What is Teufelsbrücke?
The '''Teufelsbrücke''' (bridge of the [[devil]]) is a [[bridge]] over the river [[Reuss (river)|Reuss]] in the [[Switzerland|Swiss]] canton of [[Uri]]. ==First bridge== [[Image:Postcard First and Second Devils Bridge Uri.jpg|thumb|Postcard - first and second bridge (until 1888)]] The valley called ''Schöllenenschlucht'' is an important access route to the [[St.Gotthard]] [[Alps|alpine]] pass. However, the valley is very narrow, featuring a dangerous river Reuss. The first bridge across the river was built in [[1230]]. This was a wooden bridge. This meant that due to bad weather it had to be replaced often. In the 16th century, it was replaced by a bridge of stone. That stone bridge was heavily damaged in the Napoleonic wars in 1799. Nobody could use the bridge because of the damage. Trade with Italy was done over the alpine pass at [[Splügen]]. The first bridge was completely destroyed in a stormy night in [[1888]]. ==Second bridge== Only in [[1820]] could the order to build a new bridge be given. The construction of the bridge took 10 years. ==Third bridge== In the middle of the 20th century, the second bridge was no longer able to handle the traffic. A third bridge, featuring two lanes, one for each direction, was built in 1958. ==Myth of the creation of the bridge== [[Image:Teufelsbrücke01.jpg|thumb|The second ''Teufelsbrucke'' (background) and the third one]] Building the first bridge was very hard. According to a local [[myth]], the first bridge was built by the devil himself. The condition attached was that the devil should get the [[soul]] of the first to pass over the bridge. So, when the bridge was finished, people chased a [[Domestic goat|goat]] over the bridge. Of course, the devil was furious, so he went to pick up a large stone (called ''Teufelsstein'', the devil's stone). He wanted to smash the bridge he just built to pieces. On his way to the ridge however, he encountered an old believing woman with a cross. Scared of the cross, he left the stone, and fled. The devil's stone weighs 2000