Alte Rheinbrücke, Rheinfelden

The Old Rhine Bridge (Alte Rheinbrücke) links the Swiss town of Rheinfelden in Aargau with Rheinfelden (Baden) in Germany and is one of the oldest crossing points on the Rhine. A bridge stood here as early as the 12th century, and a document of 1198 mentions a Heinrich of the bridge, which makes it the oldest known Rhine bridge between Konstanz and Strasbourg.

The old wooden bridge burned down in 1897, and the present reinforced-concrete arch bridge, designed by the Swiss engineer Robert Maillart with the architects Joss & Klauser, opened on 15 December 1912. It is about 147 metres long and 10.5 metres wide, and halfway across it bends at the Inseli, a small rocky island where Stein Castle stood until it was destroyed in 1446. A staircase leads down to the island, which is now a small park with a bathing spot.

Since 2008 the bridge has been closed to cars: only pedestrians, cyclists, buses and taxis may cross, and as it is a border crossing you should carry an ID. It starts right at the edge of the old town, a short walk from the Marktgasse and the Tempelgasse.