Point 9 - The railway viaduct

The railway viaduct

At the end of the 19th century, the Dresden-Zittau railway line was constructed. Schirgiswalde’s station building in the typical Saxon architectural style was built with the opening of the railway line. Since 1877, the railway has been crossing the valley on this mighty viaduct. Our small town was now connected to the wider world in a completely different way. Previously, we still had to make use of the stagecoach and the freight wagon.

The construction of the railway line was immensely beneficial for the awakening economic life of Schirgiswalde. The weaving mills in Kirschau and Schirgiswalde sent and received numerous raw materials and finished products by this means. The railway also speeded up postal dispatch.

On 8 May 1945, the last day of the Second World War, a pillar of the viaduct was senselessly blown up by the German Wehrmacht to prevent Russian troops from advancing. Until the early 1960s, only a makeshift structure existed, which was even initially guarded. The construction of the current viaduct then began. In 1996, the viaduct was renovated once again and the upper section was widened.