German Bridge

On January 1, 1877, Orenburg residents spent time at the railway station celebrating the opening of the Orenburg Railway. Its length was 541 km. Some of its sections were built by German prisoners of war. Therefore, one of the bridges was named "German".

In the 19th century, trade began to develop more and more actively in the Orenburg region. Camel caravans from Central Asia arrive here – Tashkent, Bukhara… They were carrying cotton, wool, and leather. The goods were leaving quickly, and there was a need to increase the volume of supplies. Only the railway could solve this problem. This is how the construction of the railway from Central Asia to the center of Russia began. The Orenburg highway became one of its sections. The construction cost 30 million rubles, which is almost the annual turnover of the whole of Russia. But every year the railway paid for itself more and more.

One of her first passengers was Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy. And in 1891, Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich rode along it. Among Soviet writers and politicians, the Orenburg Railway was used by A. A. Fadeev, K. E. Voroshilov and many others. Railway lines from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Samara, Orsk lead to Orenburg.…

The Orenburg–Orsk railway line began to be built in 1912. During the four years of construction, a highway with a length of just over 300 km was laid. Workers were brought from other regions, since the Orenburg lands were still sparsely populated by that time and, in fact, there was no one to build. This process had a beneficial effect on peasant activity, as agricultural products began to be bought by people engaged in construction. In 1914, German prisoners of war were brought to the construction of the Orenburg–Orsk railway. But before that, the area where the work took place was fenced off with barbed wire to prevent escapes.

The most difficult part during the construction was the construction of a tunnel and a bridge over the Blyava River.

The prisoners of war prepared granite blocks at the Blyavinsky quarry, then they were loaded onto carts and taken to the place where the bridge was planned to be built. Construction was delayed until 1920.

Today, this structure is called the "German Bridge". It has become the most popular tourist attraction in the city of Mednogorsk. To inspect the bridge structure from all sides, you need to ford the river Blyava under it. It is shallow in this meta, besides, there are pebbles for tourists here, jumping on which you can cross to the other side. The only thing that needs to be provided is comfortable shoes! The soles of some types of sneakers can slip.

Until 1970, trains ran across the bridge in the direction of Orenburg and back. But then it was decided to build a second bridge to relieve the road. Now trains go to Mednogorsk via the "German Bridge", and back to Orsk via a new route. Interestingly, the old bridge has not had to be repaired yet, and the one that was built in Soviet times has required updates more than once.