Ruhr Viaduct Herdecke

The Ruhr Viaduct is definitely one of the most interesting buildings in the region. At the beginning of the Hakortsee, the railway tracks cross the Ruhr at a height of 30 meters over a distance of a good 300 metres. The 12 arches with a span of 20 meters give the viaduct, which was inaugurated in 1879, a sight worth seeing - a technical masterpiece at the time, which has lost none of its fascination for its viewers to this day.

The building, which is still endangered today by gullies (scouring) on the pillars, was severely damaged in World War II and could only be driven on again in 1957. You have a good view of the Ruhr Viaduct from the shore of Lake Hakort - or from the water.

The tracks lead over the river at a height of 30 meters with a length of 313 meters; 24,400 cubic meters of quarry stone and 12 arches with a span of 20 meters each are required. The building describes in plan a slight curve with a radius of 380 meters. The bridge carriageway with the tracks lying on it has a gradient of 0.5 percent. Already in 1879, the line was inaugurated as part of the railway line Dusseldorf-Derendorf-Dortmund Süd ("Rheinische route") of the former Rhenish Railway Company - a technical masterpiece for the time.

The Ruhr Viaduct between Herdecke and Hagen-Vorhalle crosses the Ruhr as a railway viaduct and is located in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It marks the beginning of the Harkortsees.