Over more than 700 years, nine bridges were built in succession at a single spot along Europe’s Neckar River, where the waterway weaves through the German city of Heidelberg. Beginning with the earliest structure completed in 1284, the first eight bridges were made of wood and were consecutively destroyed by various fire, floods, and storms over the centuries. (...)
Over more than 700 years, nine bridges were built in succession at a single spot along Europe’s Neckar River, where the waterway weaves through the German city of Heidelberg. Beginning with the earliest structure completed in 1284, the first eight bridges were made of wood and were consecutively destroyed by various fire, floods, and storms over the centuries. The last of this group collapsed in 1784, prompting Prince Karl-Theodor to commission the ninth, and last, bridge to span the Neckar at Heidelberg. Finished in 1788, the Karl-Theodor Bridge was built out of red sandstone over the foundations of a mid-16th-century predecessor. It has a medieval-style gate and nine arches below the walkway as well as two towers above, which were adorned with sculptures of the prince and Roman deities. On March 29, 1945, German troops blew up three of the bridge’s arches and two of its pillars, features that were restored after the end of World War II. The arches of the Karl-Theodor were raised in 1969 to accommodate the flow of traffic on the new autobahn below.
