The Bietigheim Viaduct is a well-known German railway bridge over the

Enz The Enz is a river flowing north from the Black Forest to the Neckar in Baden-Württemberg. It is 106 km long. Its headstreams – the Little Enz (german: Kleine Enz) and the Great Enz or Big Enz (''Große Enz'') – rise in the Northern B ...

valley at

Bietigheim-Bissingen Bietigheim-Bissingen (locally: ''Biedge-Bissenge'') is the second-largest town in the district of Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany with 42,515 inhabitants in 2007. It is situated on the river Enz and the river Metter, close to its conflu ...

and one of the landmarks of the city. Construction began in 1851 and completion occurred on 20 September 1853 under the direction of

Karl Etzel Karl von Etzel (old spelling Carl von Etzel; 6 January 1812 – 2 May 1865) was a German railway engineer and architect. He created many famous railway lines, bridges and viaducts, including the Bietigheim Enz Valley Viaduct. Life Karl Etzel ...

as part of the Western Railway between Bietigheim and

Bruchsal Bruchsal (; orig. Bruohselle, Bruaselle, historically known in English as Bruxhall; South Franconian: ''Brusel'') is a city at the western edge of the Kraichgau, approximately 20 km northeast of Karlsruhe in the state of Baden-Württemberg, ...

. The Bietigheim Viaduct is a bricked stone construction with two rows of arches. The viaduct is approximately 287 metres long, approximately 33 metres high and has 21 arches, which extend over the Enz valley. Six arches were destroyed at the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

; after that an auxiliary bridge, which was opened on 1 August 1945 was erected beside it, some foundations of which are still visible. The damaged columns were later restored, although one of the arches had to be completely filled with concrete. Directly beside the Bietigheim Viaduct is the festival area of Bietigheim Bissingen, on which the Bietigheim Horse Market, a beer festival, takes place annually at the beginning of September.

References

Railway bridges in Germany Bridges completed in 1853 Viaducts in Germany Buildings and structures in Ludwigsburg (district) {{Germany-bridge-struct-stub