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

The case to move Interstate 73 in Southern Ohio onto US 33

By
Every decade or so, Ohio pushes to revisit the proposed Interstate 73 that would connect Michigan to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  It's been happening since Congress legislated the route in 1991.  Within Ohio, Interstate 73 generally follows the US 23 corridor from Portsmouth through Columbus to Toledo, and into Michigan. Since High Priority Corridor Five was created , Ohio has really done nothing to move forward with Interstate 73.  Sure, there have been feasibility studies here and there.  But actual dollars and construction just haven't occurred. The US 33 Nelsonville Bypass appears to have been built to Interstate standards. However, Ohio has been slowly upgrading US 33 to a full freeway through Southeastern Ohio.  Bypasses of Lancaster and Nelsonville opened in 2004 and 2013, respectively.  Other sections of two-lane road are being twinned, some to freeway or, at a minimum, to expressway standards.  Currently, a $274 million widening project in...
Post a Comment
Read more

Local Sign Find - The last remnant of Business Interstate 95 between Kenly and Rocky Mount , NC

By
As you head north on Interstate 95 at Exit 107 for Kenly and US 301, you'll notice something odd about the overhead sign for the exit.  Peeling off the sign for all that can see is the word 'NORTH' off-center from the US 301.  This old sign (probably close to original from when this section of I-95 opened - more on that in a little bit) gives a hint to a short-lived Business Interstate Route that ran from here to Rocky Mount. The last hint of the Kenly-Wilson-Rocky Mount Business I-95 (Shaun White - August 2020) Interstate 95 in North Carolina has a unique history.  But one of the overlooked and forgotten pieces of Interstate 95 in North Carolina is the 38 mile section between Kenly and Rocky Mount.  When opened to traffic in late 1978, it was the next to last piece of Interstate 95 in North Carolina to open replacing a four lane US 301 from Battleboro through Rocky Mount and Wilson to eventually tying back into the Interstate in Kenly. Though it was not delayed in l...
Post a Comment
Read more

Nostalgia fast food with style - Returning to Rax

By
Nostalgia. It sells. It evokes, and more accurately, warps memories of days gone by.  Things were better, simpler, and we eat it up. Nostalgia can make you drive three hours and over a hundred miles out of your way just to reconnect with a dying fast-food restaurant you last enjoyed in the early to mid-90s.  That person was me - that restaurant was Rax. I could go on about Rax's history, but in short, Rax was briefly a very popular roast beef fast-food chain.  Growing up in the 80s and early 90s in Western PA, Rax was the good fast-food spot.  The milkshakes.  (Personally, the chocolate chip milkshake was heaven.)  Uncle Alligator Kids Meal with the chocolate chip cookie. Take that McDonald's Happy Meal!  The fancy salad and hot foods bar.  Going to Rax was special.  Like so many similar restaurants, various investments, management decisions, etc., led Rax to almost disappear overnight.  By the time I graduated college in late 1999, abou...
Post a Comment
Read more