Hindenburgbrücke, Railway bridge in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
The Hindenburgbrücke was a 221 m long lattice truss railway bridge over the Mosel between Wasserliesch and Igel, opened on 20 April 1912. It was destroyed in February 1945 and not rebuilt; on the Igeler side a section of the approach dam with several arches of red Eifel sandstone survives.
In 1907, planning began to relieve the overloaded Konzer Moselbrücke, which had carried traffic since 1861. The 221 m lattice truss bridge opened on 20 April 1912, after which heavy coal and coke trains on the Konz–Igel route used it alone. It was destroyed in February 1945, probably blown up by the Wehrmacht, and in 1953 the decision was taken not to rebuild it.
The bridge had no official name; people soon called it Hindenburgbrücke after Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, later Reich President. The name stuck from everyday use, not from any dedication ceremony. The preserved approach dam on the Igeler side, with its arches of red Eifel sandstone, is the surviving built element a visitor can still see.
The bridge no longer exists; only the approach dam on the Igeler side survives, with several arches of red Eifel sandstone. The Moselle piers were removed during the 1960 canalisation of the river. The remains are not a protected monument and were owned by Deutsche Bahn, which in 2016 announced plans to auction them.
The bridge was never officially named: "Hindenburgbrücke" was a popular nickname coined soon after it opened. Its exact destruction in February 1945 is undocumented; it was probably blown up by the Wehrmacht, though a bomb hit is also possible. In June 2016 the press reported that Deutsche Bahn, still owner of the ruin, wanted to auction the unprotected remains.
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