Baerwald Bridge

Baerwald Bridge
use	Road traffic
Crossing of	Landwehr Canal
place	Berlin-Kreuzberg
construction	stone arch bridge
overall length	33 m
width	24 m
Longest span	18 m
Clear height	4.35
completion	1878/1952
	location

52.496533333333 13.405183333333Coordinates: 52 ° 29 ′ 48 ″ N , 13 ° 24 ′ 19 ″ E

The Baerwaldbrücke in Berlin leads the street Baerwaldstraße / Prinzenstraße at the Sommerbad Kreuzberg and west of the Urbanhafen at kilometer 7.00 over the Landwehr Canal . The current structure is the second bridge at this point, which was renewed after several war damage in 1952 based on the historical model.

history

A first wooden bascule bridge from 1850 was replaced in 1876/78 by a stone bridge with a span of 18.80 meters. It was called Gasanstaltsbrücke until 1879 after the neighboring city gas enlightenment institute . The building was given its current name in honor of the first administrative director of the gas works Pierre Frédéric Charles (Peter Friedrich Carl) Baerwald (1791–1871), pharmacist, city councilor and city elder .

Bridge details

Candelabra foot and stone bridgehead with the name of the Baerwald Bridge

The abutment and the actual bridge with a sandstone arch under the slightly arched roadway were mainly made of yellow bricks with red ribbons. After the reconstruction carried out in 1952, the access to the bridge was given two two-armed candelabra made according to historical patterns on both sides . Identical five-armed lanterns were set up on the roundabout of the Carl-Herz-Ufer. As a decoration, the bridge at the apex of the arch has a heraldic cartouche on the water side, made of sandstone, which show the upright Berlin bear collecting honey or fishing. A simple metal bar railing flanks the walkway. Half the width of the bridge is taken up by the carriageway; cars can be parked directly on the bridge to calm traffic.

In the vicinity of the bridge

In 2005, the district mayor Cornelia Reinauer and the deputy DGB boss Bernd Rissmann unveiled a memorial plaque for the former DGB chairman Hans Böckler at the corner of Prinzenstraße and Baerwaldbrücke at the entrance to the Böcklerpark .

Three restaurant ships belonging to the van Loon shipping company are stationed right next to the bridge, and they also conduct tours on the Landwehr Canal. The Urbanhafen is located southeast of the Baerwaldbrücke . The Carl-Herz-Ufer is part of the historic preserved streets directly on the canal, which are under monument protection. Also worth seeing are a former street cleaning depot designed by the architect Ludwig Hoffmann and the old customs house , a restaurant in the historic building.