Description of the attraction
The Landwasser Viaduct is a bridge of unusual shape and design. It is curved, consists of six arches and only one track. Designed for rail transport. The bridge is laid over the Landwasser river and connects the settlements of Schmitten and Filisur.
The bridge was designed by Alexander Akatos and was built with the support of Müller & Zerdler in 1901-1902. The bridge has a length of 136 m and a height of 65 m. During the construction of the bridge, a special system was used without the use of "scaffolding", which was implemented when the three main pillars were installed. This was done because there are frequent floods on the Landwasser River. Iron structures were installed inside the pillars. In October 1902, trains were already running along the viaduct. The construction budget was CHF 280,000.
In 2009 the bridge was closed for restoration. The viaduct celebrated its 106th anniversary that year. The restoration work continued throughout the summer. Restoration work was carried out along the entire length of the bridge, including the bridge supports along their entire height. However, a mandatory point during the work was the requirement not to change the appearance of the bridge, because since July 2008 the viaduct has been declared an object included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The masonry of the bridge was reinforced with injections of special mortars. In addition, a complete replacement of the track was carried out on the bridge and new sleepers were installed.
It is noteworthy that the restoration was carried out in such a way that the movement of trains continued in the same way as before the start of work. It was only introduced a certain speed limit in some areas.
