Bridge Customs House (Astheim)
The bridge toll house in Astheim is a listed building. It served the gatekeeper of the Volkacher Mainbrücke as an official residence and is located on the western side of the Main opposite the city. Today it is used as a railway museum.
history
The construction of a bridge over the Main in Volkach began in 1890. This should give the city access to the important traffic routes in the west. The building should be equipped with a bridge toll house on the Astheimer side in order to slow down the expected traffic. The foundation stone of the building, which was erected in the Heimat style, was laid in 1891. A year later, just in time for the opening of the bridge, it was completed. Until the Second World War it was the home and office of the customs officer.
When the bridge was blown up by the Wehrmacht in 1945, the house lost its function and from then on served as a simple residential building for a few years. Even with the construction of the Main Bridge, henceforth as a simultaneous bridge for cars and rail traffic, this did not change. Construction of the Volkacher Main Canal began in 1957 . Since taller container ships should now also be able to use the river, the bridge, and with it the street level, had to be raised. The bridge house was also raised.
At the same time, the railway that owned the house planned a comprehensive modernization of the building. Up until 1958/1959 the “ Barrier Post Astheim” was built. The electrical barrier control was installed on the second floor of the house, while the first floor was used as a residence for the gatekeeper. Almost ten years later, on September 28, 1968, the last passenger train crossed the Main Bridge. The hospital became inoperable, also because of the newer technology. In 1971 it was again converted into a residential building.
In 2006 a new bridge for Volkach was considered again. The transition bridge from the post-war period was still in operation and should now give way to a modern tied arch bridge. A demolition of the house was discussed, but rejected after objections of the monument protection . The city of Volkach then rented the house to the Mainschleifenbahn development association , who had it renovated by 2014 and converted into a museum on the history of the railway. The Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation classifies the customs house as a monument under the number D-6-75-174-327.
description
The building has an almost square floor plan. It has three storeys and ends with a pyramid roof . The house was built in the so-called Heimatstil of the late 19th century. The top floor cantilevers slightly forward on the side of the old bridge and has a window front from which one could watch the passing traffic. The remaining floors only have a few small rectangular windows.
literature
- Georg Wolfgang Schramm: The Astheim Bridge House from 1959 . In: Herbert Meyer (Red.): Our Main Loop . Volkach 2010.
- Georg Wolfgang Schramm: The Main Loop and its Railway. Pictures, history and stories . Volkach 2008. ISBN 978-3-930840-15-1 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Schramm, Georg Wolfgang: The Astheimer Bridge House from 1959 . P. 1.
- ↑ Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation: Monument number D-6-75-174-327 ( Memento of the original dated December 8, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed on August 17, 2014.
Coordinates: 49 ° 51 '51.7 " N , 10 ° 13' 6.5" E