Kapellbrücke Switzerland

Legendary

This footbridge crossing the river Reuss is the oldest wooden covered bridge in Europe.

Photo by swissbert

The fire started on a boat tied up beside the bridge in the early hours of August 18, 1993. The bridge was made almost entirely of wood, and it went up fast.

Within ten minutes, much of it was gone. Only the two ends and the stone tower survived.

Firefighters needed eleven hours to fully put it out. Then Lucerne rebuilt it in eight months, and the bridge reopened in April 1994.

The Kapellbrücke crosses the Reuss River in Lucerne, Switzerland. It was built around 1365, though some records suggest it may be even older.

It wasn't just a walkway. The bridge was part of Lucerne's defenses, built to protect the city from attack across the water.

That's why it zigzags instead of running straight. The wall on the lake side is also built higher, to shield anyone crossing.

Beside it stands the Wasserturm, an eight-sided stone tower built around 1290, even older than the bridge. Over the centuries it served as a lookout, a prison, a treasury, and the city's record office.

The bridge's most famous feature came much later. In the 1600s, artists painted 158 triangular pictures into the gables under the roof.

They told the story of Lucerne and Switzerland, including the lives of the city's patron saints. Before the fire, 147 were still there.

The fire damaged 110 of them, and most of those were destroyed or badly burned. About 30 were fully restored afterward, and the blank spaces are still visible today.

Walk across in the early morning or late evening, when the crowds thin out. Look up at the paintings as you go, and notice the empty frames where panels were lost. Stop halfway for the view down the river toward the old town, with the mountains behind it.