Goltzsch Viaduct

The Saxon-Bavarian railway had to cross the Göltzsch valley, and with no suitable stone nearby the engineers used brick, fired from local clay on site; the viaduct built between 1846 and 1851 is seventy-eight metres high and five hundred and seventy-four long, on four tiers of arches, and used about twenty-six million bricks, making it the largest brick bridge in the world. The design was chosen by open competition, and none of the entries was judged buildable, so a committee combined elements from several; a professor's calculation of the required masonry mass shaped the final form. Trains still cross it. The nearby Elster viaduct is the second largest of its kind.

What you actually see

• The four tiers - arches stacked in four levels to seventy-eight metres.
• The brick construction - about twenty-six million bricks fired on site.
• The working line - trains still crossing the 1851 structure.
• The Elster viaduct - the world's second largest brick bridge nearby.

When to go

April to October; a path runs beneath the arches and viewpoints stand on both valley sides. It is floodlit on some evenings. Trains cross regularly.

Honest expectations

The bridge cannot be walked; it carries trains only. Facilities in the valley are minimal. It is best seen from below or from a distance.

Nearby

The Elster viaduct lies west; Plauen is southwest.