flood disaster
Nepomuk Bridge in the Ahr Valley largely demolished
The 300-year-old Nepomuk Bridge is demolished. photo
© Thomas Frey/dpa
Like a memorial, the Nepomuk Bridge reminded of the flood disaster in the Ahr Valley. Now the badly damaged building from the 18th century is being demolished. Criticism comes from the monument protection.
The listed monument and badly damaged in the flood disaster Nepomukbrücke in the Ahr town of Rech was largely demolished on Thursday. “The dismantling is largely done,” said the mayor Thomas Hostert (independent). “The whole top layer is already gone.”
The listed Nepomuk Bridge is now known nationwide. During the flood disaster in July 2021, caravans smashed against the pillars of the bridge from 1723, debris dammed the water masses, the bridge was severely damaged and parts of the town center were completely torn away. The demolition took place a few days after the second anniversary of the flood disaster of July 14/15.
The dismantling began on Wednesday after the Nepomuk statue and base had been secured almost two weeks ago, said Mayor Hostert. The stones of the bridge would be sorted for reuse. Contrary to what was initially expected, the dismantling will not take several weeks. But there should still be work on Friday.
The German Foundation for Monument Protection criticized that the demolition was by no means a careful dismantling. “All historical information that the bridge carries – outside of the visible areas – is lost in this way,” said Steffen Skudelny, director of the bridge. The stones of the building ended up in the Ahr, the foundation wrote. “What happens to them is apparently still uncertain.”