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Devil's Bridge - Teufelsbrücke
Schöllenen Gorge, in the Swiss canton of Uri between the towns of Göschenen to the north and Andermatt to the south.
The gorge was first opened up as a bridle path with the construction of a wooden bridge in the 1220s. This was of great strategic importance because it opened the Gotthard Pass, with historical consequences both regionally and to the Italian politics of the Holy Roman Empire.
The wooden bridge Stiebender Steg was replaced by a stone bridge in 1595, which came to be known as Devil's Bridge (Teufelsbrücke).
According to the legend the people of Uri recruited the Devil for the difficult task of building the bridge. The Devil requested to receive the first thing to pass the bridge in exchange for his help. To trick the Devil, who expected to receive the soul of the first man to pass the bridge, the people of Uri sent across a dog by throwing a piece of bread, and the dog was promptly torn to pieces by the Devil. Enraged at having been tricked the Devil went to fetch a large rock to smash the bridge, but, carrying the rock back to the bridge, he came across a holy man who "scolded him" (der ihn bescholten) and forced him to drop the rock, which could still be seen on the path below Göschenen.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sch%C3%B6llenen_Gorge
A replacement cut stone bridge was planned in the 1800s (the closest bridge in the photo). Construction took 10 years. The new bridge allowed (single-lane) motorized traffic, opening the Gotthard Pass to automobiles. The 1595 bridge fell out of use after the completion of the second bridge in 1830, and it collapsed in 1888.
The Gotthard railway project of 1872 avoided the Schöllenen Gorge by building the Gotthard Rail Tunnel under it, but the Schöllenenbahn, a rack railway, was built through the gorge in 1917. The modern road bridge and tunnel date to 1958. It served as the main road across the Central Alps during the 1960s and 1970s, but since the construction of the Gotthard Road Tunnel in 1980 it has only been of regional importance, connecting Uri with canton of Valais and the Surselva.
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Devil's Bridge - Teufelsbrücke
Schöllenen Gorge, in the Swiss canton of Uri between the towns of Göschenen to the north and Andermatt to the south.
The gorge was first opened up as a bridle path with the construction of a wooden bridge in the 1220s. This was of great strategic importance because it opened the Gotthard Pass, with historical consequences both regionally and to the Italian politics of the Holy Roman Empire.
The wooden bridge Stiebender Steg was replaced by a stone bridge in 1595, which came to be known as Devil's Bridge (Teufelsbrücke).
According to the legend the people of Uri recruited the Devil for the difficult task of building the bridge. The Devil requested to receive the first thing to pass the bridge in exchange for his help. To trick the Devil, who expected to receive the soul of the first man to pass the bridge, the people of Uri sent across a dog by throwing a piece of bread, and the dog was promptly torn to pieces by the Devil. Enraged at having been tricked the Devil went to fetch a large rock to smash the bridge, but, carrying the rock back to the bridge, he came across a holy man who "scolded him" (der ihn bescholten) and forced him to drop the rock, which could still be seen on the path below Göschenen.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sch%C3%B6llenen_Gorge
A replacement cut stone bridge was planned in the 1800s (the closest bridge in the photo). Construction took 10 years. The new bridge allowed (single-lane) motorized traffic, opening the Gotthard Pass to automobiles. The 1595 bridge fell out of use after the completion of the second bridge in 1830, and it collapsed in 1888.
The Gotthard railway project of 1872 avoided the Schöllenen Gorge by building the Gotthard Rail Tunnel under it, but the Schöllenenbahn, a rack railway, was built through the gorge in 1917. The modern road bridge and tunnel date to 1958. It served as the main road across the Central Alps during the 1960s and 1970s, but since the construction of the Gotthard Road Tunnel in 1980 it has only been of regional importance, connecting Uri with canton of Valais and the Surselva.
HDR + Lightroom
P1060818_19_20_21_22_23_24_easyHDR-dramatic-bright-6