Pancer Viaduct

About

The Pancer Viaduct was a viaduct in Warsaw joining Castle Square to the Kierbedzia Bridge. It was built in 1846, and demolished in 1944 and was replaced by the Warsaw W-Z Route thoroughfare. It was designed by Felix Pancer and constructed with seven arched vaults made of brick, supported by six pillars and two abutments.

Initially, New Downhill Street (ulica Nowy Zjazd) allowed travel from Castle Square to Dobra Street along the viaduct. The street had the shape of the letter "J", reaching the Vistula, and then turning back sharply and steeply towards Dobra Street. After the construction of the Alexander Bridge (commonly called the Kierbedzia Bridge) in 1864, New Downhill Street running over the Pancer Viaduct became the main artery leading from the left-bank of Warsaw to Praga on the right-bank.

Tram tracks were on the viaduct from the very beginning. Initially it was a horse-drawn tram line belonging to the railway, which was built to connect the Praga broad gauge line to the standard gauge of the Warsaw-Vienna line. This became the nucleus of the tram network in Warsaw.

The original plans for the Kierbedzia Bridge included a rail line to perform this function but the rail part of...