Lombard Bridge

The Lombard Bridge is a road and rail bridge over the Alster in Hamburg .

It marks the old course of the city fortifications that separated the Outer Alster from the Inner Alster. The bridge was named after the Lombard pawn shop, which stood here in 1651 on part of the Hamburg ramparts , the " Bastion Didericus". The originally wooden bridge, last replaced in 1827–1828 by a new building based on designs by Wimmel, was replaced in 1865 by a stone construction based on designs by Johann Hermann Maack when the connecting railway from Hamburg to Altona was built .

The 69 meter long bridge spans the Alster in three arches between the Inner and Outer Alster. As early as 1902, a widening from 32 to 48 meters became necessary. Four cast iron four-armed candelabra with five glass spheres based on a design by Carl Börner adorn the bridge and form a characteristic Hamburg photo motif.

The railroad traffic runs parallel to the four-lane road and connects Hamburg-Dammtor with Hamburg Central Station . Two tracks serve the Hamburg S-Bahn .

Kennedy Bridge

Lombard (right to the Inner Alster) and Kennedy Bridge
(winter 2008/09, facing east)

Because the old Lombard bridge could no longer cope with the increased traffic on its own, the New Lombard Bridge was added to the north of the old construction as early as 1953 . The bridge with a main span of 94 m, designed by Bernhard Hermkes , was renamed the Kennedy Bridge in honor of the murdered John F. Kennedy in 1963 after the assassination attempt in Dallas . The golden scissors from cutting the ribbon to the traffic handover are still hanging in the entrance hall of the Museum of Hamburg History .

The 10 ° meridian running here is marked on the northern walkway on the east bank of the Kennedy Bridge .

The two bridges are of great importance for both inner-city and national road and rail traffic. In 2013, the Lombard Bridge was used by an average of 67,000 vehicles per working day, the Kennedy Bridge by 50,000 vehicles, of which 4 percent were heavy traffic for both.