Bridge Building In Perfection

Müngstener Brücke is an engineering pioneer work and a masterpiece and is impressive by its size alone. It is one of very few large arch bridges from the time of the Second Industrial Revolution at the end of the 19th century that is still largely preserved in its original form. It marks a milestone in the art of bridge building and has worldwide significance for the history of civil engineering.

And it is part of a European community: a total of six structures in France, Italy, Portugal and Germany are jointly applying to become serial transnational UNESCO World Heritage. In addition to Müngstener Brücke, these are Ponte Maria Pia and Ponte Dom Luís I in Portugal, Garabit and Viaur Viaducts in France and Ponte San Michele in Italy.

What connects these bridges? What makes them a community?  The joint application is titled "European Arch Bridges of the Late 19th Century." According to the justification, "The community of large arch bridges represents the course of the technical development of this bridge type in European countries in the 19th century without any gaps. Moreover, the last arch bridges from this period can be preserved for future generations.

The community of these bridges has an extraordinary universal value, as required for nomination as World Heritage.