Old Rhine Bridge

The Old Rhine Bridge at Konstanz spans the Seerhein. It is a combined road and railway bridge. In addition to one track of the Upper Rhine Railway at kilometer 413.5, it carries the Konzilstraße, the road that connects the borough of Petershausen with the city centre. The road bridge carries two lanes into the city center and three lanes in the other direction. Additionally, there is a bicycle lane in both directions on the left (as seen from the city centre) and a sidewalk on the right. In the 19th century, distance markers were placed along the Rhine; they start counting kilometers at this bridge.HistoryThe first bridge over the Seerhein was built by the Romans at Gottlieben. Since the medieval trade routes to northern Italy, France and Eastern Europe crossed in Constance, it is assumed that a wooden bridge existed below Constance before the 10th century. The construction of a wooden pile bridge in the flight of Rheingasse around 1200 CE is documented.A mill was built into the bridge in 1418 or 1427 or 1437, because the bridge piles held back the water of the Upper lake and increased the 30 cm difference in water level between the Upper and Lower lake.A lack of stability led to the bridge over the Rhine being demolished and reconstructed around 1540. The new bridge was completed in 1544. It consisted of a covered wooden bridge, based on double pillars, connected at both sides to a stone arch bridge and a draw bridge. A mill complex with a weir completed the structure. The wooden bridge superstructure, including the mills, were destroyed several times by fire and rebuilt, in at least 1548 and 1675. It was destroyed by fire for the last time in 1856. In 1857, the states surrounding Lake Constance decided not to rebuild the weir, because it was regarded as the cause of the extreme high water conditions around the Upper Lake. Until the new bridge was ready, a temporary wooden bridge allowed travellers to cross the Seerhein.