The Geierlay is a

suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...

in the low mountain range of the

Hunsrück The Hunsrück () is a long, triangular, pronounced upland in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the valleys of the Moselle-Saar (north-to-west), the Nahe (south), and the Rhine (east). It is continued by the Taunus mountains, past ...

in western Germany. It was opened in 2015. It has a span range of and is up to above ground. On both sides of the bridge are the villages of Mörsdorf and

Sosberg Sosberg is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Zell, whose seat ...

. A stream named Mörsdorfer Bach runs through the valley below the bridge. The nearest city is

Kastellaun Kastellaun is a town in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (district) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the like-named ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality. Geography Location The town lies in the eastern Hunsrück r ...

8 km eastwards. The state capital

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...

is 66 km towards east. The bridge has a weight of 57 tons and can support 50 tons. It is a pedestrians only bridge. Until 2020, bridge was free for tourists. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, a fee of 5 euros per person was introduced for crossing the bridge. This fee has since been withdrawn; crossing is possible in both directions and is free of charge. Twenty per cent of all visitors visiting the bridge do not cross it. The bridge site is within the Top 100 sightseeing destinations in Germany. Swiss Engineer Hans Pfaffen designed the bridge with similarities to Nepalese suspension bridges. Since 2017 the Geierlay is only the second longest suspension rope bridge in Germany.

Notes

1
Day trip to Geierlay Suspension Bridge
''Chasing Whereabouts''. 16 October 2022.

References

Bridges completed in 2015 Suspension bridges in Germany Pedestrian bridges in Germany Hunsrück Hiking trails in Rhineland-Palatinate {{Europe-bridge-struct-stub

See also

Notes

References