Skip to main content

Zehnder's Holzbrücke (Zehnder's Wooden Bridge)

By


Zehnder's Holzbrücke (German for Wooden Bridge) is a covered bridge located on the Cass River on Covered Bridge Lane in the city of Frankenmuth, Michigan.  This structure was completed in 1979 and hauled into place by a team of oxen during 1980.  Unlike many modern covered bridges, the structure is not a facade and is constructed fully of wooden materials.  The span was installed promote tourism in Frankenmuth and provide access to the lands own by the Bavarian Inn south of the Cass River. 




Part 1; the history of Zehnder's Holzbrücke

Zehnder's Holzbrücke (German for wooden bridge) is a structure located on Covered Bridge Lane along the Cass River in the city of Frankenmuth River.  The structure is currently part of the Bavarian Inn complex.  Eddie (the Zehnder's of Frankenmuth family) and William Zehnder (Bavarian Inn family) originally began to explore the prospects of installing a covered bridge in 1962.  Both brothers owned portions of land along the eastern half of the Cass River.  The purpose of a new bridge was to serve as a tourist attraction and expand the parking capacity for the Bavarian Inn south of the Cass River.  

By 1979 the Zehnder brothers hired Milton Grade which was one of the last construction firms which specialized in building authentic covered bridges.  The 239-foot-long structure was completed during 1979 but had to installed at the Cass River.  Beginning during 1980 a team of oxen was used to pull the structure into place on the Cass River.  The bridge was dedicated on September 9, 1980. 

In 1985 the first phase of the Bavarian Inn Lodge complex completed east of the Cass River.  Much of the attractions south of the river were either built or purchased by Eddie Zehnder's family during the remaining balance of the 1980s.  During 2015 ownership of Zehnder's Holzbrücke was transferred to Frankenmuth Bavarian Inn Incorporated.  



Part 2; visiting Zehnder's Holzbrücke

Zehnder's Holzbrücke is located immediately east of M-83 in Frankenmuth along Covered Bridge Lane.  The structure is located next to the Covered Bridge Shop west of the Cass River.  




Zehnder's Holzbrücke facing east over the Cass River from a stylized pedestrian bridge.  


Zehnder's Holzbrücke facing northeast from the Bavarian Belle Riverboat


Zehnder's Holzbrücke facing was along Covered Bridge Lane.  The structure is rated for 10 tons and has an overhead clearance of 13'8 feet.  


Facing northeast on the Cass River from one of the pedestrian walkways on the bridge.  


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Did Caltrans just kill the G26 cutout US Route shields?

By
The US Route System was formally created by the American Association of State Highway Officials during November 1926.  Through the history of the system the only state to which has elected to maintain cutout US Route shields has been California.  The G26 series cutout US Route shields have become a favorite in the road enthusiast hobby and are generally considered to be much more visually pleasing than the standard Federal Highway Administration variant.  However, the G26 shield series appears to have been killed off on January 18, 2026, when Caltrans updated their Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices.  This blog will examine the history of the US Route shield specifications in California and what is happening with the 2026 changes.  The blog cover photo is facing towards the terminus of California State Route 136 and at a G26-2 specification US Route 395 shield.  In the background Mount Whitney can be seen in the Sierra Nevada range.   ...
3 comments
Read more

Hawaii Route 50

By
Hawaii Route 50 is the longest Sign Route on the island of Kauai at 32.6 miles.  The entirety of Hawaii Route 50 is overlaid atop Kaumualii Highway from Lihue west to the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands. Hawaii Route 50 is one of the original 1955-era State Highway designations on Kauai.  Much of the Kaumualii Highway corridor was constructed during the sugar plantation boom of the late Hawaiian Kingdom.  The first tee beam bridge in Hawaii would be constructed along the Kaumualii Highway in 1911 at the Hanapepe.  Much of this highway would be modernized to two-lane standards through the 1930s and 1940s. This page is part of the Gribblenation Hawaii Roads series.  A compellation of all Hawaii-related media from both Gribblenation and RoadwayWiz can be found by clicking  here .  Part 1; the history of Hawaii Route 50 and Kaumualii Highway Hawaii Route 50 is the longest highway on Kauai at 32.6 miles.  The highway begins at Rice Str...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ghost Town Tuesday; Nichols, FL

By
A couple years ago I spent a lot of spare time exploring phosphate mining ghost towns in the Bone Valley of Polk County, Florida.  One ghost town in particular called Nichols on Polk County Route 676 west of Mulberry caught my eye due to a relative lack of documentation on ghosttowns.com. Nichols was created in 1905 during the early phosphate mining boom in the Bone Valley region.  For the time Nichols was unusual since it had company housing in the Nichols Mine site and private residences outside the gate.  Nichols is only about two miles west of Mulberry which probably made it a somewhat reasonable commute even by the wonky standards of the early 20th Century.  Most of the Bone Valley region was relatively remote which made commuting or homesteading impractical which is why there are so many ghost towns in the area.  The company housing section of Nichols was phased out and abandoned by 1950. The Nichols town site is largely abandoned and could "possibl...
4 comments
Read more