150 years ago, the author of the Prague bridge of Emperor Francis I died.

Prague - Designer and engineer Bedřich Schnirch, who died on November 25, 1868, at the age of 76 in Vienna, was one of the most recognized Austrian experts in bridge construction. He made history as the builder of the first chain bridge on the European continent, which was opened in June 1824 in Strážnice. He also left a significant mark in Prague, for which he designed the second crossing of the Vltava River, the bridge of Emperor Francis I, which connected National Avenue and Újezd from 1841 to 1898.

Schnirch was born in June 1791 in Pátku nad Ohří near Louny. He studied among other places in Lower Austria in Krems, and from 1819 to 1821 at the Vienna Polytechnic. Before enrolling in that prestigious school, he worked for several years with builder Vojtěch Lanna, whose company later constructed the Prague chain bridge. In addition to bridges, Schnirch also designed houses, and was behind the idea of chain roofs, essentially iron trusses for which he obtained a patent.

In 1842, Bedřich Schnirch became the chief engineer at the Vienna Directorate of Railways; in this capacity, he patented a bridge that used a rigid truss girder instead of a chain, which was employed in two locations in Vienna in 1859 and 1860. From 1861, Schnirch was also the chief inspector of construction on the railways. As early as 1848, he was involved in the founding of the Austrian Union of Engineers. In 1863, the engineer, who was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Francis Joseph for his services, retired.