The wooden bridge

In the old town of Säckingen, now called Bad Säckingen, there is said to have once lived a young man named Franz Werner Kirchhofer. He had fallen in love with a girl named Ursula. Unfortunately, she came from a noble family, and under the rules of the time, the two could not marry. Franz Werner then moved to Rome. The Pope made him a count. He was now a nobleman too, so he returned and was able to marry Ursula. They had five children and became a respected family. Some parts of this story are probably made up, but 180 years ago the poet Victor von Scheffel wrote a book about it called “The Trumpeter of Säckingen”. It was widely read, and the town’s name became known throughout Germany and other countries. But there is much more to Säckingen than this lovely story. For example, you can visit Schönau Castle and Fridolin’s Minster. This large church commemorates Saint Fridolin, who founded a monastery near which the town of Säckingen grew up. The town wall includes the famous round Thief’s Tower, and there is also a remarkable bridge. Säckingen lies on the Rhine, which forms the border with Switzerland here. The Swiss town of Stein is on the other side of the Rhine. The river is about 200 metres wide here. People probably built a bridge as long as 1,000 years ago to connect the two towns. An old document from 1272 mentions a wooden bridge standing on 12 pillars, all made of wood. The bridge was destroyed several times by wars and floods. Before it could be rebuilt, people often had to rely on a ferry to cross the river for many years. Eventually, the wooden pillars were replaced with stone ones. The present-day wooden bridge in Bad Säckingen was built about 300 years ago. It too has been renovated several times. It now rests on six concrete pillars, but the upper part of the bridge is still made of wood. Until 1979, cars and trucks even drove across it. Today, it is only used by cyclists and pedestrians. It is about 204 metres long, making it the longest covered wooden bridge in Europe.