At 197 meters, it is considered one of the longest wooden bridges in the world. Until 1994, the Thalkirchner Bridge, also known as the Tierpark Bridge, even topped the rankings.
But after more than 30 years, the superstructure of the 15 meter wide Isar crossing is now to be renovated and widened at the same time in order to finally put an end to the crowding of cars, cyclists and pedestrians. An examination by the building department showed that this was possible. And so this Thursday, construction officer Jeanne-Marie Ehbauer, together with Mayor Dominik Krause (Greens), officially presented the idea at an on-site meeting on the eastern bank of the Isar. The bridge is to be 5.60 meters wider on the south side. In total it will then be almost 21 meters wide.
“Especially because there are many families with small children here, a safe solution is needed,” said Krause. A second bridge for pedestrian and bicycle traffic has been discussed several times, but this would have meant a far-reaching intervention in the sensitive Isar bed.
Konstanze Hofinger also came to the performance. She is the daughter of the architect Richard Dietrich, who died in 2019 and who designed a new structure for the bridge in the late 1980s. The old one from 1904 could no longer be saved. Only the concrete foundations remained at that time, so no intervention in the riverbed was necessary. Hofinger inherited the copyright and has now given her consent for the bridge to be expanded. This consists of a so-called space frame construction and is still in good condition. Because it was created in a modular design, i.e. using a building block system, it can be expanded with the same modules. The building department promises that the widening will not be particularly noticeable when viewed from the banks of the Isar.
Hofinger said she was pleased that the bridge would be preserved. This is also in the spirit of her father, who, in addition to housing projects, also built other bridges in Munich, such as the pedestrian bridge over Schenkendorfstrasse, the Chain Bridge in Neuperlach and the St. Emmeram Bridge in Oberföhring. The Thalkirchner Bridge is the most beautiful bridge that Richard Dietrich built. It is “a symbol of his view of beautifully designed and sustainable engineering architecture,” said Hofinger.
The Thalkirchner Bridge consists of 520 cubic meters of wood.
(Photo: Florian Peljak)
Today’s bridge was built between 1989 and 1991. The material used was glued spruce and larch wood, which is held together by steel knots. A total of 520 cubic meters of wood were used. In 1992 the bridge structure received an award at the German Timber Construction Prize.
Before construction began, there was a discussion in Munich about the building materials. Initially, the construction department wanted to work with Bongossi hardwood from tropical rainforests, which was still often used in bridge construction at the time. After protests from conservationists, the wood from local conifers was used.
The construction department is now planning to rebuild the bridge and wants to present a draft to the city council by the beginning of 2025. The bridge could be finished in 2026, and small buses should also be able to cross it. However, only vehicles up to a maximum of three tons should still be allowed to drive on the bridge.
The experts estimate the construction time to be around a year. Meanwhile, the bridge is closed to traffic. Whether pedestrians and cyclists can continue to use it remains to be clarified, as does the question of whether the streets in the approach to the bridge will also be widened.