A stone railway viaduct almost half a kilometre long from 1846 over the Bóbr River in Bolesławiec, built of sandstone from a quarry in Dobra.
The railway viaduct in Bolesławiec is a stone crossing almost half a kilometre long over the Bóbr River, built in the mid-19th century for the railway line cutting through the town. It remains in use to this day and is visible from many points in Bolesławiec.
Work on the viaduct began on 18 June 1844, and the foundation stone was laid on 17 May of the same year. Construction was completed on 5 July 1846, and the official opening took place on 17 September 1846 with the participation of King Frederick William IV. The structure was designed by the Prussian architect Fryderyk Engelhardt Gansel. More than 600 people worked directly on the construction, and around 3,200 people were indirectly connected with the investment.
The viaduct is 490 metres long and 8 metres wide, and two tracks run along it. It consists of 35 spans with spans of 15 metres, 11.5 metres or 5.65 metres. It was built from Cretaceous sandstone, brought from a quarry in Dobra. After a renovation, trains can now cross the viaduct at speeds of up to 160 kilometres per hour.
On 10 February 1945 retreating German forces blew up one of the viaduct's spans. Reconstruction of the structure was completed in 1947, restoring the continuity of the railway line running through Bolesławiec. In August 2006, 58 lighting projectors were installed on the viaduct, making the structure visible after dark. On 10 October 2009 a general renovation was carried out, including sandblasting and restoring the stone structure.
After the 2009 renovation, the viaduct remains a fully functioning element of the railway line running through the town. The stone structure of 35 spans is one of the most recognisable features of Bolesławiec's landscape, visible from many places in the town and from above the Bóbr River, and additionally lit up in the evenings.
The involvement of more than 600 workers directly on the construction and around 3,200 people indirectly, counting suppliers and related firms, shows how large an undertaking it was to build a stone structure almost half a kilometre long in the mid-19th century, at a time when railway construction in Silesia was only just gathering pace.
The viaduct lies in the centre of Bolesławiec, close to the town's other attractions. A few hundred metres away is the Low Rope Park.
Nearby it is also worth visiting the Bolesławiec Ceramics Museum, devoted to the region's pottery tradition, and on the same river are the Bolesławiec Thermal Baths.
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