Dear <<First Name>> <<Last Name>>,

The Rhine river is one of Europe's most important waterways. It crosses through many important parts of Germany so that many a river crossing had to be built over time. Especially in the last 70 years it's become a true playground for bridge designers. It's a perfect example of how diverse the solutions to virtually identical engineering problems can be. Bridges crossing the Rhine feature nearly all conceivable types of bridge systems. Germany's first large-scale cable-stayed bridge was built in Düsseldorf to start a long tradition of cable-stayed spans across the Rhine. Gravity- and self-anchored suspension bridges have been built, arch and truss bridges - or combinations thereof. This newsletter will give you a small overview while you can find a full compliation of all Rhine bridges between Lake Konstanz and Emmerich at the Dutch border on Structurae.

Best wishes from Berlin,
Nicolas Janberg
Chief Editor of Structurae

Rhine River Crossings

between Lake Constance and the Dutch Border

Some very interesting Rhine bridges that also cross the Franco-German border were built in the last decade but the bridges over the Rhine have to offer a fascinating diversity that displays all the variety there is in bridge design. Fritz Leonhardt designed may of the bridges in Düsseldorf, Cologne and other cities, Marc Mimram built one of the more recent ones. Plenty of other bridge engineers have contributed to the plethora of bridge types spanning this river: all variations of cable-stayed bridges, arches, trusses, the first balanced cantilever bridges or hybrid structures. Nearly any conceivable bridge type can be found on the Rhine which is crossed by a large number of roads, railroads, footpaths and cycleways. It is the perfect collection to show how the same general engineering problem can be solved in unconceivably many ways.