Reinhard-Fieser-Brücke

The Reinhard-Fieser-Brücke (often shortened to Fieser-Brücke) crosses the Oos in the town centre and connects the spa quarter with the old town. At roughly 37 metres wide, it is less a bridge in the usual sense than a square above the river. It was built in 1927 to designs by Max Laeuger and is named after the former Baden-Baden mayor Reinhard Fieser. In 1882 its predecessor was still called the “Leopoldsbrücke”.

Renovation 2020–2021

In July 2017 the administration closed off the northern part of the Fieser-Brücke with planters, so that vehicles could no longer pass through this section. In response to a query from the Badisches Tagblatt, deputy mayor Alexander Uhlig explained that this was purely a precautionary measure, as the bridge was due for renovation and its structural integrity was currently being assessed.^[1] In September 2017 the results of that assessment were presented to the building committee of the town council. The commissioned engineering firm found that the bridge was in very poor condition, especially along its edges. Corrosion and spalling concrete had been discovered. The bridge was deemed not fit for the future and a replacement structure necessary.^[2] In November 2017 the southern edge was cordoned off with benches.

The rebuilding began in January 2020. Because the old structure could no longer be reinforced, the town opted for a replacement that takes up the historical form of the listed Laeuger bridge. During the roughly seventeen-month construction period the crossing was closed to vehicles. On 29 June 2021 the bridge reopened. Its load-bearing capacity, where the survey had identified the most serious defects, has since been restored, and a new surface emphasises the square-like character of the broad area above the Oos.

Referendum 2021

Even during construction it was disputed whether the Fieser-Brücke should remain open to cars after the rebuild. In April 2021 the town council initially adopted a partial solution: the bridge and the adjoining Kreuzstraße were to be closed to car traffic only during the day, between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. A citizens’ initiative backed by restaurateurs and retailers formed in opposition, seeking to establish a full pedestrian zone and launching a citizens’ petition.

On 26 September 2021 a referendum settled the matter. With a turnout of just over 63 percent, 56.7 percent of the valid votes were in favour of turning the area from the Kurhauskolonnaden across the Fieser-Brücke to the lower Sophienstraße and the Kreuzstraße into a pedestrian zone.^[3] Since then the bridge has been permanently closed to car traffic. Opponents of the closure had feared above all that traffic would shift into the surrounding streets.

The vote bound the town council. In Baden-Württemberg a referendum has the force of a council resolution and can be amended within three years only by a new referendum.^[4] Only after this binding period expired in September 2024 could the council itself adjust the traffic arrangements around the bridge again.

In January 2025 the building and land-consolidation committee decided to reopen the adjoining Kaiserallee between the Fieser-Brücke and the colonnades to car traffic from 7 p.m. to 11 a.m. The step was justified by the multi-year major construction site at Hindenburgplatz, for which the surrounding area is needed as a diversion route. The easing applies only to the riverside section up to the bridge. The Fieser-Brücke itself and the Kreuzstraße remain closed to through traffic.^[5]

Sources

References:

1. ↑ Article Tröge sollen Belastung reduzieren in the Badisches Tagblatt, 27 July 2017
2. ↑ Article Fieserbrücke nicht mehr zu retten in the Badisches Tagblatt, 15 September 2017
3. ↑ Bürgerentscheid Baden-Baden – Fieser-Brücke/Kreuzstraße at Mehr Demokratie e.V., with the official vote counts (Archived)
4. ↑ § 21 (8) of the Gemeindeordnung für Baden-Württemberg (GemO): “A referendum has the force of a council resolution. It can be amended within three years only by a new referendum.”
5. ↑ Verkehr in Baden-Baden wieder durchlässiger – Kaiserallee wird bald bei Fieser-Brücke geöffnet, goodnews4 (decision of the building and land-consolidation committee of 23 January 2025) (Archived)