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The Chaff Bridge
Unjustly overshadowed by its big sister
The younger and smaller sibling of the Chapel Bridge attracts visitors with paintings of the Dance of Death (Totentanz) and a chapel.
The Chaff Bridge – the one with two parts
It is the “youngest” of Lucerne’s wooden bridges. The Chaff Bridge paintings symbolize the Dance of Death.
The history of the Chaff Bridge is closely tied to the city mills. In the 13th century, the mills were located where Mühlenplatz (Mill Square) is today and on islands in the Reuss. The older part of the bridge on the north side extended roughly halfway across the Reuss in those days and provided access to the mills. The Mühlesteg (Mill Bridge) was built before both the Court Bridge and the Chapel Bridge.
Plans to extend the bridge right across the river were only made at the end of the 14th century as the city grew in size: the Chaff Bridge was completed around the same time as the Museggmauer (Musegg Wall) was built. It was first mentioned as a complete bridge over the Reuss in 1408. And it no longer just served the mills; it also functioned as a battlement.
Chronology of the Chaff Bridge
13th century
The Mühlesteg extends to the middle of the Reuss
1408
It is mentioned as a complete bridge for the first time
1566
High waters cause serious damage to the south part of the bridge
Around 1616 to 1637
Creation of the cycle of paintings
In 1568/69…
… a small wooden oriel with a pointed gable and pennant is constructed on the Chaff Bridge which, a hundred years later, comes to be used as a chapel.
Named after a by-product
The mills are responsible for the name “Chaff Bridge”. Chaff is a by-product of milling. The Chaff Bridge is so named because workers would often dispose of the chaff by dumping it from bridge into the Reuss. While the northern half of the Chaff Bridge continually evolved as the mills were rebuilt or altered, the southern half, which was built later, remained practically unchanged. Originally 112 meters long, only 81 meters remain today. It can still be clearly seen today that the Chaff Bridge comprises two distinct parts.
Briefly called the “Bridge of Death”
The Chaff Bridge’s cycle of paintings symbolizes the Dance of Death and was created between 1616 and 1637. The original cycle probably comprised 71 triangular paintings They depict encounters between the living and the dead. A number of paintings had to be removed when the Chaff Bridge was straightened and shortened on the Mühlenplatz side in 1780 and 1785. Today, there are 45 gable paintings to see on the bridge. In the 19th century, the bridge was also called the “Bridge of Death” after the paintings in which Death is omnipresent. But the name never gained currency.
Chapel on the bridge
A special feature of the Chaff Bridge is the chapel on its southern half. An oriel-like wooden structure with a pointed gable and pennant has adorned the bridge since 1568/69. Originally used as a shelter against the elements and featuring a depiction of a saint, it eventually came to be used as a chapel. The structure is mentioned as a chapel for the first time in 1669 and carries the name “Maria auf der Reuss”. Over time it gained additional features: a neo-Renaissance front in 1890, which remains unchanged today, and on either side stained-glass window depictions of Saint Maurice and Saint Catherine in 1905.
Reproduced in England
The Chaff Bridge ranks behind the Chapel Bridge in terms of tourist appeal. But it also has its enthusiasts: when English artist Mary Hemsworth (1869–1940) returned to Yorkshire after visiting Lucerne, she had a full-scale replica made of the Chaff Bridge for the grounds of her estate.
Today, the Chaff Bridge is a popular footbridge. Approximately 8,400 people cross the Reuss between Mühlenplatz and the History Museum every day.
1669
The chapel is mentioned for the first time
1785
The Chaff Bridge is straightened and shortened
1871/1875
Fires at the mills
1890
The last mill is demolished
