The 786 m long Pünderich hillside viaduct on the Moselle route opposite Pünderich on the Moselle is the longest hillside viaduct in Germany. The Prinzenkopf tunnel begins immediately at the northern end of the viaduct.
The viaduct for the track on the Moselle side was built in 1877 and 1878 and put into operation on May 15, 1879 with the opening of the Lower Moselle Railway. The extension on the mountain side, which had been planned from the outset, was built in 1879 and 1880. A capstone festival was held on October 7, 1880 to mark the completion of the bridge.
Towards the end of World War II, retreating German troops blew up four arches of the viaduct. The repair work was started after the end of the war with the help of conscripted workers. The track on the Moselle side was passable again on September 1, 1946, and when the Moselle line was put back into operation on April 24, 1947, the Pünderich Viaduct was completely restored.
During construction work in 1952, a document was found that had been walled in at the keystone festival. This lists all departments and companies that were involved in the construction and the document compares the construction costs at the time with those for groceries such as bread, meat and Moselle wine. A bottle of Moselle wine cost between 1 and 5 marks, depending on the quality.
At the beginning of the 1970s, the tracks on the viaduct were lowered during the electrification of the Moselle line, which required minor blasting work. This was necessary because the level of the bridge tracks had to be adjusted to that of the tracks in the subsequent Prinzenkopf tunnel, which were also lowered to create enough space for the catenary in the tunnel.
As part of the celebrations for the 175th birthday of German railways in 2010, the hillside viaduct was illuminated from April 2nd to 5th and used by special trains on the Moselle route and the branch line to Traben-Trarbach
Fascinating. Great view and experience.