Mittlere Brücke

The “Mittlere Brücke” was the first bridge to be opened in Basel in 1226. It was one of the few passageways over the Rhine in the area between the “Bodensee” and the North sea. While the “Kleinbasel” bridge supports were anchored in stone, the bridge, on the ”Grossbasel” side, rested on wooden trusses; the reason for this was that only the bank on the “Kleinbasel” side dried out sufficiently at low tide to enable the mortar between the stone work to dry out as well. Because of the internationally used Gotthard-Pass, the bridge became very important during the 14th century as a passageway for many merchants and pilgrims. The toll which had to be paid for crossing proved to be very lucrative and contributed considerably to the rise in Basle´s fortune. This particular construction survived for nearly seven centuries. Between 1903 – 1905 it was replaced by the middle bridge construction of today.