When was the Forth Bridge officially opened?

The Forth Bridge officially opened on 4 March 1890, by the Prince of Wales, who later became Edward VII, leading the ceremony. This event celebrated the end of one of the Victorian era’s most ambitious engineering projects.

Sir John Fowler and Sir Benjamin Baker designed the bridge, using huge steel cantilevers to cross the Firth of Forth and connect Edinburgh with Fife. When it opened, it was the world’s longest single cantilever span and soon became a symbol of industrial progress and careful engineering.

More than a hundred years later, the bridge is still in use and carries hundreds of trains every day. In 2015, it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site, showing its lasting importance around the world.