The Beratzhausen railway bridge over the Schwarze Laber is 180 metres long and 42 metres high, making it the fourth highest railway bridge in Bavaria after the Froschgrundsee valley bridge, the Bartelsgraben valley bridge and the Königswart Inn bridge.
At the time of its construction, the railway bridge over the Schwarze Laber near Beratzhausen was considered a technical masterpiece. It was planned in 1869 as part of the new connection from Regensburg to Nuremberg. Originally, the railway line was supposed to run over the Tangrintel and the town of Hemau. Due to the lack of support from the citizens of Hemau and the topographical conditions, the route via Beratzhausen with a crossing of the Schwarze Laber was chosen. The cost of the railway bridge near Beratzhausen was calculated at 230,000 guilders. The structure was built between 1870 and 1872. The contract from the Bavarian Eastern Railway AG, which built the Regensburg-Nuremberg railway line, was awarded to the Nuremberg industrialist Theodor von Cramer-Klett. He and his company, which employed over 1,000 mainly Italian guest workers, carried out the construction. On July 1, 1873, the section of the line around Beratzhausen was opened as a single track, and a second track was added in 1884. In 1959, the railway line over the bridge was electrified.[1]
Between 1991 and 1992, the 120-year-old iron lattice girders were replaced by three new steel lattice girders, which were designed as strut lattices.
Source: Wikipedia