Germany: Project Update: Skywalk Willingen

The north Hessian community of Willingen in the Sauerland region, which is primarily known as a winter sports resort, will soon be home to a new tourist attraction. One of the longest suspension bridges in the world is currently being built here, Skywalk Willingen (we reported earlier). With a length of 665 meters, the four million euro and 125-ton structure will impress guests from near and far. In terms of length, the Skywalk will even surpass the “516 Arouca” suspension bridge in northern Portugal, which opened in 2021 and was reportedly considered the longest suspension bridge in the world until April 2022. With the opening of the “Sky Bridge 721” in the Czech skiing and hiking region of Dolní Morava in May, the record title was passed on.

Back to Willingen: At the end of February, after various testing drillings, construction work on the project could be started. In the meantime, the valley supports have been erected and the manufacturing company Swissrope is currently working on pulling the cables. The opening of the suspension bridge is scheduled for late fall. Arndt Brüne from the investor group is confident about the completion of the structure: “We are absolutely on schedule. If things continue to go as well as they are, we’ll keep to the targeted construction time of eight months.”

A similarly impressive structure can be found in the eastern part of the Harz Mountains, the 458.5-meter “Titan-RT” suspension bridge. Read more about this and other attractions from adventure experience provider Harzdrenalin in our latest cover story in the July/August issue. (eap)