The Solkan Bridge
There are many famous bridges in the world, such as the Bridge on the River Kwai in Thailand, the Bridge of Sighs and the Rialto Bridge in Venice. In Solkan, however, we have the most magnificent stone railway bridge. Its arch, the longest made from treated stone in the world, represents the pinnacle of bridge construction and civil engineering at the beginning of the 20th century.
The Solkan Bridge was built in 1905 as part of the Bohinj Railway, connecting Trieste and Vienna. It is distinguished by the exceptional elegance and lightness of its design, skipping over the Soča River like a rainbow. It experienced both World Wars. In WWI, in August 1916, it was bombed with 930 kg of explosives and consequently the bow completely collapsed into the Soča River with a deafening noise. In World War II, it withstood 6 attacks by Allied air forces. It was rebuilt by the Italians in 1927.
The Solkan Bridge was constructed using the segmental method, with stone blocks laid in successive stages and each arch ring completed gradually. The stone blocks were brought from the Cava Romana quarry in Nabrežina and are made of shell limestone, ranging from 0.2 m3 to 0.7 m3 in size.Stone blocks were lowered to where they were to be installed with special steam-powered lifts.
The entire construction process was led by Austrian engineer Leopold Oerley. At the opening of the bridge on 19th July 1906, Crown Prince Franz Ferdinand stopped on the bridge at 4.20 pm.
The Italians rebuilt the bridge, which was destroyed in WWI. The stone blocks were brought from the Chiampo quarries near Vicenza, from Nabrežina and Aviano. For mortar, cement from the Anhovo cement factory was used. The rebuilt arch is slightly thinner than the original, with only four relief openings. 4,533 stone blocks were installed, the last on 9th December 1926. The inauguration of the reconstructed bridge took place on 8th August 1927.
In 1985, it got a neighbor, a concrete road bridge, which finally connected Goriška brda directly with the rest of the Goriška Plain. Today, the railway bridge is an important element of heritage, defined as a technical monument of national importance. It becomes especially beautiful when headlights illuminate it in the dark. The 100th anniversary of the bridge was celebrated 19th July 2006.
Flight under the Solkan Bridge, July 2006 – Aircraft Zlin 526-F of the OLCP (Coastal Aviation Center Portorož – Coastial Flying Center Portorož, Slovenia). Pilot: Benjamin Licer “Benjo”.
