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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
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was custom-made for each arch, totalling 23,000 tree trunks, 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.
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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.
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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 150 metres (490 ft) with a helium balloon situated near the bridge.
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576:(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
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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.
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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
432:(Werdau), which was finished in the summer of 1845, making it the first bridge in the world to be subjected to a full structural analysis. It was planned to build the bridge mainly out of
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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
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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
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569:, 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
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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
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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.
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774:(Starting signal for the electrification of the line Reichenbach-Hof: Construction begins on 10 July 2010). Press release dated 1 July 2010.
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684:(The railways in Vogtland, Vol. 2: Branch lines, narrow gauge railways, railway components, accidents, and anecdotes), EK-Verlag, 2002,
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along the railway line would produce 50,000 bricks with the unusual dimensions of 28×14×6.5 centimetres (11.0×5.5×2.6 in). The
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by replacing the arches in the middle with one great central arch, which only added to the impressiveness of this edifice.
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to use this trajectory, which can reach speeds of up to 160 kilometres per hour (99 mph) even on curved tracks.
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crosses the Göltzsch River. It sits about 10 km (6 mi) due southeast near the village of
Weissensand.
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bridge, sporting a total of 26,021,000 bricks and a volume of 135,676 cubic metres (4,791,400 cu ft)
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Die
Eisenbahnen im Vogtland – Band 2: Neben- und Schmalspurbahnen, Bahnanlagen, Unfälle und Anekdoten
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Startschuss für
Elektrifizierung der Strecke Reichenbach–Hof: Bauarbeiten beginnen am 10. Juli 2010
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The Göltzsch
Viaduct was an extraordinarily large endeavor for its time. Each day, the nearly 20
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announced a contest on 27 January 1845 in all major German magazines with prize money of 1000
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of the track between
Reichenbach im Vogtland and Hof. The top of the bridge was replaced by
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as historical milestone of engineering. This title was previously awarded in 2007 to the
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In June 2009, the German engineers' guild declared the Göltzsch
Viaduct along with the
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in the vicinity, which allowed for rapid and cost-efficient production of bricks.
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Göltzsch Viaduct is also the name of a much smaller viaduct built in 1938 where
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intended to blow up the bridge with explosives. This plan was never executed.
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Privately held Web site with photos and information on the Göltzsch Viaduct.
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Göltzsch Viaduct (previously Mylau Central Station) was also the name of a
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From mid-2010 to early 2012, only one track could be used at one time for
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was built for the same line and is quite similar to the Göltzsch Viaduct.
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It was built between 1846 and 1851 as part of the railway between Saxony (
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Chief engineer Robert Wilke (1804–1889) – Construction planner and chief
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Today, it still holds the record for largest brick bridge in the world.
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Die Göltzschtalbrücke im Zuge der RAB Chemnitz-Zwickau-Plauen-Hof (A72)
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473:(1808–1870) – Chairman of the jury, architect, structural analyst
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709:(History of construction analysis). Berlin: Ernst & Sohn.
413:. However, none of the 81 submissions could prove by means of
799:]. Basel, Boston, Stuttgart: Birkhäuser. pp. 86–90.
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in a new elevator system for maintenance work on the bridge.
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Engineer Ferdinand Dost (1810–1888) – Superintendent
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444:was to be used only for certain crucial segments.
955:1851 establishments in the German Confederation
565:The bridge is infamous for its reputation as a
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542:The Göltzsch Viaduct is part of the so-called
617:, which supports the 22 masts that carry the
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521:allowed the railway track to become wider.
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935:Buildings and structures in Vogtlandkreis
657:Leubnitzer Viadukt und Göltzschtalbrücke
793:Eisenbahnbrücken aus zwei Jahrhunderten
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554:from 1997 through to 2000. This allows
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574:Ein Tag mit Folgen: Teuflische Spiele
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7:
420:The chairman of the jury, professor
401:Size of the bridge compared to a car
848:Göltzsch Viaduct on bridge-info.org
797:Railway Bridges from Two Centuries
768:DB Mobility Logistics AG (Hrsg.):
167:23 metres (75 ft) at the foot
14:
748:wahrzeichen.ingenieurbaukunst.de
169:9 metres (30 ft) at the top
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655:Mühlhausen, U. (17 June 2010).
