Plans for the Braunau railroad bridge in Munich

Trains cross the Isar over the Braunau railroad bridge on their way from Munich Central Station to Ostbahnhof. However, part of the bridge, a striking truss construction, has not been used for over 40 years. Pedestrians and cyclists may soon be able to cross it from Untergiesing to the Dreimühlenviertel district. You can find out what efforts are being made here.

The Braunau railroad bridge in Munich could soon be opened to pedestrians and cyclists. This would provide a direct and safe connection across the Isar to the Dreimühlenviertel district. Deutsche Bahn closed a section of the bridge on the north side 40 years ago and it has lain derelict ever since. In cooperation with the district committee in Sendling, the Munich SPD is proposing a barrier-free public crossing of the bridge. According to the party, almost all the necessary permits have been obtained. Only the permission of the Federal Railway Authority is missing to make the bridge barrier-free.

The plan envisages creating a connection from Munich-Giesing via Poccistraße and Theresienhöhe to Westpark. As apartments are to be built on the Grossmarkthalle site close to the railroad bridge in the future, the importance of this connection will continue to grow. The new district on Thalkirchner Straße would thus be connected to the U1 underground line at Candidplatz, public transport in Untergiesing and the Braunau railroad bridge link.

The Isarlust e.V. association had planned a project for 2023 to use the Braunau railroad bridge, which would have been aimed at pedestrians. Temporary construction site stairwells were to be built to the east and west of the bridge. Implementation was delayed due to the lack of approval from the Federal Railway Authority, but is set to become a reality next year.

The Isarlust association proposes equipping the disused track of the Braunau iron bridge with seating, kiosks and pavilions. The disused track would serve as a green crossing for pedestrians and as a cultural venue. Association head Benjamin David had this idea together with Ulrike Bührlen 13 years ago. Since 2022, the Munich design agency Zeichen + Wunder has been supporting the project and taking care of communication, financing and planning together with architect Hannes Rössler.

In addition to the seating areas, large-scale planting, a pavilion for artists and a “pavilion of good things” as well as one or two food kiosks were also planned. The two pavilions were to be available to artists from the surrounding neighborhoods for one month at a time. According to Benjamin David, the association remains optimistic and is in talks with Deutsche Bahn and the Federal Railway Authority to realize the planned Isar bridge for pedestrians. The bridge is to be upgraded with the support of around 60 members of the German Federal Agency for Technical Relief.

However, the case is not entirely straightforward: It is the first attempt by a private initiative in Munich to change a bridge owned by the railroad. Many parties have a say in the matter. The project is still in the approval phase. According to Merkur, however, the financing is already in place: Stadtsparkasse and the Baywa Group are sponsoring a temporary structure that is due to open in 2024.

Ever since the Braunau iron bridge was decommissioned 40 years ago, there have been ideas to renovate it and create a new link for pedestrians and cyclists. The Munich city council has received several applications, including one from the SPD, which proposes using the unused part of the bridge for cycling and pedestrian traffic as early as 2024. The proposals from Isarlust e.V. fit in with this.

The Braunau Iron Bridge in the south of Munich city center is currently used for rail traffic on the Munich-Rosenheim line. It crosses the Isar and connects the main station with the eastern station in the Bavarian capital. As an extension of the bridge, another bridge crosses the Große Stadtbach, which supplies the neighboring Isarwerk 3 with water. The northern part of the bridge, which is now to be opened up to pedestrians and cyclists, currently has a disused track and was registered as a protected monument in 2017.

A look at the history of the bridge shows that it had been planned since 1868. The local population resisted a railroad embankment that would have cut up the city districts, so a bridge was built instead.

In 1958, the Braunau iron bridge was rebuilt as a beam bridge with solid-wall continuous girders on the existing piers. This was because the load-bearing capacity of the old bridge was no longer sufficient. Part of the old truss construction on the piers was moved a few meters to the north and used for a shunting track for the slaughterhouse and cattle yard. This track, which is the subject of the current efforts, has not been in operation since 1981. Its bridge girder is heavily corroded. Since 2014, the District Committee 02 Ludwigvorstadt-Isarvorstadt has been working with residents to open the bridge to pedestrian traffic.

Now it looks as if a pedestrian-friendly (and later also cyclist-friendly) bridge could be built from May 2024. What is still missing is a new name for the Braunau railroad bridge that reflects its new use.

Read more: Munich is also currently debating the maximum height of high-rise buildings. More on the 2023 high-rise study here.