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Old Rhine Bridge (Constance)
Encyclopedia
The Old Rhine Bridge at Constance spans in the Seerhein
. It is a combined road and railway bridge. In addition to one track of the Upper Rhine Railway
at kilometer 413.5, it carries the , the road that connects the borough of Petershausen
with the city center. The road bridge carries two lanes into the city center and three lanes in the other direction. Additionally, there is a bicycle lane in both directions on the left (as seen from the city center) and a sidewalk on the right. In the 19th Century, distance markers were placed along the Rhine; they start counting kilometers at this bridge.
was built the Romans
at Gottlieben
. Since the medieval trade routes to northern Italy, France and Eastern Europe crossed in Constance, it is assumed that a wooden bridge existed below Constance before the 10th Century. The construction of a wooden pile bridge
in the flight of around 1200 CE is documented.
A mill was built into the bridge in 1418 or 1427 or 1437, because the bridge piles held back the water of the Upper lake
and increased the 30 cm difference in water level between the Upper and Lower lake.
A lack of stability led to the bridge over the Rhine being demolished and reconstructed around 1540. The new bridge was completed in 1544. It consisted of a covered wooden bridge, based on double pillars. connected at both sides to a stone arch bridge
and a draw bridge. A mill complex with a weir
completed the bridge structure. The wooden bridge superstructure, including the mills, were destroyed several times by fire and rebuilt, in at least 1548 and 1675. It was destroyed by fire for the last time in 1856. In 1857, the states surrounding Lake Constance decided not to rebuild the weir, because it was regarded as the cause of the extreme high water conditions around the Upper Lake. Until the new bridge was ready, a temporary wooden bridge allowed travellers to cross the Seerhein.
. Cunstruction Councillor Robert Gerwig
from Baden designed the bridge and led the construction team. The company Gebrüder Benckiser from Pforzheim
built the sub- and superstructures, starting in October 1858. The road bridge was opened to traffic on 3 December 1860. The double-track railway bridge entered service as the Baden Mainline was opened on 15 June 1863. Construction costs were . Due to increasing traffic loads of the trains, one railway track had to be shut down in 1873. At the time of the Nazism
, the structure was renamed Horst-Wessel
-bridge.
, to fundamentally rebuild the bridge. The spans were unchanged, but the bridge was widened by about 50%. The company Ed. Züblin from Stuttgart was awarded the contract to build the substructure. Construction work began in November 1936. After a 190-meter-long temporary bridge was built downstream, the road bridge sections were taken apart, with the railway remaining in operation, albeit under restrictions. The superstructure of the old bridge, as well as the substructure, abutments and pillars were disassembled down to the water line. In the shelter of a sheet pile enclosed pit, timber piles with lengths of 18 to 20 meters were driven into the river bottom, the abutments were extended downstream and the pillars were widened. New abutments were then built, using concrete with exposed brickwork from granite from Waldulm. The pillars were encased in concrete in the shelter of the sheet pile enclosed pit. The contract for the steel superstructure was awarded to the company M.A.N. from Mainz-Gustavsburg. The bridge sections were constructed in the factory in Mainz-Gustavsburg and transported by rail to the site where they were hoisted in place using a gantry crane
and rivet
ted together. The new bridge was inaugurated on 9 October 1938.
had abandoned its plans to have two tracks connected to the Constance main railway station.
To further relieve the now over 70-year-old road bridge, a second bridge was built. This was opened in 1980.
and Gebhard of Constance
and Duke Berthold, Duke of Zähringen
and Grand Duke Leopold
stood on the four pillars. The latter two had been sculpted by Hans Baur.
In the longitudinal direction, the spans consist of continuous beams. Each bridge had two steel girders with variable height and a horizontal top flange design, which was located above the roadway. The bottom flange rests on the pillars and curves with a radius of about 100 meters.
In 1957 a third major carrier was inserted in the gap between the rail and road bridges. It bears the eastern road bridge deck.
Seerhein
The Seerhein is a river of about four kilometer long, in the basin of Lake Constance. It is the outflow of the Upper Lake Constance and the main tributary of the Lower Lake Constance. The water level of the lower lake is about 30 cm below the level of the Upper Lake...
