Would YOU dare cross the world's longest suspension footbridge?

Would YOU dare cross it? The ‘longest unsupported pedestrian suspension bridge in the world’ set to open in Germany

• The ‘Skywalk Willingen’ bridge is opening near the Willingen ski resort in the central German state of Hesse
• It’s said that the bridge, which weighs 120 tons, will be able to carry up to 750 people at one time
• READ MORE: The best self-catering accommodation providers named by Which? – Jet2Villas is No.1

If you have a fear of heights, look away now.

Germany’s longest suspension bridge, a 664m- (2,170ft) long steel structure with a height of up to 100m (328ft), is opening near the Willingen ski resort in the central state of Hesse.

The ‘Skywalk Willingen’ bridge, which links walkers from the ski jumping hill of Muhlenkopfschanze to the Musenberg area, is being billed as the longest unsupported pedestrian suspension bridge in the world. 

It weighs 120 tons, is anchored by 36 steel anchors drilled into the mountain below to a depth of 21m (68ft), and it’s said that it’ll be able to carry up to 750 people at one time.

As walkers make the trek across the bridge, they’ll be rewarded by a ‘breathtaking’ vista of the landscape around the Willingen region, as well as a bird’s eye view of the ski jump directly below, the bridge’s website reveals. 

Germany’s longest suspension bridge is opening near the Willingen ski resort in the central state of Hesse 

The ‘Skywalk Willingen’ bridge, which links walkers from the ski jumping hill of Muhlenkopfschanze to the Musenberg area, is being billed as the longest unsupported pedestrian suspension bridge in the world 

It costs to go across it, however – it’s £9 (€11/$12) for an adult ticket and £7 (€8.50/$9) for a child.

Ahead of its official opening on July 1, Ulrich Keude, one of the CEOs of Skywalk, the company behind the project, revealed that six years of planning and construction have gone into the structure.

He said: ‘The back and forth with 3D modelling and authorities and inspectors took six years. But now we are really at the end of a long journey on the one hand and on the other hand, now we are expecting a lot of tourists here to experience this bridge.’

He is convinced of the safety of the bridge, adding: ‘This construction can [withstand] a hurricane category two with snow on it at the same time.’

It weighs 120 tons and is anchored by 36 steel anchors drilled into the mountain below to a depth of 21m (68ft)

The amazing 664m- (2,170ft) long steel structure can carry up to 750 people at one time

Ahead of its official opening on July 1, Ulrich Keude, one of the CEOs of Skywalk, the company behind the project, revealed that six years of planning and construction have gone into the structure

As walkers trek across the bridge, they’ll be rewarded by a ‘breathtaking’ vista of the landscape around the Willingen region, as well as a bird’s eye view of the ski jump directly below

It costs to go across the bridge – it’s £9 (€11/$12) for an adult ticket and £7 (€8.50/$9) for a child

His fellow CEO Arndt Bruene has a few more poetic words about the bridge. He said: ‘You have respect, you have tension. It’s a living structure. So the bridge moves slightly with you, but in the end, it’s like wellness for the soul.’

Similar astonishment about the construction of the bridge can also be heard from hikers in the area, with passerby Alexander Mikus remarking: ‘It is overwhelming, I would say, what has been built here and also that it is possible to build such a bridge over such a valley. It’s almost crazy what’s possible. But of course, I’d be tempted to cross it sometime.’

Other notable suspension footbridges include Sky Bridge 721 in the Czech Republic, named after its astounding length of 721m (2,365ft), and the ‘Golden Skybridge’, Canada’s highest suspension bridge, which allows walkers to cross a canyon in British Columbia at a height of 426ft (130m). 

Hikers in the area have expressed astonishment over the construction of the bridge 

The bridge can withstand a category-two hurricane with snow on it at the same time

Skywalk CEO Keude said: ‘The back and forth with 3D modelling and authorities and inspectors took six years. But now we are really at the end of a long journey on the one hand and on the other hand, now we are expecting a lot of tourists here to experience this bridge’

One hiker in the area said of the bridge: ‘It is overwhelming, I would say, what has been built here and also that it is possible to build such a bridge over such a valley’

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