2023-09-21 |website=www.jincheon.go.kr}}{{Cite web |title=진천농교(鎭川籠橋) Jincheon Nongdari bridge |url=https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0054945 |access-date=2023-09-27 |website=Encyclopedia of Korean Culture |language=ko}} It was designated as a {{ill|Tangible Cultural Property (South Korea)|lt=Tangible Cultural Property|ko|유형문화재}} No. 28 of North Chungcheong Province on December 21, 1976.https://www.heritage.go.kr/heri/cul/culSelectDetail.do;jsessionid=Z1PvJGXUG0OGFhCIfjlsINoB9Jaob1ndZEf13p4DUD4zgbZmnTvxU7LZC28BnNE9.cpawas_servlet_engine1?pageNo=1_1_2_0&VdkVgwKey=21,00280000,33

The piers are 1.2 m thick and the span between the piers is 80cm. Originally there were 28 channels for the water to flow between the piers, but over time, some piers and channels were destroyed,{{Cite web |date=2017-07-24 |title=1000년 물결 버텨온 진천 '농다리', 이번 집중호우로 일부 유실 (Jincheon's 'Nongdari', which has withstood 1,000 waves for 1,000 years, was partially washed away by this torrential rain) |url=https://www.joongang.co.kr/article/21783591 |access-date=2023-09-27 |website=JoongAng Ilbo |language=ko}} and a project to restore the 24 channels to the original 28 channels was started in 2008, and completed in 2018.

The stones used in the piers were piled up like fish scales, and this method of construction meant that the piers were generally not destroyed even during rainy seasons. The unprecedented method of building the piers with small stones (and no binding material), and the civil engineering considerations used to prevent the piers from being lost make this a precious bridge.

File:농다리 침수3.jpg