Several members of the

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

family Grubenmann were famous as

carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenter ...

s and

civil engineers This list of civil engineers is a list of notable people who have been trained in or have practiced civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the desi ...

in the 18th century. The sons were innovators in

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

construction. (1668 – 27 June 1736) lived all his life in Gstalden,

Appenzell Ausserrhoden Canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden ( ; ; ; ), in English sometimes Appenzell Outer Rhodes, is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of twenty municipalities. The seat of the gove ...

where he fathered three sons: * (10 January 1694 – 5 October 1758), died in

Hombrechtikon Hombrechtikon is a municipality in the district of Meilen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. History Hombrechtikon is first mentioned in 1200 as ''Humbrechtigkon''. In 1217 it was mentioned as ''Hunbrechticon''. Geography Hombrech ...

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

; *

Johannes Grubenmann Johannes Grubenmann (15 June 1707 – 10 June 1771) was a member of the Swiss family Grubenmann who were famous as carpenters and civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, desi ...

(15 June 1707 – 10 June 1771), died in Teufen; and * (23 March 1709 – 22 January 1783), died in Teufen. The brothers were village carpenters in Teufen. The principal structures are known to be: *Crossing of the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

Schaffhausen Schaffhausen (; ; ; ; ), historically known in English as Shaffhouse, is a list of towns in Switzerland, town with historic roots, a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in northern Switzerland, and the capital of the canton of Schaffh ...

in two spans of 52 m and 59 m respectively, (Hans Ulrich, 1757); *A single-span of 67 m at Reichenau, (Johannes, 1757); *Crossing of the

Limmat The Limmat is a river in Switzerland. The river commences at the outfall of Lake Zurich, in the southern part of the city of Zurich. From Zurich it flows in a northwesterly direction, continuing a further 35 km until it reaches the river A ...

Wettingen Wettingen is a residential community in the district of Baden in the Swiss canton of Aargau. With a population about 20,000, Wettingen is the second-largest municipality in the canton. Geography Wettingen is located on the right bank of the Li ...

, a 60 m span thought to be the first use of a

true arch An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th millennium BC, but stru ...

in a

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

bridge, (Hans Ulrich and Johannes, 1778). Very few of their bridges have survived, those at Schaffhausen and Wettingen being burnt by the French in the war of 1799, but their designs were influential, making use of novel combinations of arches and

truss A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as Beam (structure), beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure. In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so ...

es. The surviving bridges include: *Rümlangbrücke,

Oberglatt Oberglatt is a municipality in the district of Dielsdorf in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland, and belongs to the Glatt Valley (). Zurich Airport Zurich Airport is the largest international airport of Switzerland and the airline hub, pr ...

, 27.5 m span *Hundwilertobel, 30 m span *Kubelbrücke,

Herisau Herisau is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality and the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden in Switzerland. It is the seat of the canton's government and parliament; the judicial authorities are situated ...

, 30 m span

Bibliography

*de Mechel, Chrétien ''Plans, coupes et élévations des trois points de bois le plus remarquables de la Suisse'' *''

John Soane Sir John Soane (; né Soan; 10 September 1753 – 20 January 1837) was an English architect who specialised in the Neoclassical architecture, Neo-Classical style. The son of a bricklayer, he rose to the top of his profession, becoming professor ...

and the Wooden Bridges of Switzerland: Architecture and the Culture of Technology from Palladio to Grubenmanns'', catalogue of an exhibition at

Sir John Soane's Museum Sir John Soane's Museum is a Historic house museum, house museum, located next to Lincoln's Inn Fields in Holborn, London, which was formerly the home of Neoclassical architecture, neo-classical architect John Soane. It holds many drawings and ...

, *Timoshenko, S. P. (1953) ''History of Strength of Materials'', pp182–183, *Troyano, L. F. (2003) ''Bridge Engineering - A Global Perspective'', pp158–159, {{Authority control

Grubenmann Several members of the Swiss family Grubenmann were famous as carpenters and civil engineers in the 18th century. The sons were innovators in bridge construction. (1668 – 27 June 1736) lived all his life in Gstalden, Appenzell Ausserrhoden wh ...