Mittlere Rheinbrücke - 1905 - Basel, Switzerland - Bridge Date Stones and Plaques on Waymarking.com

The original Mittlere Rheinbrücke in Basel was built in 1226 and was one of the first bridges spanning the Rhine since the decay of the Roman empire (only the bridge of Rheinfelden is older). It was made of wood and 12.6 meters wide.

For many centuries most of the traffic from Germany to Southern Europe had to go over this bridge. This lead to an enormous increase in prosperity of the Basel area in the late Middle Ages. Neither the well known university nor the many internationally recognized museums in Basel would exist without this bridge.

In the late 19th century the old bridge began to be unstable and was not able to hold the modern traffic. In 1899 the city council decided to build a new bridge. On May 27th 1903 the bridge was closed and teared down.

Between 1903 and 1905 the new bridge was built. It is completely made of granite from the Gotthard mountain. It is 192 meters long and 18.8 meters wide. The new bridge opened on November 11th 1905.

The sign says:

Mittlere Rheinbrücke
Built 1903 - 1905
in place of the old wooden bridge from 1226.

Date built or dedicated as indicated on the date stone or plaque.: 1905 Date stone, plaque location.: bridge head Road, body of water, land feature, etc. that the bridge spans.: Rhine Website (if available): [Web Link] Parking (safe parking location): Not Listed

Visit Instructions:
Please provide an original picture of the location and some original words regarding your visit.

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Date Logged Log   07/31/2023 Seebär visited it 12/15/2021 petendot visited it 12/30/2016 klokkenmaba visited it 03/15/2012 sbeelis visited it 06/19/2008 H3M visited it

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