World’s longest suspension footbridge opens in Switzerland

The bridge connects a half-kilometre stretch of the Europaweg hiking trail. swissrope.com

The longest pedestrian suspension bridge in the world was officially opened in Switzerland today, measuring in at just under half-a-kilometre long.

The steel bridge, which connects two sections of a walking trail between Grächen and Zermatt in the south of the country, was unveiled after a construction period of just ten weeks.

At 494 metres long, it overtakes the “Titan-RT” bridge in Germany as the world’s longest pedestrian suspension bridge. And at a narrow 65cm wide, the bridge stretches like a thin wire across the sheer valley floor.

Built by local company swissrope/Lauber Seilbahnen, the bridge completes a section of the Europaweg trail, a high-altitude walking route offering panoramas of some of Switzerland’s highest peaks, including the Dom (4,545m) and the Matterhorn.

In a press release, the Zermatt Tourism body promised “thrills above the precipice.” This might be so; but it is not for the faint-hearted. With a maximum height of 85 metres above the valley, the bridge is only “for hikers with no fear of heights,” they said.

swissinfo.ch/dos