Along the Rhine to Europe's Longest Wooden Covered Bridge

(This post published on December 12, 2024)

Saturday February 6, 2016 -- In the midst of Carnival Celebrations all over Switzerland, we were able to "escape" some of the crowds with our 12 km walk along the Rhine River, a small part of that stretch which forms the Northern border of Switzerland and the Southern border of Germany.

Highlights were the two medieval towns of Laufenburg at the start of the walk, and Bad Säckingen at the end. Both towns have a "German" side and a "Swiss" side, joined by a bridge.

Of note was the bridge at Bad Säckingen, Europe's longest wooden covered bridge (203m). The bridge was first mentioned in the “Annals of Colmar” in 1272, and has since been damaged or destroyed several times by high water and fire. High waters in 1999 rose to a point just 20 cm below the bottom of the bridge.

At the end of our walk we treated ourselves to lots of handmade Italian gelato!

We started at the train station in Laufenburg at 11:30. Our plan was to cross the Rhine River to the German side to have lunch in a German Restaurant (usually cheaper than on the Swiss side). We first had to pass through the old gate tower to walk through the town. 

Walking down the roads of the town of Laufenburg, heading toward the bridge over the Rhine River. 

Walking down the roads of the town of Laufenburg, heading toward the bridge over the Rhine River. 

Walking down the roads of the town of Laufenburg, heading toward the bridge over the Rhine River. 

The town is decorated because it is carnival time. 

I enjoy all the signs that hang outside of the shops or restaurants, advertising what the business is. This looks like a restaurant that specializes in fish!

Laufenburg, German side, seen from the Swiss side. The country border runs right through the center of the Rhine River.

Because I don't really like the crowds at Carnival, I take photos of photos in shop windows.

We walked through the small German part of Laufenburg, but did not find an open restaurant. Before heading back to the Swiss side, we climbed up to the village church where we could look across the river to the Swiss side. 

From the site of the church on the German side of the Rhine River, we look back across the bridge to the Swiss side of the town!

Close-up look at the houses on the Swiss side of the Rhine River. 

Heading back down from the church to the bridge which crosses the river. 

Riverside road on the German side of Laufenburg. 

Bridge across the Rhine River, that joins the two parts of Laufenburg. The border between Switzerland and Germany run right through the middle of the river. 

There is a fortress ruins on a hill in the center of Old Town Laufenburg on the Swiss side, but we didn't have time to go have a look, as it was now 12:15 and we needed to find a place to have lunch. 

We had seen a pizzeria near the train station when we first got here about an hour earlier, so went back there to have this fantastic pizza lunch. Mine was a tuna pizza with lots of onions, which has become my favourite pizza!

After lunch (at 1:20 p.m.) we headed on to our planned hike to Stein Säckingen, along Trail no.60: "Via Rhenana". The stretch between Laufenburg and ultimately the train station in Stein Säckingen is 11 kilometers, and Section 8 of the total 200-km trail along the Rhine River from Konstanz to Basel.

There are two hydro-electric power plants along this stretch. This one is just over one kilometer west of Laufenburg. 

A look behind us at the Laufenburg Power Plant as we head off to Stein Säckingen. 

A perfect kind of walk on a February day. It was about 9 kilometers along the Rhine rivershore to the wooden bridge at Stein Säckingen, and from there another two kilometers to the train station. 

Watching waterfowl on the river

I'd never seen something like this before. It looks like an apartment complex for swallows!

There was a lot of evidence of recent beaver activity along the rivershore!

On the German side of the Rhine River, the city with the longest covered wooden bridge in Europe is called Bad Säckingen. From across the river, we could see a large church building on the eastern part of the city (called Obersäckingen). 

And then as we followed a large bend in the river, we could see the large Fridolin's Münster in the old part of the city of Bad Säckingen. 

As we approach the wooden bridge on the Swiss side of the Rhine River, the town here is called Stein Säckingen. On the German side of the river, the town is called Bad Säckingen. 

A look at the Fridolin Münster as we cross under the wooden bridge, to view the bridge from its south side. We got here at 3:45 p.m, about 1½ hours after starting out in Laufenburg. 

Full view of the “Alte Rheinbrücke”, longest covered wooden bridge (203 meters) in Europe. I am standing in Switzerland. The other end of the bridge is in Germany. 

Crossing the longest covered wooden bridge in Europe, from the Swiss side to the German side of the Rhine River. Because it is Carnival time, people are walking around in costumes, like this fellow in a pirate's costume!

VIDEO: 

Walking over the longest wooden covered bridge in Europe

Lots of information on panels on the bridge about the many times the river had flooded and damaged the bridge, which was rebuilt several times. This is an aerial view of the longest covered wooden bridge in Europe.

On the immediate north side of the bridge, we discovered a gelateria/café, and had to try the gelato, obviously. The ice cream shops in Germany make the best gelato!

We then walked around the main part of the old town to have a look at the Fridolin Münster. Originally built in the Romanesque style, it was rebuilt in the 14th Century in the Gothic style after a fire, and then updated with Baroque details in the 17th and 18 Centuries. 

Carnival celebrations in Bad Säckingen, Germany

Intricately-painted house front in the main plaza

Around the main plaza in Bad Säckingen

Before heading back onto the bridge to cross back into Switzerland, we stopped at the Gelateria again for a cup of coffee, to warm up, as it is now 5 p.m. And it is never NOT a good time for another gelato!

At 5:10 p.m. we headed back across the wooden bridge, for the last 20-minute walk along the river to the train station in Stein Säckingen (which is in Canton Aargau). This is looking down the bridge from the German side to the Swiss side. 

After returning to the Swiss side of the bridge, we still walked for another 20 minutes along the river's shore to get to the train station in Stein Säckingen (from there, about 1 hour and 40 minutes to get home). In all, this was about a 14-km walk, with the two detours to the German side! 

What the 1-km walk looks like on Google Satellite Maps. This is all along the Rhine River. 

Description of Stage 8 of the regional Trail "ViaRhenana", which is the section we walked this day. This is from the App we use for hiking.