The Stádlec Suspension Bridge () is a

suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...

over the Lužnice river in

Stádlec Stádlec is a market town in Tábor District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 600 inhabitants. Administrative division Stádlec consists of five municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): ...

in the

South Bohemian Region The South Bohemian Region () is an administrative unit (''Regions of the Czech Republic, kraj'') of the Czech Republic, located mostly in the southern part of its historical land of Bohemia, with a small part in southwestern Moravia. The western ...

of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. It is the last surviving suspension bridge built in

Empire style The Empire style (, ''style Empire'') is an early-nineteenth-century design movement in architecture, furniture, other decorative arts, and the visual arts, representing the second phase of Neoclassicism. It flourished between 1800 and 1815 duri ...

in the country. Originally, between 1848 and 1960, it spanned the

Vltava The Vltava ( , ; ) is the longest river in the Czech Republic, a left tributary of the Elbe River. It runs southeast along the Bohemian Forest and then north across Bohemia, through Český Krumlov, České Budějovice, and Prague. It is com ...

river near Podolsko. It was dismantled between 1960 and 1975 and moved to its present location near Stádlec. Since 1989, it has been protected as a national cultural monument.

History

The bridge, designed by engineers Gassner and Bedřich Schnirch, was built by

Adalbert Lanna the Elder Adalbert Lanna the Elder (baptized as ''Adalbert Joseph Lanna'', ; 23 April 1805 – 15 January 1866) was a Czechs, Czech shipmaster, merchant, industrialist and builder. After success in the Vltava river trade with salt and wood, Adalbert Lanna ...

in 1847–1848 over the Vltava in Podolsko. It replaced the old

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

that at that time could not handle the growing traffic between

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

and Galicia. The bridge served for many years until 1960 when it was decided to take it down. The reason being that there was already a 510 meters long reinforced concrete bridge from 1942 towering above it and also the

Orlík Reservoir The Orlík Reservoir () is the largest hydroelectric dam in the Czech Republic. It dams the Vltava River near the village of Solenice, which is near the town of Příbram. The structure is named after Orlík Castle, which is situated a few kilome ...

was being filled and that would flood the bridge, at that time already a cultural monument. The bridge was dismantled, documented and stored at Markův mlýn. For ten years it has been waiting there for its new home. Finally a picturesque location on the Lužnice near Stádlec was chosen from several possible locations. After the relocation, the bridge has been in operation since the opening ceremony on 25 May 1975, connecting the market town of Stádlec and the village of Dobřejice.

Relocation

The bridge was dismantled into 2,000 blocks and 1,100 steel parts and then reassembled. After ten years of temporary storage, however, some of the

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

parts of the chains were damaged or missing at all, making it much more difficult to recover. Of the total weight 102 tonnes of the iron parts, 14 tonnes had to be recreated, and some new stone blocks had to be delivered. How difficult the dismantling and rebuilding was shows the fact that at some point the officials considered to shorten the bridge from the original 90 m length to only 60 meters. The construction was completed on 25 May 1975 by the ceremonial insertion of a memorial stone into the right bank pylon. The total relocation cost was 11,837,000 CSK (at that time).

Description

The basic supporting structure consists of four chains arranged in two pairs. These are connected to the wooden deck by vertical rods. The chains are pulled through the holes in the two stone pylons bounding the bridge and anchored in the bricked stone blocks. The stone pylons form 4 m x m x 10 m bridge "gates".The pylon height is 13 m. The bridge is 6 m wide, 157 m long. Bridge

tonnage Tonnage is a measure of the capacity of a ship, and is commonly used to assess fees on commercial shipping. The term derives from the taxation paid on '' tuns'' or casks of wine. In modern maritime usage, "tonnage" specifically refers to a cal ...

is limited to 2.5 tonnes. The deck consists of

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

planks, which were newly installed in 2007. The deck is 5 m above the water level. A mobile catwalk for minor repairs is installed under the deck.

Reconstruction

In 2005, during a general bridge inspection, it was noted that the wooden deck was significantly damaged. A total bridge reconstruction was scheduled for 2006-7. Repair cost was 3.5 million

CZK The koruna, or crown (currency sign, sign: Kč; ISO 4217, code: CZK, ), has been the currency of the Czech Republic since 1993. The koruna is one of the European Union's eight currencies, and the Czech Republic is legally bound to Czech Repub ...

. In September 2019 the council of the

endorsed the bridge repair. The estimated cost is 10,162,000 CZK and the work should commence in 2020. The unique bridgework is currently in disrepair since the wooden parts are attacked by a highly invasive and dangerous wood decaying

fungus A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

. The repair will include the replacement of all wooden parts and also anti-corrosion measures of the steel parts.

Recognition

In 1959, the bridge was declared a cultural monument. Since 1989, it has been protected as a national cultural monument. In 2009, the

Czech National bank The Czech National Bank, (, ČNB) is the central bank and financial market supervisor in the Czech Republic, headquartered in Prague. It is a member of the European System of Central Banks. It was established on from the division of the State ...

issued a 2500

commemorative gold coin as part of the ''Industrial Heritage Sites'' series. The coin was designed by

Luboš Charvát Luboš is a Slavic male given name meaning ''love'' and used mostly in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In Slovakia with spelling Ľuboš. The name is a short form of names like: Luboslav, Lubomir. Notable bearers * Ľuboš Bartečko, Slovak ...

. In 2018 a postage stamp depicting the Podolský and Stádlecký bridges was issued. The stamp with a face value of CZK 35 was designed by Milan Bauer, engraved by

Václav Fajt Václav () or rarely Vácslav is a Czech male given name. It is among the most common Czech names. The Latinized form of the name is Wenceslaus and the Polish form of the name is Wacław. The name was derived from the old Czech name Veceslav, meani ...

Gallery

Řetězový most Podolsko.jpg, Podolský bridge (in the background) and the suspension bridge at the original location Řetězový most , Stádlec 04.jpg, Stádlecký bridge Stádlecký most, řetěz.jpg, Chain detail Stádlecký most, stádlecký výjezd.jpg, Bridge exit towards Stádlec Stádlecký most, ze stádlecké strany, 2 auta.jpg, View from Stádlec

References

{{Authority control Suspension bridges National cultural monuments of the Czech Republic Bridges over the Lužnice Bridges completed in 1848 Bridges completed in 1975 Tábor District 1975 establishments in Czechoslovakia 1848 establishments in the Austrian Empire