Bad Säckingen

A German town on the Rhine, linked to the small Swiss town of Stein by Europe's longest covered wooden bridge, over 400 years old. Its picturesque old town and beautiful riverside promenade are sure to attract visitors.

First mentioned in 878 as Seckinga, the town was originally an island on the Rhine, accessed by two bridges.

The right-hand branch of the river to the north was filled in in 1830 and only the southern bridge, over 200m long, remains. It was built in the 16th century to provide access to the Aargau Fricktal, on which the town was economically dependent.

The bridge is of course the town's great attraction and every visitor makes a point of crossing it and often taking the inevitable selfie on the line on the ground that marks the border between Germany and Switzerland.

At 203.7m long, it is the longest covered wooden bridge in Europe, although it beats the famous Chapel Bridge in Lucerne, Switzerland by only 80cm.

This is not the only tourist attraction of the town, which has retained many old buildings and a very picturesque old town.

Bad Säckingen was one of our favourites during our 2022 "Switzerland Tour outside Switzerland", so much so that we shot 77 panoramas there!