European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 21, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse A drawing of the covered Bridge Over the Neckar that was swept away in 1784. Prince elector Karl Theodor built its famous replacement. Panning the Neckar the Monkey that decorates Heidelberg s old Bridge. In 1 786, Prince elector Karl Theodor was faced with a problem. Two years earlier the Neckar had risen dramatically and then Frozen and when the ice melted the River took Heidelberg s wooden Bridge with it As far As Mannheim. The problem was not a new one. Between about 1250 and 1784, eight wooden Bridges were destroyed by floods ice and on one occasion by Gunpowder the work of the French in 1689. Contemporary drawings of some of the earlier Bridges show that they were roofed wooden Flat structures resting on seven Stone pillars. The design was clearly inadequate during the summer the Neckar was often merely a feeble trickle but at other times it could become a raging torrent. Bearing in mind previous failures Karl Theodor on the advise of his inspector of works Matthias Maier decided to build Heidelberg s first Stone Bridge on the existing medieval pillars. He ordered it to be High enough that flood and ice would no longer be perils and that larger trading boats could pass beneath it. The work Force comprising about 220 men was Able to Complete the Bridge in 1788. The Structure whose form has remained almost unchanged Ever since was a Triumph both from the Point of View of to tripes Magazine july 21, 1988