. It is a combined road and railway bridge. In addition to one track of the Upper Rhine Railway
Upper Rhine Railway
The Upper Rhine Railway is the name given by the Deutsche Bahn to the 143 kilometre long railway line from Basel to Singen with timetable no. 730...
at kilometer 413.5, it carries the , the road that connects the borough of Petershausen
Petershausen (Constance)
Petershausen is a district of Constance. It is situated on the right bank of the Seerhein, opposite the city centre. It was named after the Petershausen Abbey.- History :...
with the city center. The road bridge carries two lanes into the city center and three lanes in the other direction. Additionally, there is a bicycle lane in both directions on the left (as seen from the city center) and a sidewalk on the right. In the 19th Century, distance markers were placed along the Rhine; they start counting kilometers at this bridge.
History
The first bridge over the SeerheinSeerhein
The Seerhein is a river of about four kilometer long, in the basin of Lake Constance. It is the outflow of the Upper Lake Constance and the main tributary of the Lower Lake Constance. The water level of the lower lake is about 30 cm below the level of the Upper Lake...
was built the Romans
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
at Gottlieben
Gottlieben
Gottlieben is a municipality in the district of Kreuzlingen in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland.-History:Gottlieben is first mentioned around the end of the 10th Century as Gotiliubon. It was originally part of the land owned by the Bishop of Constance. In 1251, Eberhard von Waldburg built a...
. Since the medieval trade routes to northern Italy, France and Eastern Europe crossed in Constance, it is assumed that a wooden bridge existed below Constance before the 10th Century. The construction of a wooden pile bridge
Pile bridge
A pile bridge is a structure that uses foundations consisting of long poles , which are made of wood, concrete or steel and which are hammered into the soft soils beneath the bridge until the end of the pile reaches a hard layer of compacted soil or rock...
in the flight of around 1200 CE is documented.
A mill was built into the bridge in 1418 or 1427 or 1437, because the bridge piles held back the water of the Upper lake
Obersee (Lake Constance)
The Obersee the larger of the two parts of Lake Constance.It has an area of 473 km² in size and extends over 63 km between Bregenz and Bodman-Ludwigshafen. Its maximum width is 14 km. The Romans called it Lacus Venetus, Lacus Brigantinus and Lacus Constantinus...
and increased the 30 cm difference in water level between the Upper and Lower lake.
A lack of stability led to the bridge over the Rhine being demolished and reconstructed around 1540. The new bridge was completed in 1544. It consisted of a covered wooden bridge, based on double pillars. connected at both sides to a stone arch bridge
Arch bridge
An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side...
and a draw bridge. A mill complex with a weir
Weir
A weir is a small overflow dam used to alter the flow characteristics of a river or stream. In most cases weirs take the form of a barrier across the river that causes water to pool behind the structure , but allows water to flow over the top...
completed the bridge structure. The wooden bridge superstructure, including the mills, were destroyed several times by fire and rebuilt, in at least 1548 and 1675. It was destroyed by fire for the last time in 1856. In 1857, the states surrounding Lake Constance decided not to rebuild the weir, because it was regarded as the cause of the extreme high water conditions around the Upper Lake. Until the new bridge was ready, a temporary wooden bridge allowed travellers to cross the Seerhein.
Bridge of 1860
To ensure the largest possible flow cross-section of the Seerhein, the new bridge was 60 m built upriver. It had three long spans of 42.6 m each. In addition to the road, it carried the Baden MainlineBaden Mainline
The Baden Mainline is a German railway line that was built between 1840 and 1863. It runs through Baden, from Mannheim via Heidelberg, Karlsruhe, Offenburg, Freiburg, Basle, Waldshut, Schaffhausen and Singen to Konstanz...
. Cunstruction Councillor Robert Gerwig
Robert Gerwig
Robert Gerwig was a German civil engineer.Gerwig was born on 2 May 1820 and attended the Großherzogliches Polytechnikum where he studied civil engineering, primarily road construction....
from Baden designed the bridge and led the construction team. The company Gebrüder Benckiser from Pforzheim
Pforzheim
Pforzheim is a town of nearly 119,000 inhabitants in the state of Baden-Württemberg, southwest Germany at the gate to the Black Forest. It is world-famous for its jewelry and watch-making industry. Until 1565 it was the home to the Margraves of Baden. Because of that it gained the nickname...
built the sub- and superstructures, starting in October 1858. The road bridge was opened to traffic on 3 December 1860. The double-track railway bridge entered service as the Baden Mainline was opened on 15 June 1863. Construction costs were . Due to increasing traffic loads of the trains, one railway track had to be shut down in 1873. At the time of the Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
, the structure was renamed Horst-Wessel
Horst Wessel
Horst Ludwig Wessel was a German Nazi activist who was made a posthumous hero of the Nazi movement following his violent death in 1930...
