Old Bridge of Khorramshahr

As a port placed 125 Kilometers to Ahvaz, Khorramshahr is located in the southwest of Khuzestan plain and the joint point of Karoun and Arvand Rivers. The ancient antiquity of Khorramshahr backs to Elamite period and the city of Nazhitto. Histories named the city of Bayan after the attack of Alexander that was the place of the current Khorramshahr and had been alive until the fourth century SH. After that, the name of this land became Mehrzi.

The history of maritime trade around the city backs to Qajar reign when the oceangoing ships entered the shores of Karoun. According to an itinerary, 25 oceangoing ships had harbored in Kout-e Mahmare, which is the old name of this place, among which the steamship of Lynch brothers was also observed in Khorramshahr.

Khorramshahr port is one of the first ports of Iran. It had 20 wharves before Iran-Iraq war and based on the statistics, about four million tons of commodity has been loaded in this port from 1356 SH.  Khorramshahr port is currently considered to be the second loading port of Iran with 13 wharves.

Pahlavi monarchy built the old bridge of Khorramshahr, in 1338 SH, over the Dastkand-e Azodi, which is one of the branches of Karoun river in Khorramshahr. Named Azadi Bridge after the war, the Old Bridge is the first bridge of Khorramshahr. The bridge connects two north and south parts of Dastkand-e Azodi that was previously passible only by boats. Azadi Bridge has 616 meters length and 8 meters width. There are staircases on both sides of the entrance of the bridge for people to use and a pavement of one meter and 20 centimeters width.

A half of the bridge was bombarded by Iraq army in 1359 SH because the bridge was the only way of supporting Iran forces during the war. The breakage of the bridge did not prohibit the Iranian soldiers who found another way for saving their compatriots through the river, although it blocked the path of forces of Iraq army to enter the land of Iran!

The old bridge of Khorramshahr was reconstructed after the war, in 1370 SH, and its named changed to Azadi Bridge (meaning freedom). In celebration of this bridge that was the symbol of Iranian resistance in Khuzestan in the war pictures, a memorial stamp has been published three times with the picture of the bridge.

This bridge is currently the passage of people who move between two sides of the ancient port of Khorramshahr.