Holz Brücke Covered Bridge

Bavarian Inn’s Holz-Brücke, German for “wooden bridge,” hearkens back to a bygone era. Although the bridge was completed in 1980, its aesthetic has more in common with designs from the 19th century. However, it’s not just the architecture that speaks to the past, it’s also the hard work and craftsmanship that went into replicating how covered bridges were originally built. The “Covered Bridge” as it’s called locally, stretches 239 feet across the scenic Cass River. 163,288 board feet of wood and nearly 1,000 pounds of non-wood material went into the making of the almost entirely wood structure, built mostly of Douglas Fir and clad with an astounding 25,000 cedar shingles. In January 1980, a team of oxen was used to pull the completed bridge into place over a span of 12 days at a rate of only three inches per minute.