The path through the Gschwendtobel gorge with a bridge over the Subersach River is one of the many projects that Negrelli worked out for the communities of the Bregenzerwald.  The provost of Egg, Johann Berlinger lived up to his reputation with the way he improved the streets and paths in the community. 

The historical roadway lost its significance as a direct connection between the communities of Egg and Lingenau only around 1982 when the High Bridge in Lingenau was completed.

The History of the Gschwendtobel Bridge

Taken from the plans by Alois Negrelli

Because the wish for an accessible road between the fore and the back Bregenzerwald came up around the end of the 18^th century, the old path that is where the footbridge between Egg and Lingenau is today and has not lost  its grade despite numerous renovations,  the people tended more and more towards moving the roadway towards the Gschwendtobel gorge.  Alois Negrelli who went down in history as the man that planned the Suez Canal, was the district custodian from 1825 – 1832 in Bregenz and did not only make efforts for the regulation of the Rhine River, but also took special pains when it came to the upgrading of the streets and bridges in the state. 

The path through the Gschwentobel gorge which spans the Subersach River is one of the many projects that Negrelli worked out for the communities of the Bregenzerwald.  The connection from Egg to Lingenau was built between 1833 and 1836, during Johann Berlinger’s term of office as provost who made a name for himself because of his concern over the improvement of the streets and pathways in the community.

The roadway lost its historical significance in 1982 when the High Bridge in Lingenau was erected as the direct connection between the communities of Egg and Lingenau.  Both communities have been responsible for the preservation of the pathway and the Gschwendtobel Bridge since 1980.

According to the plans of Alois Negrelli, the Gschwendtobel street has an average grade of 9% on both the Egg and Lingenau sides.  Johann Berlinger, the church warden, also took on the responsibility of road construction foreman while the work was being done.  The citizens of various Bregenzerwald communities were called up as compulsory labourers, whereby the number of hours were calculated by the number of inhabitants.  In the “compulsory labourer” records kept by Johann Berlinger, 53 names appear in the year 1837.  Lots were drawn to decide which part of the road the labourer would work on.  The compulsory work done for the community was paid out in cash.

Egg assumed the costs for the construction of the bridge, while the „Landscape, Inner Bregenzerwald“ footed the bill for the street on the Egg side.  The Fore Bregenzerwald, with the courthouse in Lingenau took care of the financing of the street on the Lingenau side and the construction of the bridge head on the left hand side.

Mud slides and the sinking of the roadways, which are caused by water logged slopes, not only hindered construction then, but are also the cause of on going road repairs, even today.

A page from the Compulsory Labour book kept by Johann Berlinger, the church warden in Egg from 1828 to 1836 with the title  „Daily work of the carpenters for the new bridge in Geschwend-Tobel for mounting and tying the timber for 1835.”

Negrelli

Alois Negrelli designed bridges and railways in Switzerland and Austria.  He led the way when it came to the development of railway construction and he also drew up the plans for the Suez Canal.

He was born on January 23rd, 1799 in Primiero, Italy, and died on October 1st, 1858 in Vienna.  He was a technician, and railway, water and road construction engineer.  

Between 1832 and 1840, he designed bridges and railway constructions in Switzerland and Austria.  After 1840, he built parts of the northern railway in Austria.  In 1848 he was the director of the Department of Railroads in the Ministry of Labour.  In 1849 he was the director of the super structure authority in Lombado – Venice and in 1856 he was the chief inspector of the Austrian Railways.

He was a leader in the development of railway construction in the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, Switzerland, Wuerttemberg and Saxony.  Between 1846 and 1856 he designed the plans for the Suez Canal which was built by the Frenchman, F. Lesseps and opened in 1869.

The bridge can be crossed and looked at any time free of charge