The Bridge over Klabava River in Bohemia

This article deals with the bridge over the Klabava River1. The article also aims to place this bridge in the wider context of railway construction in the Czech lands during the 1850s and 1860s. The Bohemian lands, with their reserves of coal and iron, were an ideal area for the development of heavy industry in the Monarchy of Austria. As a result, there was a need to expand the railway network in this area of the Monarchy. The initially modest railway network was able to integrate even the remote areas of the Bohemian lands. This was also the case in the coal-rich area around the town of Radnice. The actual construction of the bridge over the Klabava River took place as early as 1862, and so on this basis alone, it could not have been designed by Gustav Eiffel. In fact, Eiffel did not establish his bridge-building company until three years later. Nevertheless, foreign know-how and capital were at the origin of the railways in the Monarchy of Austria. In addition to the road network, the railway network was also important with the coming industrial revolution.