31 „Bridge of Unity“ in Vacha

31 „Bridge of Unity“ in Vacha

Before the gates of the city of Vacha, a trade route crossed the Werra River, likely on a wooden bridge until 1342.

When the bridge was destroyed by a flood, construction of a stone bridge began.

However, this new bridge was not built at the original location but was moved upstream from the Öchse mouth.

This relocation avoided the problem of Öchse flooding and placed the bridge under the protection of the castle.

However, the change of location brought a significant disadvantage.

The new bridge had to span not about 50 meters, but over 250 meters of Werra floodplain.

Its construction was complicated by the marshy riverbanks. This is reflected in the legend of the constantly collapsing bridge arch.

According to the legend, the problem was only solved after many attempts by enclosing a child alive within the arch.

A mural in the Vacha town hall (Model 36) depicts this event.

In 1945, two bridge arches were blown up by the German Wehrmacht.

Since the 1950s, the border troops used the bridge.

This changed only on November 12, 1989, with the opening of the border between Vacha and Philippsthal.

Since then, the over 650-year-old bridge has been called the „Bridge of Unity.“

Additional information:

City of Vacha and Vacha Administrative Community

Markt 4

36404 Vacha

Tel.: 036962 / 26 10

Fax: 036962 / 2 61 17