The Göltzsch Viaduct (German: ''Göltzschtalbrücke'') is a

railway bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

in Germany. It is the largest brick-built bridge in the world, and for a time it was the tallest railway bridge in the world. It spans the valley of the Göltzsch River between the

Reichenbach im Vogtland Reichenbach im Vogtland is a town in the Vogtlandkreis district of Saxony in eastern Germany. With a population of 20,108, it is the second-largest town in the Vogtlandkreis after Plauen. It is located close to the A72 between Plauen (at c. 18&n ...

district of Mylau and the adjacent town of Netzschkau in the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Free 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 ...

. It was built between 1846 and 1851 as part of the railway between Saxony (

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

Zwickau Zwickau (; is, with around 87,500 inhabitants (2020), the fourth-largest city of Saxony after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz and it is the seat of the Zwickau District. The West Saxon city is situated in the valley of the Zwickau Mulde (German: ...

, and

Plauen Plauen (; Czech: ''Plavno'') is, with around 65,000 inhabitants, the fifth-largest city of Saxony, Germany after Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Zwickau, the second-largest city of the Vogtland after Gera, as well as the largest city in the Sa ...

) and

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

( Hof and

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

). It is currently part of the Leipzig–Hof line, near the Netzschkau station. About south, the smaller Elster Viaduct was built for the same line and is quite similar to the Göltzsch Viaduct. Göltzsch Viaduct is also the name of a much smaller viaduct built in 1938 where

Bundesautobahn 72 is a motorway in Germany. Construction of the autobahn started in the 1930s, but was halted by the outbreak of World War II. Due to the division of Germany, a part of the autobahn lay in ruins until after German reunification. Exit list ...

crosses the Göltzsch River. It sits about 10 km (6 mi) due southeast near the village of Weissensand. Göltzsch Viaduct (previously Mylau Central Station) was also the name of a terminus opened in 1895 on the Reichenbach–Göltzsch Viaduct railway in the Göltzsch valley below the railway bridge. From here, trains departed to the central station of Reichenbach im Vogtland and to

Lengenfeld Lengenfeld is a town in the Vogtlandkreis district, in the Free State of Saxony in eastern Germany. The town is situated 19 km southwest of Zwickau, and 18 km northeast of Plauen. History During World War II, in the town, Germany o ...

History and construction

Netzschkau - Göltzschtalbrücke 2009 2 (aka)

Göltzschtalbrücke_Größenvergleich_mit_Auto

One of the greatest challenges in constructing a railway between Saxony and Bavaria was how to bridge the Göltzsch valley. Hoping to find a financially feasible construction plan, the Saxon-Bavarian Railway Company announced a contest on 27 January 1845 in all major German magazines with prize money of 1000

Thaler A thaler (; also taler, from german: Taler) is one of the large silver coins minted in the states and territories of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy during the Early Modern period. A ''thaler'' size silver coin has a diameter ...

s. However, none of the 81 submissions could prove by means of

structural analysis Structural analysis is a branch of Solid Mechanics which uses simplified models for solids like bars, beams and shells for engineering decision making. Its main objective is to determine the effect of loads on the physical structures and thei ...

that it would be able to withstand the stresses of rail traffic on the bridge. The prize money was eventually divided among four contestants, but none of their designs were actually realized. The chairman of the jury, professor

Johann Andreas Schubert Johann-Andreas Schubert (19 March 1808 – 6 October 1870) was a German general engineer (''Universalingenieur''), designer and university lecturer. Life Schubert was born on 19 March 1808 in Wernesgrün (Vogtland) in the Kingdom of Saxony in ...

subsequently designed a bridge himself, making use of his recently attained knowledge of structural analysis, and letting himself be inspired by the submitted designs and the

viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide va ...

Leubnitz Leubnitz is a village and a former municipality in the Vogtlandkreis district, in Saxony, Germany. Since 1 January 2011, it is part of the municipality Rosenbach.bricks, at the time a highly unusual choice, because of the abundance of

loam Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand ( particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–si ...

in the vicinity, which allowed for rapid and cost-efficient production of bricks.

Granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies und ...

was to be used only for certain crucial segments. The first stone was laid on 31 May 1846. The plans were revised just once after construction began, when certain technical difficulties arose. For instance, the foundation on which the bridge was to be built turned out to be less firm than previously assumed. Chief engineer Robert Wilke solved this by replacing the arches in the middle with one great central arch, which only added to the impressiveness of this edifice. The Göltzsch Viaduct was an extraordinarily large endeavor for its time. Each day, the nearly 20

brickyard A brickyard or brickfield is a place or yard where bricks are made, fired, and stored, or sometimes sold or otherwise distributed from. Brick makers work in a brick yard. A brick yard may be constructed near natural sources of clay or on or ...

s along the railway line would produce 50,000 bricks with the unusual dimensions of . The

scaffolding Scaffolding, also called scaffold or staging, is a temporary structure used to support a work crew and materials to aid in the construction, maintenance and repair of buildings, bridges and all other man-made structures. Scaffolds are widely use ...

was custom-made for each arch, totalling 23,000 tree trunks,Wilfried Rettig: ''Die Eisenbahnen im Vogtland – Band 2: Neben- und Schmalspurbahnen, Bahnanlagen, Unfälle und Anekdoten'' (The railways in Vogtland, Vol. 2: Branch lines, narrow gauge railways, railway components, accidents, and anecdotes), EK-Verlag, 2002, although other sources even speak of 230,000 trunks. In total, 1,736 construction workers built the bridge, with 31 on-site fatalities. When the bridge was completed and inaugurated on 15 July 1851, it was world's tallest railway bridge. Today, it still holds the record for largest brick bridge in the world.Title for Göltzsch Viaduct
on n-tv.de

Key people

* Professor

(1808–1870) – Chairman of the jury, architect, structural analyst * Chief engineer Robert Wilke (1804–1889) – Construction planner and chief superintendent * Engineer Ferdinand Dost (1810–1888) – Superintendent *

Pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist (Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Commonwealth English), is a healthcare professional who prepares, controls and distributes medicines and provides advice and instructi ...

and

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe ...

