Bolesławiec rail viaduct

About

The Bolesławiec rail viaduct is a railway bridge over the river Bóbr in Bolesławiec in Lower Silesia, Poland. Entirely made of stone, it is one of the longest bridges of its type in Poland and in Europe.

Statistics: Length: 490 m Height: 26 m Width: 8 m Number of spans: 35 Main spans: 15 m, 11.5 m and 5.65 m Construction material: sandstone Construction period: 2 years Construction completion: 1846

History: Rail transport came to Bolesławiec (then known as Bunzlau and part of Prussian Silesia) in 1845. Work was already being carried out on the extension of a rail line towards Węgliniec. Part of this work was a crossing of the river Bóbr. The Prussian architect Frederick Engelhardt Gansel was chosen for the project. Work began on 18 June 1844. Building work directly employed more than 600 people with another 3200 indirectly related to its construction. The construction took two years and was completed in July 1846. Near the end of the war in 1945, retreating Germans blew up the central span crossing. After the war, reconstruction was fast and the bridge was returned to service in 1947. In 2006, the viaduct was illuminated at the cost of nearly 180 thousand złoty. It is illuminated...