The proximity of the River Drava has had a significant impact on the formation and the development of Maribor. With the exception of Dravograd and Ptuj areas, this was the only section of the riverbanks suitable for bridging.
The first bridge, built when Maribor was founded, was a 116-metre long wooden structure. People had to pay a toll to cross it. Today’s main bridge, called the Old Bridge, was built between 1909 and 1913 to replace the old Drava Bridge, which stood a few meters to the west and was later demolished. The new bridge was constructed to deal with the increase in road traffic on the Vienna–Trieste route.