麻豆APP

Top 10 Interesting Facts about Devil’s Bridge

Devils Bridge Across The Rakotzbr眉cke. Photo by A. Landgraf.

They are forty-nine ancient bridges, primarily found in Europe and built of stone masonry, or arch bridges, and represent a significant technological achievement in ancient architecture.

Due to their unique and unusual nature, people think the bridges were built by Satan hence the name Devil鈥檚 Bridge.

The Devils Bridge is one of the oldest ancient architectural bridges found in Europe It measures 7.4 meters long and is 7.4 meters long, 6.8 meters wide, and spans across Lake Rakotz. The radius of the inner arch is 2.4 meters and the outer radius is 3.7 meters long.

The original bridge is thought to have been built in   1075-1200 and the second was built in 1753   and later improved between  1777  and 1814. It is believed that contractors of the second bridge used the original bridge for scaffolding.

1. Its located at Kromlauer park 

It鈥檚 also known as Rakotzbrucke,  Rakotz Bridge,  Devil鈥檚 Bridge,  and Kromlau Bridge. It is located at Kromlauer park, Gablenz, Saxony, Germany.

The park Measuring 80 hectares is a home to many types of mosses and lichens and an ancient sessile Oakland with several flower species as well as 150 years old tulip trees.

2. It was commissioned by Friedrich Hermann in 1860

It was commissioned by Friedrich Herrmann Roktschke, a knight from Kromlau in 1860 .It鈥檚 located in 80 meters long park that offers magnificent botanical and rhododendrons as well as their 150 years old tulip trees.

3. It was Built in the Gothic Architecture Style which Consists Mainly of Basalt

Most of the Devil鈥檚  Bridge is made up of masonry arches which represented a significant technological achievement. It was built in the Gothic architecture style which consist of basalt and these stones were held in wooden beams but the carpenter on the project was killed when they were eventually removed.

Both ends of the devil鈥檚 bridge are decorated with thin rock spirals that look like natural outcroppings.  It took them 10 years to complete and they wanted it to look more natural.

4 There is  a  Spectacular Waterfall Attraction at Devil鈥檚 Bridge

It was a spectacular Water Fall.  Nicole King.

Its located at the heart of the Cambrian mountains and it’s a 鈥榤ust see鈥� natural feature in wales, located 12 miles inland from coastal town Aberystwyth.   

 In the 18th century, the300 ft. water Mynach was set deep within ancient wooded gorges and attracted many tourists, including William Wordsworth who wrote about the 鈥淭orrent at the Devil鈥檚 Bridge鈥�.    Devil鈥檚 bridge fall nature provides a more unique opportunity to see these great natural features in the Mynach waterfalls.

The bridge falls bring about a changing of the leaves and haze that no filter can replicate and the bridge itself becomes too pronounced and every line is defined against the glass-like water.

5 Devils Bridge Fall is Home to Many Types of Mosses and Lichens and an Ancient Sessile Oakland     

Green Trees With Lichen and Moss Undergrowth. Photo by Spencer DeMera on

It鈥檚 surrounded by a magnificent botanical park (Kromlau Azalea and Rhododendron Park) with several flower species as well as 150 years old tulip trees.

It has many steep steps that make the Nature Trail Walk very difficult and not suitable for everyone.      

6 Germany is not Only the Country with Privy Devil鈥檚 Bridge 

Devil’s Bridge in Italy. By Emiliana Borruto.

Rakotzbrucke is the most panoramic of all Devil鈥檚 bridges in the world. The Rakotsbrucke was built much later hence standing out, as the others were built between 1000 and 1600 AD.                

There are 49 Devil鈥檚 bridges built-in different countries and their work is all deemed to be satanic. There are other European countries with devil鈥檚 bridge but they have their versions of this bridge but similar satanic theories.

Other countries include France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the united states.

7 It Forms a Perfect Circle after Reflection in Lake Water

This devil鈥檚 bridge has gained popularity because of its unique reflection in the water that forms a complete circle. It forms a perfect circle after the right light reflects on calm water.

It鈥檚 designed to look like a perfect circle so that when reflect light into the calm waters of the lake and it brings an illusion of a complete circle. 

It鈥檚 a beautiful work of art and it鈥檚 more impressive due to old age.

8 Its Believed that all Devil鈥檚 Bridges were Built by Satan

In the past, people believed that anything that defied the law of nature had to be built by the devil himself.

Each of the devil鈥檚 bridges has a corresponding devil myth or folktale regarding its origin and these stories vary depending on the region and beliefs.

Some people believe the Bridges were built by the devil himself due to the impossibility of such bridges to last or exist in the first place.

Others believed builders were given such knowledge as a gift from the devil as part of the deal or bargain between the Devil and the local populace in exchange for souls.   

9 The Bridge is no Longer Open to the Public

There has been an inn or hotel that existed nearby since before 1796. The main hotel on site is the Hafod  Hotel next to the  Afon Mynach river, a tributary of the Rheid since.

People are no longer allowed to walk on the bridge because of safety concerns despite a recent renovation in the year 2019.

They want to preserve it for future generations and one can only see but not touch it.

 10 It Got its Name from an Old  Fairly Tale

The original bridge over the river earned its name from an old tale that says that once in the old days an old woman who lost her cow while grazing on the opposite bank had the devil appear to her and promise to build the bridge in exchange for the first soul to cross it. 

It is argued that when the devil finished, the old woman lured a dog by throwing a  crust of bread over the river, which it swam across the river to retrieve. Thus, the Devil was only left with the soul of the dog.