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History: Built in 1819-1820 by the Moravian missionary J D Beinbach and members of the congregation. 2 pillars were added in 1823.

The road to the Moravian Mission Station, Genadendal, branches northwards from the national road a few kilometres west of Caledon. Georg Schmidt of the German Moravian Missionary Society started his work amongst the remnants of the Hessekwa tribe in 1737, in Baviaanskloof, a sheltered valley in the Riviersonderend Mountains. Because the Cape Church would not allow him to administer the baptismal and other sacraments, he returned to Germany in 1744. It was not until 1792 that missionary work could be resumed at Genadendal, but after that date it developed into one of the most successful mission stations at the Cape.
The road to Genadendal traversed very difficult country and crossed the Riviersonderend by a drift near the mission station. This meant that the mission was completely isolated whenever the river was in flood, which happened frequently during the winter months. Under the leadership of the missionary, the Rev. J. D. Beinbrecht, the men of the mission station began in 1819 to build a bridge over the river, but when war with the Xhosa broke out in the same year, many of the men joined the Cape Corps and left for the eastern border, with the result that work on the bridge came to a standstill. Construction was resumed in April, 1820. Five massive stone pillars, six metres apart, were built, each from three to four metres high and measuring 3,6 metres in diameter at the base. Wooden beams placed across these supports formed the bridge.
Barely two years after the completion of the bridge the beams were washed away in a flood, but the pillars suffered no damage. In 1823 the height of the pillars was increased by two metres and an additional pillar was built at each end so that the total length of the bridge became 69 metres. In 1881 another flood caused the end pillar on the Genadendal side to collapse.
The bridge was built and maintained mainly by gifts of neighbours and friends of the mission station, and Baron von Ludwig is known to have made generous contributions in 1842. Eventually in 1906, the Divisional Council assumed responsibility for maintaining the bridge. Six years later the wooden superstructure was replaced by steelwork and the pillar that collapsed in 1881 was restored. Today the bridge carries heavy traffic to Genadendal, Greytown, and the farms to the north of the Riviersonderend.
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Construction Date: 1819-1820
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