The Koningin Emma brug/Pontjesbrug is a pontoon bridge (floating back) over the Sint Anna Bay in Willemstad. Curaçao only has a flag stamp and no location stamps so far.

The bridge is also known as the swinging old lady, as it swings open and closes to let ships in and out of the natural harbor. A true spectacle! If you are lucky, you can see a large cruise ship or container ship entering the harbor. The Pontjesbrug is 168 meters long and the only floating wooden swing bridge in the world. The bridge floats on 16 pontoons on Sint Anna Bay and connects Punda with Otrobanda, the two parts of the historic city center of Willemstad.

A bell indicates the approaching opening of the bridge, giving pedestrians time to exit the bridge. Soon after, the entrance gates will close. You can choose to stay on the bridge when it opens, but choose wisely as you can only leave the bridge when it closes again. This can take up to 45 minutes depending on the passing ship.

So how do you make a decision? You just have to look at the flag on top of the steering room. The color of the flag indicates how long the bridge will remain open. Orange means that the bridge will only open for a short time and probably only halfway, blue means that the bridge will be open for a long time. In that case, you better make sure you are off the bridge before it opens.

TIP: When the bridge is open for a longer period of time (blue flag) and you need to get to the other side, you can use the free ferry service about 100 meters from the bridge.

At night, the bridge is full of lights! The new lighting is tailored to the colors of Curaçao: blue and yellow. The bridge will show moving light of the island in all kinds of combinations every evening.