The largest brick bridge in the world is in Saxony / Germany

homeartpictures (73)in #photography • 8 years ago (edited)

The Göltzschtal Bridge is a bridge building in the Saxon Vogtlandkreis and the largest brick bridge in the world. The viaduct with 29 arches is considered to be a landmark of the Vogtland and spans the valley of the Göltzsch between the villages of Reichenbach in the Vogtland (district Mylau) and Netzschkau in two tracks on the railway line Leipzig-Hof. Photo ©HomeArtPictures

Together with the similar but smaller Elstertal bridge, the Saxon-Bavarian Railroad Company began construction of the 78-meter-high arch bridge in 1846. In the following year, the Saxon-Bavarian State Railroad took over the reconstruction and finished 1851 both bridges. They are therefore one of the oldest witnesses to railroad history in Germany. Photo ©HomeArtPictures

The construction of the Leipzig-Hof railway line, which leads from Leipzig to Plauen and Hof to Nuremberg, had to be overcome as one of the biggest challenges in the valley of the Göltzsch. Since the Sächsisch-Bavarian railway company had little money, an attempt was made to find a favorable opportunity for bridge building on January 27, 1845, by means of a competition in all major German magazines with 1,000 thaler. Eighty-eight proposals were received, but none of them could use statistical calculations to prove the burden of the planned rail transport. Photo ©HomeArtPictures

The foundation was laid on May 31, 1846. After the construction began, the planning had to be changed once more, as some technical difficulties arose. Among other things, the found ground in the valley was not as firm as previously assumed, which is why the originally planned uniform arches were replaced by a central and substantially larger arch according to a design by engineer Robert Wilke. This further contributed to the visual impressiveness of the imposing edifice. Photo ©HomeArtPictures

The Göltzschal Bridge was an extraordinary site for its time. For the construction, 50,000 bricks were used daily in the unusual format, the Dresden format = 11¾ "× 5¾" × 2¾ "(in Saxonian inches = 2.36 cm, corresponding to 27.73 cm x 13.57 cm x 6.49 cm ) Of almost 20 brickworks along the railway line. The scaffolding consumed 23,000 trees, while others spoke of 230,000 tree trunks. A total of 1,736 workers were employed in construction. During construction, 31 workers were killed in accidents. After the completion and inauguration on 15 July 1851, the Göltzschtal Bridge was the highest railway bridge in the world, the world's largest brick bridge still. Photo ©HomeArtPictures