Burtscheider Viadukt, Railway bridge in Aachen, Germany
The Burtscheider Viadukt is a railway bridge in Aachen that crosses the Warmweiherbach valley on a series of brick arches. It carries two tracks on the line running east from Aachen Central Station toward Cologne, including international services.
The viaduct was built between 1838 and 1840 by the Rheinische Eisenbahn company, making it one of the earliest railway viaducts of its kind in Germany. Part of it was damaged in World War II and later rebuilt, though the overall character of the original structure was kept.
The viaduct runs just above the rooftops of Burtscheid, a former spa district that still has its own calm character within Aachen. From the streets below, the red brick arches frame the view in a way that feels like part of the neighborhood rather than an interruption.
The best way to see the brick arches is from street level below the bridge, where the full height of the construction is visible. The area around the viaduct is easy to reach on foot from the city center and can be visited at any time of year.
At certain points along the structure, the original brick arches sit directly next to metal sections added during postwar repairs, and the difference in material is clearly visible to anyone who looks closely. This makes the wartime history of the bridge readable without needing any explanation.
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