Long Bridge

Talisa Maegyr: "What if I told you my father sold lace on the Long Bridge and my mother, my brother, and I lived with him above our shop?"

Robb Stark: "I'd call you a liar."

Talisa Maegyr: "Not very noble to accuse a lady of dishonesty."

— Talisa Maegyr teases Robb Stark.^[src]

The Long Bridge,^[1] also known as the Long Bridge of Volantis,^[2] is a great structure located in the Free City of Volantis. It is a bridge spanning the mouth of the immense Rhoyne River just before it spills into the Summer Sea.

The bridge is so large that it is covered in rows of multi-level buildings, taverns, brothels, and marketplaces, forming a small neighborhood of the city unto itself.^[3]

History[]

Game of Thrones: Season 2[]

When Robb Stark refers to Talisa Maegyr as "lady," she wonders how come he believes her to a member of the nobility. It is obvious to him and she poises a hypothetical question about what if she was a merchant's daughter who had a shop on the Long Bridge. Robb still remains firm that she is a noblewoman and she later confirms that she is.^[4]

Game of Thrones: Season 5[]

Upon their arrival in Volantis, Tyrion Lannister and Varys explore the Long Bridge when the former insists on being allowed out of the carriage they've ridden in since departing Pentos. They view various shops and see the severed hands of thieves on display. They duck into a brothel after a red priestess unnerves Tyrion with her sermon.^[5]

Game of Thrones: Season 6[]

Theon and Yara take the Iron Fleet to Volantis to hide and rest. Inside a brothel, Theon sits despondently as Yara and the others carouse with naked and semi-naked prostitutes. Yara repeatedly tells Theon to drink some ale and he repeatedly refuses.

Yara is persuading Theon to regain his former identity and self confidence, as she will need his assistance in retaking the Iron Islands from their uncle Euron. When pressed, he says that if justice were served, he would be burnt for his crimes, so she responds, “Fuck justice then. Do it for revenge.” Eventually she convinces him to put his guilt aside and help her because she needs him. He drinks some ale and begins to gain some composure.

She then reveals to Theon that she plans to take the Iron Fleet to Meereen and forge an alliance with Daenerys before Euron does. After the conversation, she goes to have sex with a female prostitute.

Behind the scenes[]

The famous Roman bridge of Córdoba in Spain was used as a stand-in for the Long Bridge of Volantis - though the real bridge was then augmented with CGI to make it look proportionately larger and to add buildings and markets atop it, as the Long Bridge is described in the novels.

The appearance of the Long Bridge was likely inspired by that of real-life bridges such as the medieval London Bridge that spanned the River Thames in London, England from A.D. 1209–1831, and the renaissance-era Pont Notre-Dame that spanned the Seine in Paris, France from A.D. 1507–1853.

In the books[]

In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, the Long Bridge joins the two halves of Volantis across the mouth of the Rhoyne. It is a great span with a road supported by massive piers that the Valyrians built at the height of their glory. Its gateway is an arch of black stone carved with sphinxes, manticores, dragons, and other strange beasts. The road is just wide enough for two carts to pass abreast. Buildings rise on either side of the roadway. One can buy almost anything in the shops on the Long Bridge.

In the center of the bridge the hands of thieves and the heads of executed criminals are displayed, with signs underneath stating their crimes (the severed hands and signs indeed appeared on-screen when Volantis was first seen in Season 5): "At the bridge's center span, the severed hands of thieves and cutpurses hung like strings of onions from iron stanchions along the roadway. Three heads were on display as well—two men and a woman, their crimes scrawled on tablets underneath them." (A Dance With Dragons, Tyrion VII)

The Long Bridge is one of the known world's most famous megastructures. Lomas Longstrider included it in his list of the nine Wonders Made by Man. Other wonders in this list include the Wall in Westeros, the Titan of Braavos, and the great triple walls of Qarth.