355:). It is currently part of the
407:Saxon-Bavarian Railway Company
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1:
544:Saxon-Franconian trunk line
535:Between 1955 and 1958, the
289:[ˈɡœlt͡ʃtaːlˌbʁʏkə]
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920:Railway bridges in Germany
864:www.goeltzschtalbruecke.de
824:List of bridges in Germany
733:Title for Göltzsch Viaduct
703:Karl Eugen Kurrer (2003).
646:. Retrieved March 4, 2011.
548:Sachsen-Franken-Magistrale
524:During the latter days of
159:574 metres (1,883 ft)
915:Bridges completed in 1851
791:Pottgießer, Hans (1985).
316:and the adjacent town of
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16:Bridge in Saxony, Germany
930:Stone bridges in Germany
706:Geschichte der Baustatik
513:In 1930, a top layer of
385:History and construction
192:in total divided over 4
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925:Arch bridges in Germany
583:Between 2006 and 2008,
580:increased supervision.
505:A museum in the nearby
471:Johann Andreas Schubert
422:Johann Andreas Schubert
310:Reichenbach im Vogtland
210:Johann Andreas Schubert
177:78 metres (256 ft)
101:Reichenbach im Vogtland
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253:15 July 1851
891:50.62250°N 12.24583°E
642:Wichmann, V. (2010).
600:Niederfinow boat lift
596:Fernsehturm Stuttgart
587:invested 2.2 million
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219:31 May 1846
65:50.62258°N 12.24374°E
950:Viaducts in Germany
940:Transport in Saxony
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853:Göltzschtal Viaduct
837:"Göltzschtalbrücke"
615:reinforced concrete
515:reinforced concrete
415:structural analysis
61: /
896:50.62250; 12.24583
753:2011-06-20 at the
662:2011-07-19 at the
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216:Construction start
84:Two railway tracks
70:50.62258; 12.24374
715:978-3-433-01641-1
680:Wilfried Rettig:
368:Bundesautobahn 72
281:Göltzschtalbrücke
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239:Construction cost
27:Göltzschtalbrücke
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357:Leipzig–Hof line
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231:Construction end
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147:World's largest
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556:tilting trains
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501:Recent history
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478:superintendent
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324:Free State of
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302:railway bridge
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717:. P. 50-52.
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312:district of
308:between the
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242:2.2 million
156:Total length
894: /
868:(in German)
812:(in German)
776:(in German)
758:(in German)
737:(in German)
735:on n-tv.de
719:(in German)
693:(in German)
667:(in German)
496:composition
457:scaffolding
138:Arch bridge
68: /
43:Coordinates
909:Categories
882:12°14′45″E
879:50°37′21″N
858:Structurae
806:3764316772
625:References
486:Pharmacist
469:Professor
464:Key people
453:brickyards
379:Lengenfeld
318:Netzschkau
285:pronounced
257:1851-07-15
223:1846-05-31
105:Netzschkau
56:12°14′37″E
53:50°37′21″N
530:Wehrmacht
353:Nuremberg
279:(German:
945:Vogtland
818:See also
751:Archived
660:Archived
552:restored
430:Leubnitz
375:terminus
265:Location
206:Designer
185:of spans
144:Material
537:masonry
519:parapet
517:with a
490:chemist
442:Granite
426:viaduct
411:Thalers
345:Bavaria
337:Zwickau
333:Leipzig
320:in the
300:) is a
255: (
244:Thalers
221: (
201:History
113:Germany
89:Crosses
81:Carries
803:
713:
688:
528:, the
494:Mortar
434:bricks
393:Detail
343:) and
341:Plauen
339:, and
326:Saxony
322:German
250:Opened
194:levels
190:vaults
174:Height
134:Design
109:Saxony
97:Locale
795:[
785:Books
630:Notes
314:Mylau
164:Width
149:brick
801:ISBN
711:ISBN
686:ISBN
589:Euro
488:and
438:loam
351:and
275:The
234:1851
103:and
855:at
428:in
349:Hof
188:98
183:No.
911::
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725:^
673:^
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381:.
335:,
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546:(
347:(
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