Heinrich Carl – Mortar composition

Recent history

A museum in the nearby Mylau Castle opened in 1883 that has dedicated a room to the Göltzsch Viaduct, that among others includes a scale model of the scaffolding, copies of the original building plans, a three-dimensional height map of the region, and photographs and paintings made during the construction of the bridge. In 1930, a top layer of reinforced concrete with a

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). ...

allowed the railway track to become wider. During the latter days of

World War II 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the

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 previou ...

intended to blow up the bridge with explosives. This plan was never executed. Between 1955 and 1958, the

masonry Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar; the term ''masonry'' can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are bricks, building ...

was completely restored. It would take until 1977 for all work, including smaller jobs such as the placement of steel cover plates, to be completed. The Göltzsch Viaduct is part of the so-called

Saxon-Franconian trunk line Saxon-Franconian trunk line (german: Sachsen-Franken-Magistrale) is a modern term for a double-track railway route between the German cities of Dresden and Nuremberg. It is 390 kilometres long and currently electrified from Dresden to Hof. The c ...

(''Sachsen-Franken-Magistrale''), which was

restored ''Restored'' is the fourth studio album by American contemporary Christian music musician Jeremy Camp. It was released on November 16, 2004 by BEC Recordings. Track listing Standard release Enhanced edition Deluxe gold edition Standard ...

from 1997 through to 2000. This allows

tilting train A tilting train is a train that has a mechanism enabling increased speed on regular rail tracks. As a train (or other vehicle) rounds a curve at speed, objects inside the train experience centrifugal force. This can cause packages to slide ab ...

s to use this trajectory, which can reach speeds of up to even on curved tracks. Around the bridge, many walking paths allow a good impression of the actual magnitude of this masterpiece of engineering. It is also possible to see the bridge and its surroundings from an altitude of with a helium balloon situated near the bridge. The bridge is infamous for its reputation as a suicide bridge, as many have taken their lives by plunging off the bridge over the past 150 years. In August 2001, three teenagers from Reichenbach im Vogtland jumped off. The 2002

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

''Ein Tag mit Folgen: Teuflische Spiele'' (A Day with Consequences: Diabolical Games) pictures the lives of the families and friends who stayed behind, and their attempts to get to terms with the events. After eight suicides in just eight months in 2002, the

Federal Police A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws. Jurisdiction LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction. LEAs ...

increased supervision. Between 2006 and 2008,

Deutsche Bahn The (; abbreviated as DB or DB AG) is the national railway company of Germany. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). The Federal Republic of Germany is its single shareholder. describes itself as the ...

invested 2.2 million

Euro The euro (symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

in a new elevator system for maintenance work on the bridge. In June 2009, the German engineers' guild declared the Göltzsch Viaduct along with the

Fernsehturm Stuttgart Fernsehturm Stuttgart ( en, Stuttgart TV Tower) is a telecommunications tower in Stuttgart, Germany. It was the first telecommunications tower in the world constructed from reinforced concrete, and it is the prototype for many such towers worldw ...

as historical milestone of engineering. This title was previously awarded in 2007 to the

Niederfinow boat lift The Niederfinow Boat Lift is the oldest working boat lift in Germany. It lies on the Oder-Havel Canal near Niederfinow in Brandenburg. The lift overcomes a difference in elevation of 36 metres. History On 17 June 1914 the large navigation c ...

.wahrzeichen.ingenieurbaukunst.de
From mid-2010 to early 2012, only one track could be used at one time for

rail transport Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

, due to the

electrification Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic histo ...

of the track between Reichenbach im Vogtland and Hof. The top of the bridge was replaced by reinforced concrete, which supports the 22 masts that carry the

overhead lines An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, trolleybuses or trams. It is known variously as: * Overhead catenary * Overhead contact system (OCS) * Overhead equipm ...

.DB Mobility Logistics AG (Hrsg.)
''Startschuss für Elektrifizierung der Strecke Reichenbach–Hof: Bauarbeiten beginnen am 10. Juli 2010''
(Starting signal for the electrification of the line Reichenbach-Hof: Construction begins on 10 July 2010). Press release dated 1 July 2010.

References

Notes

Books

External links

*
Göltzsch Viaduct on bridge-info.org
*
www.goeltzschtalbruecke.de
Privately held Web site with photos and information on the Göltzsch Viaduct. {{DEFAULTSORT:Goltzsch Viaduct Bridges completed in 1851 Railway bridges in Germany Arch bridges Stone bridges in Germany Buildings and structures in Saxony Transport in Saxony Vogtland Viaducts in Germany 1851 establishments in Germany Brick bridges