Franzdorfer Viaduct

Map of the Imperial and Royal State Railroad between Ljubljana and Triest (1850), OBV .

Plan of the railway line at Franzdorf (Borovnica), former viaduct - red line

The Franzdorfer Viadukt was a railway viaduct of the Austrian Southern Railway from Vienna to Trieste . It was built to cross the Franzdorf Valley (today: Borovnica , Slovenia ) from 1850 to 1856 on the original Karst Railway from Ljubljana (today: Ljubljana ) to Trieste, a section of the southern railway.

A structural remnant that was preserved after its destruction during the Second World War is now part of a memorial.

history

Planning and construction

Work on the project, which had been planned by the Austrian engineer Carl von Ghega and cost two million guilders , started in 1850; it was completed in August 1856 . With a length of 561 and a height of 38 meters, the viaduct rested on 24 pillars . A double-track line ran over him . According to the railway historian Josef Dultinger, “(the construction of this viaduct) required 32,000 cubic meters of quarry stone masonry and just as much ashlar masonry . Five million hand-cut bricks were used to make the brick vaults . Because of the poor subsoil, all pillars had to be placed on post gratings made of oak. Only the abutments of the viaduct could be placed on rock. ”The viaduct was built on two floors: the upper floor, which supported the railway tracks, comprised 25 arches. In the lower floor with 22 arches, arched passages broke through all the pillars. The arches had a span of 16 m each.

In its time, the Franzdorfer Viaduct in Europe was only surpassed in height by the 80-meter-high Göltzschtal Bridge (completed in 1851) belonging to the Saxon State Railway and was praised as the most beautiful viaduct in Europe.

People involved

Engineer, builder of the Semmering Railway , Carl von Ghega (1802–1860) - planning manager

Plan of the Franzdorf Viaduct by Carl Ritter von Ghega

Another story

After 1918 the viaduct became part of the Yugoslav railway network . On the occasion of the invasion of German troops in the Balkans campaign on April 10, 1941, seven arches with a length of 226 meters were blown up by the retreating Yugoslav army for strategic reasons. The occupying army immediately closed the gap with a temporary steel bridge , which, however, became impassable after the Allied air raids intensified in 1944. The remainder of the viaduct was gradually demolished by 1950; Due to a re-routing, there was no longer any need to repair the viaduct. Today only remains exist, in particular a pillar in the village of Borovnica, which is part of a historical memorial . This includes a description and a model of the former bridge. The viaduct is also represented in the coat of arms of the Borovnica municipality.

Viaduct under construction, in function and in its current condition
Franzdorfer Viaduct under construction (photography by Johann Bosch, 1855)
Franzdorfer Viadukt (painting by Giovanni Varrone (1832–1910))
Still existing pillar (transverse view)
Still existing pillar (front view)

literature

Josef Dultinger: The "Archduke Johann-Bahn": the first railway connection between the imperial capital and residence city of Vienna with the city and the Adriatic port of Trieste . Publisher Rudolf Erhard, Rum 1985.
August von Mandl: The state railway from Vienna to Trieste and its surroundings described by August von Mandl . Literary-artistic department of Oesterreichischer Lloyd , Trieste 1856.
August von Mandl: From Vienna to Trieste, in addition to trips from Bodenbach , Olmütz , Krakow , Linz , Pesth to Vienna and from Trieste to Venice. Travel guide for all stations of the kk priv. Südbahn . Literary and artistic department of the Austrian Lloyd, Trieste 1860, 2nd edition

Individual evidence

^ August Mandl: The state railway from Vienna to Trieste with its surroundings described by August Mandl . Literary-artistic department of the Austrian, Triest 1856, p. 298 ff. With illustration of the viaduct
^ Josef Dultinger: The "Archduke Johann-Bahn": the first railway connection between the imperial capital and residence city of Vienna with the city and the Adriatic port of Trieste . Verlag Rudolf Erhard, Rum 1985, p. 83 ff.

Web links

Commons : Franzdorfer Viadukt - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

45.919305555556 14.364722222222Coordinates: 45 ° 55 ′ 10 ″ N , 14 ° 21 ′ 53 ″ E

[1] August Mandl: The state railway from Vienna to Trieste with its surroundings described by August Mandl . Literary-artistic department of the Austrian, Triest 1856, p. 298 ff. With illustration of the viaduct

[2] Josef Dultinger: The "Archduke Johann-Bahn": the first railway connection between the imperial capital and residence city of Vienna with the city and the Adriatic port of Trieste . Verlag Rudolf Erhard, Rum 1985, p. 83 ff.