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Villages / Valais / Leuk district / Hohe Brücke

Hohe Brücke

Site Canton of Valais · District: Leuk · Uninhabited site (municipality of Leuk)
Part of the municipality of Erschmatt
Origin of the name Founding Historical timeline Must-see historical sites Sources and references Nearby villages

Origin of the name Hohe Brücke

«Hohe Brücke» means «high bridge». It is also called the Devil's Bridge, and locally «Heji Brigga». Its first mention, in 1563, calls it the «new bridge».[1][4]

Founding of Hohe Brücke

The single-arch bridge crosses the Feschelbach near Erschmatt. The stream runs through a gorge that marks the eastern boundary of the former municipality of Leuk. Who built the bridge is not known. Since the merger of 2013 Erschmatt has belonged to the municipality of Leuk, and the bridge now links two parts of the same municipality.[1][4][5]

History of Hohe Brücke

1563. First mention of the bridge, then called the «new bridge».[1][2][4]

1691. A chapel is erected at the eastern end of the bridge.[1]

1956. Built in stages from the Rhône valley via Leuk, the road reaches Erschmatt.[1]

1966. A concrete bridge is built on this road at Rotafen, not far from the old bridge (1955-1956 according to another source).[1][4]

2013. Erschmatt merges with Leuk. The link the bridge provides between the two places becomes an administrative one as well.[4]

Historic sites in Hohe Brücke

Bridge and chapel. The bridge spans the Feschelbach gorge about a hundred metres above the drop. Fully renovated, the bridge is now a viewpoint popular with birdwatchers and photographers. A stone chapel stands at its foot. The ensemble is listed in category B of the cultural property protection inventory. The inventory lists it as « Hohe Brücke über den Feschelbach mit Kapelle », at Erschmattstrasse 15.[3][4]

Sources

  1. Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Erschmatt » (Werner Bellwald, version du 04.01.2017)
  2. Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse (version allemande), « Leuk (Gemeinde) » (Alois Grichting, version du 04.01.2017)
  3. Office fédéral de la protection de la population (PBC), « Révision Inventaire PBC 2021 : liste cantonale Canton du VS » (état au 1.1.2026)
  4. Etat du Valais, magazine, « A Erschmatt avec Sandro Steiner »
  5. Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Loèche (commune) » (Alois Grichting, version du 04.01.2017)
  6. geo.admin.ch, service de recherche de swisstopo (Hohe Brücke)

Other villages near Hohe Brücke

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