Covered bridge in Wangen an der Aare

From the historical plaque - Aare Bridge

The records of Andreas Ryff, a traveling salesman from Basel, show that on his journeys between 1591 and 1600 to the Aare Bridge in Wangen he often took the route via Kriegstetten, Utzenstorf and Fraubrunnen to Bern and further via the Gemmi to Valais or vice versa chose. According to this, Ryff would have ridden from Wiedlisbach to the town of Wangen and then used the Salzstrasse in the direction of Burgdorf.

The salt house in the immediate vicinity of the bridge served as a reloading and storage facility.

Today's bridge, which is 92 meters long, was rebuilt in the years 1549-1553. The Bernese minster master builder Pfister provided the southern half with stone pillars, the first of which standing in the water bears the year 1552. Extensive renovations were carried out in the late 16th and then in the 17th century, the bridge was shortened in 1845 and this section was replaced by a causeway. In 1933, the Bernese government prevented the demolition of the bridge, which is now seen as a symbol of the town of Wangen an der Aare and has become an integral part of the townscape. It has been under federal protection since 1977.

The town of Wangen an der Aare, which was founded by the Counts of Kyburg around the middle of the 13th century, played an important role. With the waterway of the Aare and the wooden bridge leading over it, first mentioned in 1367, it has been a traffic junction since the Middle Ages. This in

View of the bridge and Wangen an der Aare from the northeast. Pen drawing around 1664 by Albrecht Kauw. [Bern Bridge Stories, 1997: 141]

Realization 2016 Eneas Domenicon in cooperation with the Civil Engineering Office of the Canton of Bern, Oberingenieurkreis NV