Old land bridge, Stone bridge in Rheinwald, Switzerland.
The Alte Landbrugg is a stone footbridge over the Hinterrhein south of Hinterrhein village in the Rheinwald, Grisons. It is about 40 metres long and 2.5 metres wide, with two arches resting on a hexagonal central pier. Stone tablets at the highest point of the parapet, on the east and west sides, record its construction and restoration.
In 1693 the Hinterrhein community had master builder Peter Zurr of Bergün erect a two-arched bridge with a hexagonal central pier south of the village, where the old packhorse road to the San Bernardino Pass crossed the Hinterrhein; it cost 330 Gulden. The bridge partly collapsed on 1 July 1696 and was rebuilt by Bartolomeo Stornino of Chiavenna for 400 Gulden. Floods damaged it repeatedly; the northern arch fell in 1931 and was restored in 1935 with help from the Swiss Heritage Society.
The name "Landbrugg" refers to a rural road bridge, and the nearby field name "Kapell" on the right bank points to a chapel or wayside shrine that has since vanished at the crossing. Stone tablets at the highest point of both parapets commemorate the 1693 construction and the later restoration.
The bridge is reached on foot: the hiking trail from Rheinwald over the San Bernardino Pass crosses it, and the old road met today's pass road at the top hairpin. The deck is 2.5 metres wide and the surface uneven, so walkers should allow time for the steep approach.
Stone tablets are set into the parapet on both sides at the bridge's highest point, recording its construction and restoration. The repairs after the 1931 collapse of the northern arch, rebuilt in 1935 with help from the Swiss Heritage Society, can be spotted as concrete elements beneath the arch.
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