Stańczyki Viaduct

The viaduct from the southeast

The Stańczyki Viaduct is a railway structure in north-eastern Poland ( Mazury ).

history

In Stańczyki ( State Hausen ) has two parallel span railway bridges a wide valley in the middle of the small flow Błędzianka ( blind flows). The southern bridge was built from 1912 to 1914 (added in 1917), the northern one in 1918. The planning for the structure, which resembles a Roman aqueduct , dates back to 1908. During the First World War (1916) a project was made to build a third main line from West Prussia East Prussia to Lithuania. In the spring of 1917, construction began on the railway embankments, bridges and viaducts that were intended for the second track. The work was not finished until the end of the war.

After the end of the war, the very ambitious project had lost its meaning because the Poles and Lithuania were pursuing a policy of demarcation against Germany. In the 1920s it was decided to complete the railway line as a single track. The inauguration of the railway line leading from Goldap via Szittkehmen to Gumbinnen took place on October 1, 1927, but it only ran over the southern bridge.

For reasons not known, the track was moved to the northern bridge after a few years. The number of people was relatively large because the area was a popular destination for the residents of Goldap, Gumbinnen and other cities. In summer it was mainly mushroom pickers and anglers, in winter skiers. After 1941 the importance of the line increased even more to transport construction material for the Wolfsschanze . This was transported from the Bachanowo area to Görlitz via this route .

In 1945 the entire line was dismantled by the Soviet Union . The bridges can be visited and have been privately owned since 2004.

nature

The structurally identical viaducts rest on four pillars made of iron and concrete. In the concrete sheathing of the northern bridge there are massive tree trunks for strengthening and stabilization. These were probably thrown in by prisoners of war during construction (1918).

A 182 meter long stretch is spanned with five arches made of reinforced concrete. A narrow sidewalk leads along them. The lower edge of the bridge is 36.5 meters above the level of the blind.