A 66-year-old man illegally drove his minibus onto the Steinerne Brücke in Regensburg on Tuesday morning and broke through the parapet after a collision. As reported by the police, the front part of the vehicle protruded in the direction of the abyss, but the man was able to free himself from his vehicle.
After his accident, the man left the scene of the accident, but was found a short time later by a police patrol in the old town according to a witness description and taken to the Regensburg North police station. A blood sample was taken from the man because there was a suspicion of drug exposure. In addition, his driver’s license was confiscated. The minibus was recovered and the bridge railing secured with a site fence. The police have not yet provided any information on the extent of the damage.
But it is clear that the 66-year-old and probably the Regensburg party people were lucky again. Things could have ended badly. The meadow below the bridge – part of the Jahninsel – is a popular meeting place for young people, especially in the evenings and at night. This is exactly where the granite parapet parts that had broken out crashed in the early morning darkness.
This is what it looked like from below.
(Photo: Tiedemann/dpa)
The Stone Bridge is a pedestrian bridge over the Danube on which cars have not been allowed to drive for years. Along with the cathedral, the historic building is considered Regensburg’s most important landmark and was also one of the reasons why Regensburg’s old town and the Stadtamhof district on the opposite bank of the Danube were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The almost 900-year-old structure is the oldest stone bridge in Germany. For centuries it was the only fixed Danube crossing between Ulm and Vienna.
Wars, weather and traffic have taken their toll on the bridge over the years. In 1997 it was completely closed to individual traffic. Since 2008, taxis and buses have also not been allowed to cross the Stone Bridge. From 2010 to 2018 it was extensively renovated – including the parapet, which the 66-year-old now broke through with his minibus.