Forbach's Historic Wooden Bridge
The name Forbach was first mentioned in 1360 in a will of Heinrich II of Eberstein, and is located in the central Murg Valley. Along with the Catholic parish church of St. John the Baptist, the historic "Old Forbach Wooden Bridge" over the Murg River is one of the town's most impressive sights. The bridge spans almost 38 meters over the Murg River without a central pier. With a deadweight of 129 tons, the massive wooden bridge carries a load capacity of 64 tons. Originally designed by the Karlsruhe engineer Otto Lindemann in 1778, it is the longest cantilevered, covered, and, thanks to its stability, navigable wooden bridge in Europe.
History of the Forbach Bridge
The first bridge over the Murg River that stood at this location was destroyed by a flood in 1570. To ensure the construction of a new bridge, carpenters were sent to Augsburg to inspect a model of a flood-proof bridge. However, the construction was never completed; an uncovered version of the bridge, common at the time, was built instead, for people, animals, and vehicles. However, the bridge at that time was not truly flood-proof, so the construction of a new bridge was not off the table.
It wasn't until 200 years later, in 1777, that a covered wooden bridge without a central pier was planned, based on the plans of the Karlsruhe engineer Otto Lindemann, and it was completed just one year later, in the fall of 1778. The bridge had to prove its flood resistance early on; shortly after its completion and even before the official christening of the bridge, it was involuntarily christened by a flood. The Forbach wooden bridge was built by master carpenter Johannes Daselmeier from Gernsbach for a cost of 1,150 guilders. 2,714 linear meters of oak planks were used, for which 150 "Methuselah oaks" were felled. Maintenance was financed by a bridge toll.