Neisse viaduct in Görlitz, Railway viaduct in Görlitz, Germany
The Neisse viaduct is a railway bridge spanning 475 meters across the Lusatian Neisse river, connecting Görlitz in Germany with Zgorzelec in Poland. The structure features thirty rounded arches built from local reddish granite with white sandstone railings running along its length.
Construction began in 1844 and was completed in 1847 to carry the Lower Silesian-Mark Railway Company's line across the Neisse river. The work by master mason Gustav Kießler established it as one of the first major railway structures of its kind in Germany.
The viaduct carried the Dresden–Breslau line from 1847; after the 1945 demolition and 1950s rebuilding, trains crossed the border again from May 1957. Two plaques at the bridge entrance name King Frederick William IV and the builders Henz, Weishaupt, Fischer and Kießler. Today the Oder–Neisse cycle path passes beneath it.
The viaduct is easy to visit on foot and can be approached from either the German or Polish side of the river. The best views of the structure are from below along the riverbank or from the walking paths on both approaches.
The two arches destroyed in 1945 were rebuilt in the 1950s under Polish direction, and their stone differs in colour from the older sections, so the wartime break is visible in the masonry. Trains crossed the border here again from May 1957.
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