Kräutlstein Bridge, Railway truss bridge in Passau, Germany.
Kräutelsteinbrücke is a 222-metre steel truss railway bridge over the Danube at kilometre 2223.28, linking Passau's Innstadt district on the right bank with Grubweg. Its central span is formed by two 111-metre truss sections of the Schaper-Krupp-Reichsbahn system on three piers, with original arched approach bridges of about 120 metres (five segmental arches) on the east bank and about 25 metres (one arch) on the west.
Built in 1903, the structure displays steel construction techniques from the early 1900s that were typical of German railway infrastructure of that era. Its construction was part of the expansion of the railway network connecting Passau to other European cities.
The bridge takes its name from the Kräutelstein, a rocky island about 90 metres downstream where the German-Austrian border runs. From 1978 the Passauer Eisenbahnfreunde ran nostalgia and excursion trips over it alongside freight, and since August 2023 full passenger and freight operating permits have again been granted, with a special timetable offered until October.
The bridge is best seen from the banks of the Danube in the Innstadt district or from Grubweg; the eastern bridgehead stands about 90 metres from the Kräutelstein rock island, where the German-Austrian border runs. The line was closed to all traffic in 2001 and shut after the 2002 Danube flood, so there are no platforms to visit. The ramp to the western bridgehead crosses the grounds of ZF Passau's Plant 1.
The 222-metre steel truss span rests on three piers that predate it: the wartime bridge was blown up in 1945 and replaced on the same supports by a Schaper-Krupp-Reichsbahn temporary system, inaugurated on 13 May 1949. The middle pier splits the Danube into two shipping channels, and the original approach arches survive at both banks, about 120 metres long with five segmental arches on the Innstadt side and some 25 metres with a single arch at Grubweg.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 94,658 contributors worldwide.