Stephansbrücke

The Stephansbrücke is a single-span stone bridge carrying the Brennerstraße over the Ruetz stream near Unterberg. It stands between the villages of Schönberg and Mutters in the Innsbruck-Land district of Tirol. The bridge crosses the Ruetz just before it joins the Sill, linking the lower Sellrain valley with the city of Innsbruck. Built between 1842 and 1846, it remains Austria’s tallest surviving stone bridge at 36 m. When finished it held the record as the widest single-arch bridge in the Habsburg lands and the third widest in the world. Erzherzog Stephan laid the foundation stone in 1843, the design came from engineer Leonhard von Liebener, and Alois Haas supervised the masonry. The semicircular arch is made of Höttinger Breccie, quarried blocks hauled up the Brenner road by horse cart. In 1879 engineers removed the original backfill and inserted a relieving arch to cope with heavier traffic. Beside the bridge the Ruetzkraftwerk harnesses the stream’s residual flow after most water is diverted for the ÖBB power plant at Fulpmes. A short walk along the old Roman road leads to the Gasthaus Stefansbrücke, while a little further stands the Gasthof Schupfen, headquarters of Andreas Hofer in 1809. The bridge also marks the site of the former halt Unterberg-Stefansbrücke on the Brenner railway, now closed.