The Elster Viaduct (german: Elstertalbrücke) is a railway bridge in the German state of
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
White Elster
The White Elster Accessed on 16 Jan 2011. (, ) is a long river in central
Göltzsch Viaduct (''Göltzschtalbrücke'') it is the second largest brick bridge in the world. The
Elster Valley Railway
Elster may refer to:
Places
* Black Elster (''Schwarze Elster''), a river in Germany
* White Elster (''Weiße Elster''), a river in Germany and the Czech Republic
** Elster Viaduct, a railway bridge over the White Elster
** Elster Viaduct (Pirk) ...
passes under the 68 metre-high bridge.
History
The viaduct was built in the course of the construction of the Leipzig–Hof line of the ''Saxon-Bavarian State Railway'' (''Sächsisch-Bayerische Staatseisenbahn''). The foundation stone was laid on 7 November 1846. Up to 800 workers worked on the bridge from 1846 to 1851, laying 12 million bricks. In contrast to the Göltzsch Viaduct, which is only nine metres higher, it was built with normally shaped arches on only two levels. The lower level has five piers, four of which are built as double piers. The foundations of the piers and the deck were built out of slabs of granite.
In the last days 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 ...
on 16 April 1945 the German
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...
partially demolished the bridge. This meant that trains from the southwest could only run as far as Röttis and from the northeast only as far as Jocketa. A temporary bridge was erected by attaching a steel truss to the remains of the demolished central supporting pier, which supported the girders of a timber bridge. This important bridge was reopened to traffic in February 1946. The final reconstruction of the two collapsed masonry brick arches was completed in October 1950.
The top of the lower arches carries a hiking trail. There are plaques on this level showing the reconstruction after the Second World War.
Specifications
References
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See also
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List of bridges in Germany
This list of bridges in Germany lists bridges of particular historical, scenic, architectural or engineering interest. Road and railway bridges, viaducts, aqueducts and footbridges are included.
Historical and architectural interest bridges
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