Mettlach, Bridge over Saar River

It sometimes seems the Germans overdo their engineering process. In this case they are just repairing and painting the cables on this bridge, but all that scaffolding and the staircase, seemed a bit much. During WW II the bridge at this spot was destroyed, and for many months people had to cross the river in a small boat. During the years of our visits to Mettlach, some of Emmy’s cousins lived in this side of the river, and some on the other. The long time family home is just a few blocks back of me as I took this photo, and I have no idea if family members lived on the other side of the river at that time.

A quarter mile to the left of this photo, there had been an electricity generating plant for many years, but in the 1980s the Saar River was changed into a canal, that generating plant was removed, and a new dam was built with two “locks’ that permitted pleasure boats and barges to navigate the river. The Villeroy and Boch office and factory is to the right of this photo, on this side of the River.