The Landwasser Viaduct () is a single-track six-

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 ...

ed curved

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide ...

. It spans the

Landwasser The Landwasser is a river in canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. Its origin was Lake Davos before this was turned into a reservoir for a power station. Nowadays it is prolonged by the creek Flüelabach at its source and changes its name near ...

between Schmitten and

Filisur Filisur is an Alps, Alpine village and former municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Albula Region in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. The village sits on a hillside with a view to the west where the t ...

, in the

canton Canton may refer to: Administrative divisions * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and entertainment * Canton (band), an It ...

of Graubünden,

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. Designed by Alexander Acatos, the Landwasser Viaduct was constructed between 1901 and 1902 by Müller & Zeerleder on behalf of the

Rhaetian Railway The Rhaetian Railway (; ; ), abbreviated RhB, is a Swiss transport company that owns the largest network of all private railway operators in Switzerland. Headquartered in Chur, the RhB operates all the railway lines of the Cantons of Switzerland, ...

, which both owns and operates it through to the present day. A signature structure of the

World Heritage World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

-listed

Albula Railway The Albula railway line (; ; ) is a Single track (rail), single track metre gauge railway line forming part of the core network of the Rhaetian Railway (RhB), in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It links Thusis (Rhae ...

, it is high, long; its southeastern abutment connects directly to the

Landwasser Tunnel The Landwasser is a river in canton of Graubünden The Grisons (; ) or Graubünden (),Names include: * ; * Romansh: ** ** ** ** ** **; * ; * ; * . See also other names. more formally the Canton of the Grisons or the Canton of Graubü ...

. During 2009, the Landwasser Viaduct underwent renovation work for the first time since its original construction.

Location

The Landwasser Viaduct, composed of dark

, forms part of the

section between

Tiefencastel Tiefencastel () is a village and a former municipality in the district of Albula in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. On 1 January 2015 the former municipalities of Alvaschein, Mon, Stierva, Tiefencastel, Alvaneu, Brienz/Brinzauls a ...

and

, and is at the mark from

Thusis Thusis (, '' Romansh: Tusàn'') is a municipality in the Viamala Region in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. On 1 January 2018 the former municipality of Mutten merged into the municipality of Thusis. History Thusis is first mentioned in 1156 as ...

. To passengers on trains approaching the viaduct from Tiefencastel and

Alvaneu Alvaneu ('' Romansh: Alvagni'') is a former municipality in the district of Albula in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. On 1 January 2015 the former municipalities of Alvaschein, Mon, Stierva, Tiefencastel, Alvaneu, Brienz/Brinzauls and ...

on the Albula Railway, the viaduct becomes visible from quite some distance away. The first major feature to be reached on that approach is the

Schmittentobel Viaduct The Schmittentobel Viaduct () is a single track limestone railway viaduct. It is situated near Schmitten, in the Canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. The viaduct was opened in 1903 by the Rhaetian Railway, which still owns and uses it today. ...

, which itself is of considerable size. Then, while crossing the curved Landwasser Viaduct, passengers can observe the front of the train heading into the Landwasser Tunnel. On the other side of the tunnel, the separate line from

Davos Platz Davos (, ; or ; ; Old ) is an Alpine resort town and municipality in the Prättigau/Davos Region in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has a permanent population of (). Davos is located on the river Landwasser, in the Rhaetian ...

forms a

junction Junction may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Junction'' (2012 film), an American film * ''Junction'' (2024 film), an American film * ''Jjunction'', a 2002 Indian film * ''Junction'' (album), a 1976 album by Andrew Cyrille * Junction (E ...

with the Albula Railway just as both lines arrive in Filisur. Shortly before reaching that junction point, passengers on the Davos–Filisur line can experience a view of the viaduct from the northeast.

Technical details

One of the striking features of the Landwasser Viaduct is its highly pronounced curve, which has a radius of , the minimum used throughout the whole railway. It possesses a height of and a length of . The viaduct's

masonry Masonry is the craft of building a structure with brick, stone, or similar material, including mortar plastering which are often laid in, bound, and pasted together by mortar (masonry), mortar. The term ''masonry'' can also refer to the buildin ...

is approximately in volume and is jointed with

dolomitic Dolomite () is an anhydrous carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate, ideally The term is also used for a sedimentary carbonate rock composed mostly of the mineral dolomite (see Dolomite (rock)). An alternative name sometimes ...

