The Pfaffendorf Bridge () is the oldest bridge over 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 ...

Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...

, in the German state of

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

. It carries federal highway B 49 over the Rhine, and connects central Koblenz with the suburbs of Pfaffendorf and Ehrenbreitstein. The first bridge was completed in 1864. It was destroyed in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the current bridge was opened in 1953.

First bridge across the Rhine

Koblenz im Buga-Jahr 2011 - Rheinanlagen 27

A column on the Rhine shores (opposite the Weindorf Koblenz restaurant) commemorates the original construction of the Pfaffendorf Bridge between 1862 and 1864. According to the inscription on the front of the column, the foundation stone was laid in the reign of King

William I William I may refer to: Kings * William the Conqueror (–1087), also known as William I, King of England * William I of Sicily (died 1166) * William I of Scotland (died 1214), known as William the Lion * William I of the Netherlands and Luxembour ...

on 11 November 1862 and inaugurated on 9 May 1864. It was initially just a railway bridge, over which the trains of the

Rhenish Railway Company The Rhenish Railway Company (German language, German: ''Rheinische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft'', RhE) was along with the Cologne-Minden Railway Company (CME) and the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company (BME) one of the railway companies that in the m ...

ran to

Oberlahnstein Oberlahnstein () is a part of the city of Lahnstein in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. It lies on the right bank of the Rhine, at the confluence of the Lahn 4 m. above Koblenz, on the Right Rhine railway from Cologne to Frankfurt-on-Main. Oberl ...

, connecting the

left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * ''Left'' (Helmet album), 2023 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relativ ...

and right bank lines. It had three spans constructed of wrought iron, each 97 m long. The height of the arch was 3.14 m. There were two 10 metre-high towers at each end of the bridge, which had iron bars that could be used to seal off the bridge in the event of war. In addition, the right bank was protected by the Horchheim Gate Fortress (''Horchheimer Torbefestigung'') built between 1864 and 1867. The bridge was built as the result of negotiations between

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

and the

Duchy of Nassau The Duchy of Nassau (German language, German: ''Herzogtum Nassau'') was an independent state between 1806 and 1866, located in what became the Germany, German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. It was a States of the Confederation of th ...

. Prussia wanted a line from the existing left bank line to connect with the eastern hinterland of the Rhine that would not be quickly interrupted by enemy advances in case of a war with France. Nassau, however, advocated a line along the right bank of the Rhine. At the same time, Nassau was looking for an opportunity to link the left bank railway line to its own rail network. Under an agreement signed in 1857, on the one hand Nassau granted a concession for the building of the

Lahntal railway The Lahntal railway or Lahn Valley Railway (German: ''Lahntalbahn'') is a railway line between Niederlahnstein in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate to Wetzlar in Hesse, partly following the Lahn valley (''Lahntal''). Its western terminus w ...

through its territory, via the Prussian cities of

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and

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, to Koblenz, and on the other hand, the construction of the Pfaffendorf Bridge was given the go-ahead. Originally the Pfaffendorf bridge could not be used for road or pedestrian traffic, but as early as 1865, the southern side could be used for general traffic at times when no trains were running. With the construction of the Horchheim Railway Bridge in 1879, the south side of the bridge became permanently available for road traffic. In 1899, the Coblenzer Straßenbahn-Gesellschaft (Koblenz Tramway Company) was permitted to build a tram line over the bridge in order to expand its network on the eastern bank. The last trains crossed the Pfaffendorf Bridge at the beginning of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in August 1914.

Conversion to a road bridge

In 1932, the City of Koblenz owned the Pfaffendorf Bridge and decided to reconstruct it. In fact, it was almost totally rebuilt. With four road lanes and two pedestrian walkways, it had a total width of 16 m. The bridge towers were demolished by the council and a new connection was provided to the Ehrenbreitstein–Lahnstein bypass (now federal highway B 42) on the east bank, across the railway line.

War damage and reconstruction

Like all bridges in Koblenz, the Pfaffendorf Bridge was dynamited on 7 March 1945 by German troops. Early in 1946, construction of a temporary bridge began. Approval was given in 1950 for the rebuilding of a new fixed bridge over the Rhine and a steel girder design was chosen. The construction of the new bridge would allow the pontoon bridge to be removed. The new Pfaffendorf Bridge had a four-lane roadway, 1.6 m wide bike paths on both sides, and 2.6 m wide footpaths. On 18 July 1953, the bridge was opened to traffic, and the temporary bridge was then removed. A new grade-separated connection from the Pfaffendorf Bridge to the B 42, the 294-metre-long Glockenberg Tunnel, was opened on 27 June 2003, after 12 years of construction.

References

External links

* * {{coord, 50, 21, 11, N, 7, 36, 17, E, region:DE-RP_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Bridges completed in 1864 Bridges completed in 1953 Bridges in Rhineland-Palatinate Bridges over the Rhine Buildings and structures in Koblenz Railway bridges in Germany Road bridges in Germany Transport in Koblenz