-bridge.
Bridge of 1938
To increase the efficiency of the Rhine bridge, the City of Constance decided in cooperation with the highway department of the day, and the Deutsche ReichsbahnDeutsche Reichsbahn
Deutsche Reichsbahn was the name of the following two companies:* Deutsche Reichsbahn, the German Imperial Railways during the Weimar Republic, the Third Reich and the immediate aftermath...
, to fundamentally rebuild the bridge. The spans were unchanged, but the bridge was widened by about 50%. The company Ed. Züblin from Stuttgart was awarded the contract to build the substructure. Construction work began in November 1936. After a 190-meter-long temporary bridge was built downstream, the road bridge sections were taken apart, with the railway remaining in operation, albeit under restrictions. The superstructure of the old bridge, as well as the substructure, abutments and pillars were disassembled down to the water line. In the shelter of a sheet pile enclosed pit, timber piles with lengths of 18 to 20 meters were driven into the river bottom, the abutments were extended downstream and the pillars were widened. New abutments were then built, using concrete with exposed brickwork from granite from Waldulm. The pillars were encased in concrete in the shelter of the sheet pile enclosed pit. The contract for the steel superstructure was awarded to the company M.A.N. from Mainz-Gustavsburg. The bridge sections were constructed in the factory in Mainz-Gustavsburg and transported by rail to the site where they were hoisted in place using a gantry crane
Gantry crane
Gantry cranes, bridge cranes, and overhead cranes, are all types of cranes which lift objects by a hoist which is fitted in a hoist trolley and can move horizontally on a rail or pair of rails fitted under a beam...
and rivet
Rivet
A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before being installed a rivet consists of a smooth cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite the head is called the buck-tail. On installation the rivet is placed in a punched or pre-drilled hole, and the tail is upset, or bucked A rivet...
ted together. The new bridge was inaugurated on 9 October 1938.
1957 widening
In the Second World War, the Rhine Bridge remained intact. In the years 1956-57 the roadway was widened to meet the increased traffic in the city. For this, the corridor was used that had been reserved for the second railway track in 1938. This was possible because the BundesbahnBundesbahn
Bundesbahn may refer to:* Deutsche Bundesbahn* Österreichische Bundesbahn*Schweizerische Bundesbahnen...
had abandoned its plans to have two tracks connected to the Constance main railway station.
To further relieve the now over 70-year-old road bridge, a second bridge was built. This was opened in 1980.
Bridge of 1860
The arch bridge was in total 17.85 m wide. It carried two railroad tracks and a 5.4 m wide road on the downstream side, plus sidewalks on both sides. The 127.8 m long structure had three spans of 42.6 m each. The superstructure consisted of four solid-walled, wrought-iron arched girders across each span. Statues of bishops KonradConrad of Constance
-Life:Conrad was a member of the powerful Welf family, son of Count Heinrich of Altdorf. After an education at the cathedral school in Constance, he became provost of Constance Cathedral and in 934 was made Bishop of Constance....
and Gebhard of Constance
Gebhard of Constance
Saint Gebhard was a bishop of Constance from 979 until 995. He founded the Benedictine abbey of Petershausen in 983.-External links:*...
and Duke Berthold, Duke of Zähringen
Berthold II, Duke of Carinthia
Berthold II was an ancestor of the House of Baden, in addition to being Duke of Carinthia and Margrave of Verona....
and Grand Duke Leopold
Leopold, Grand Duke of Baden
Leopold I, Grand Duke of Baden succeeded in 1830 as the fourth Grand Duke of Baden....
stood on the four pillars. The latter two had been sculpted by Hans Baur.
Bridge of 1938
The total length of the new bridge is again 127.8 m, but this one is 26.95 m wide. The roadway was widened to 10.0 meters. This bridge has separate superstructures for the road, the railway and the non-motorized lanes. The piers and abutments for the railway bridge were designed to carry two single-track superstructures, of which only the eastern one has been implemented. View in the downstream direction, the first superstructure is the pedestrian walkway, the second is the railway bridge, then comes a four-lane road bridge, with a console carrying a bike path mounted on the western carrier.In the longitudinal direction, the spans consist of continuous beams. Each bridge had two steel girders with variable height and a horizontal top flange design, which was located above the roadway. The bottom flange rests on the pillars and curves with a radius of about 100 meters.
In 1957 a third major carrier was inserted in the gap between the rail and road bridges. It bears the eastern road bridge deck.