Old Main Bridge Ochsenfurt

First built as a wooden bridge, a flood destroyed the bridge. In 1867 the stone bridge was rebuilt by master builder Michel from Marktbreit, the shape of which remained unchanged until 1945. On April 1, 1945, German units blew up arch six in the middle of the bridge. In the years that followed, a temporary wooden structure spanned the gap in the building. The opening of the New Main Bridge in 1954 was followed by the reconstruction of the Old Main Bridge, which was completed in 1957. Due to the expansion of the Main into a major shipping route, the three middle arches five to seven were replaced by a prestressed concrete beam around 58 meters long, which spanned the Main dammed up by the Goßmannsdorf barrage. Significant structural damage with the risk of collapse led to the complete closure of the Old Main Bridge on September 8, 2006. In April 2007, the prestressed concrete girder above the shipping channel was dismantled.

At first, the city of Ochsenfurt planned to rebuild the entire bridge, as renovation did not seem possible. After detailed discussions, however, she decided against the approved, complete demolition and reconstruction based on the historical model with a widening of the road. The city commissioned the reconstruction with a monument-compliant general renovation and a prestressed concrete bridge in the middle bridge section at a cost of around eight million euros. This was funded by the Bavarian State Office for the Preservation of Monuments and the Bavarian State Foundation with a grant of two million euros. Construction began in spring 2010, the topping-out ceremony was celebrated on September 9, 2011, the opening for pedestrian traffic followed on January 5, 2012 and the official inauguration on June 30, 2012.

Large figure of Saint Nepomuk on a pedestal on the old Main Bridge.

Always worth a trip