. It comprises six arch spans, in width, resting on five high pillars; the arches themselves are flat. The Landwasser Viaduct carries a single railway track, which has a

gradient In vector calculus, the gradient of a scalar-valued differentiable function f of several variables is the vector field (or vector-valued function) \nabla f whose value at a point p gives the direction and the rate of fastest increase. The g ...

of 2 percent across the structure. The southeastern abutment of the Landwasser Viaduct is located on a high cliff, and at that point, the tracks lead directly into the long Landwasser Tunnel. The tunnel's entrance is positioned on a vertical rock wall, having been purposefully aligned with the viaduct. It was considered to be a challenging architectural feat of its era, and its construction employed several innovative techniques. Construction of the Landwasser Viaduct commenced during 1901 and was completed during the following year. Designed by Alexander Acatos for the Rhaetian Railway, its construction was undertaken by Müller & Zeerleder. The viaduct's construction was performed without the use of

scaffolding Scaffolding, also called scaffold or staging, is a temporary structure used to support a work crew and materials to aid in the construction, maintenance and repair of buildings, bridges and all other human-made structures. Scaffolds are widely u ...

, instead employing two cranes. The limestone pillars were built up around a steel-reinforced core. During 2009, 106 years after its completion, the masonry and track trough of the viaduct were repaired for the very first time. To facilitate this renovation,

modular Module, modular and modularity may refer to the concept of modularity. They may also refer to: Computer science and engineering * Modular design, the engineering discipline of designing complex devices using separately designed sub-components ...

scaffolding was temporarily erected around the Landwasser Viaduct.

In popular culture

The Landwasser Viaduct briefly appears as a bridge which was destroyed by

Rasputin Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin ( – ) was a Russian mystic and faith healer. He is best known for having befriended the imperial family of Nicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia, through whom he gained considerable influence in the final ye ...

's minions in the 1997 animated film ''

Anastasia Anastasia (from ) is a feminine given name of Greek and Slavic origin, derived from the Greek word (), meaning "resurrection". It is a popular name in Eastern Europe. Origin The name Anastasia originated during the Early Christianity, early d ...

''. The portrayal was of a taller, 4-storey viaduct very similar to a

Roman aqueduct The Romans constructed aqueducts throughout their Republic and later Empire, to bring water from outside sources into cities and towns. Aqueduct water supplied public baths, latrines, fountains, and private households; it also supported min ...

but set in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. It also appears within the first couple of minutes of the film “

A Cure for Wellness ''A Cure for Wellness'' is a 2016 psychological horror film directed by Gore Verbinski and written by Justin Haythe. Haythe and Verbinski were inspired by Thomas Mann's 1924 novel ''The Magic Mountain'' while coming up with the idea for the fil ...

”. Since 2008, the cultural importance of the railway, and features such as Landwasser Viaduct, has been formally recognised by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

, having been placed on a World Heritage list.

Gallery

File:2007 10 Albulabahn 01 Tiefencastel Filisur 02.JPG, Approaching from

. File:CH_Landwasser_1.jpg,

Glacier Express The Glacier Express is a direct Panorama Express (PE) train connecting railway stations of the two major mountain resorts of Zermatt and St. Moritz via Andermatt in the central Swiss Alps. The train provides a one-seat ride for an 8-hour end-to-e ...

panorama cars entering the Landwasser Tunnel. File:Viadukt Landwasser.jpg, View from the road. File:Landwasserviadukt, aerial photography from northeast 2.jpg, View from northeast. File:Landwasser viaduct 01.jpg, With red cover during renovations

References

Citations

*See the references in Landwasserviadukt (de Wikipedia)

Bibliography

* Talbot, Frederick A. "Railway Wonders of the World." Books on Demand, 2012. . * Troyano, Leonardo Fernández. "Bridge Engineering: A Global Perspective." Thomas Telford, 2003. .

External links

* * * {{RhB structures Viaducts in Switzerland Rhaetian Railway bridges Monuments and memorials in Switzerland World Heritage Sites in Switzerland Buildings and structures in Graubünden Bridges completed in 1902 1902 establishments in Switzerland Bergün Filisur Schmitten, Graubünden 20th-century architecture in Switzerland