In Karlovy Vary, the Goethe Bridge has started serving again

Karlovy Vary – The Goethe Bridge has reopened in Karlovy Vary today. The pedestrian bridge over the Teplá River was constructed by the city as a replica of the original bridge. Visually, it thus connects to the neighboring Imperial Spa. The cost of building the new bridge was 4.7 million crowns. Thus, the historical appearance of this part of the city is being restored, said Mayor Andrea Pfeffer Ferklová to ČTK today.

"The bridge was built between 1891 and 1892 to replace the bridge that was swept away by a flood in 1890. It was originally called the Farská Bridge, but later it was renamed the Goethe Bridge, and that name persists to this day," described the history of the bridge over the Teplá River, the mayor said.

However, the Goethe Bridge had fallen into disrepair for years, and according to witnesses, it had been closed for about 30 years. By last year, when reconstruction began, only a fragment of the bridge remained.

According to Deputy Mayor Petr Bursík, the city selected a contractor in a competition at a time when construction material prices were already beginning to rise. If the contract were awarded today, prices would definitely be significantly higher, he told ČTK today. The bridge is indeed a combination of steel and cast iron elements, which are materials that significantly increase costs.

The approximately 15-meter-long bridge weighs about 20 tons and is self-supporting, meaning it rests only on both banks of the riverbed. The structure permits use only by pedestrians, and possibly cyclists. At this moment, although the bridge leads into the construction site of the renovated Imperial Spa, the city has agreed with the builders to free up part of the space so that pedestrians can use it already now.