Mattensteg (bridge)

We are crossing the Sihl using a foot and cycle bridge built – like so many other things – for the legendary National Exhibition of 1883. It connected the Platzspitz with the Sihlquai and the district behind it. At that time this was still an autonomous municipality and vibrant industrial area, called Aussersihl. It was not until a few years later, in 1891, that Aussersihl was integrated into the Zurich municipality.
The Mattensteg, as the bridge is called, is a good 50 meters long and constructed of riveted steel trusses. The original deck was made of thick wooden planks. These were replaced by a concrete slab in 1940.
If you look upstream, you’ll see something unusual about the Sihl. The river bed runs under Zurich’s central station. Strictly speaking, the Sihl actually flows through the building complex, since there are rail tracks both above and below the water.