Kohnův most Bridge

Kohnův most stands across the Chrudimek River in a place where until recently a closed army training ground of the 1st railway regiment in Pardubice was decomposed. Its existence reminds of the military history of the region, which dates back to at least the 1920s. Although it is a subtlety building without an official name, it hides a layer of several historical epoch.

The unofficial name Kohnův most dates back to 1926, when it appeared in a directive regulating the operation of a military narrow-track track called Špitálka. The name was transferred from the so-called Kohn Bridge System, which the Czechoslovak army used by default at the time of the first republic and whose construction contained the central part of the bridge at the time. The adjacent railway station on the track Špitálka carried the same name according to the bridge. The second nickname, the Green Man, now resembles only partially preserved green paint. The same story also has the nearby Red Bridge, located about 300 meters above the Chrudimka stream.

The original bridge was part of the narrow-track Spitálka, which in the 1920s and 1930s provided a link between the military training centre on the left bank of the river and the Pardubičky areas on the right bank. The track was able to climb up the slope to the cemetery and the area of today's hospital. In approximately 1946, a road bridge stood in its place, which became a direct predecessor of today's construction. Directly next to it, downstream, the foundations of the bridge training ground, which was built around 1950 and served training of soldiers, are still visible.

A decade of enclosed military space reliably protected the bridge from visitors, but not from the tooth of time. After leaving the nearby Masaryk barracks, the army stopped guarding the space and the bridge began to be used by foot and cyclists who spontaneously stepped through a forgotten training ground. However, the state of construction deteriorated and the bridge was closed for all operations in June 2019. In the same year in May, the city of Pardubice obtained the entire area of 19 hectares from the Czech Army free of charge, on condition that the former training grounds must remain permanently accessible to the public. At that time it was also the creation of a natural park in this little area concerned.

In 2020, the city joined a comprehensive reconstruction. All the beams, fossils and wooden bridge have been replaced. In December 2020, the bridge was festively opened and since then it has served as a footbridge and cycling path.

Today, Kohnův most is the natural starting point for walking through the territory, which, despite its position in the middle of the city, has retained a surprisingly wild character. The visitor who comes here will appreciate not only the calm river and the growing green of the former training ground, but also the opportunity to stop over the supports of the old bridge training ground and imagine the soldiers practising here under the first republic to overcome the water obstacles. The bridge itself witnessed a smooth transition - from military infrastructure through a forgotten hole in the fence to a publicly accessible corridor connecting the city to nature.