Vienna Reichsbrücke Bridge Collapse Shocks Austria on August 1, 1976

On the early morning of 1 August 1976, the historic Reichsbrücke over the Danube in Vienna collapsed at about 04:40 a.m. The 22‑year‑old technician Karl Kretschmer, who was driving across the bridge, was killed. At the same time a city bus (line 26 A) driven by 49‑year‑old chauffeur Emmerich Volcamsek plunged into the river; Volcamsek survived with minor injuries. A later interview quoted him: “It was the most terrible day of my life.”

Because the bridge fell before the daily rush, hundreds of pedestrians who would have crossed later were spared. Mayor Leopold Gratz demanded the responsible bridge official Fritz Hofmann, who was on a hike in the Swiss Alps and could not be reached. The political fallout led Gratz to resign, only to return to the office years later. The same afternoon Austrian Formula 1 star Niki Lauda suffered a crash at the Nürburgring in Germany. The incident was later compared to the 2018 Morandi bridge collapse in Genoa.