 The original bridge on wooden poles was built in 1812. It was used by Napoleon’s Army fleeing from Russia. There was no permanent bridge from Kaunas to Aleksotas until 1914. Aleksotas was under different laws during the rule of tsarist Russia. Kaunas was then part of the Russian Northwestern region, while Aleksotas and Užnemunė belonged to Poland, where the Napoleonic Code and even different calendars were used. Jokingly, Aleksotas Bridge was called the longest bridge in the world: the Slavic (Julian) calendar was used in the province of Kaunas, whereas Užnemunė used the Catholic (Gregorian) calendar; therefore, it took 13 days to cross the bridge (the old calendar was 13 days behind the new one). At the beginning of World War II, Aleksotas Bridge was mined on June 24, then blasted on June 26 by the order of the 8th Army General Shlemin. During the Nazi occupation, a temporary pontoon bridge was built and used throughout the period. A temporary wooden bridge served local needs until 1948. When it was swept away by a flood, German war prisoners built the present Aleksotas Bridge (architect L. Kazarinskis). The bridge had a draw mechanism, which did not function properly and, therefore, was never used.
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