Franzensbrücke

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The Franzensbrücke,
seen upstream

The Franzensbrücke crosses the Danube Canal in Vienna and connects districts 2 and 3, Leopoldstadt and Landstrasse .

location

The bridge is located just to the east of the historic city center near the Prater (2nd district) and next to the bridge of the connecting line between the north and south lines, which is now the so-called main line of the Vienna S-Bahn, a few meters downstream . In addition to car traffic, it is used by tram line O on the way to Praterstern (2nd district), one of the largest traffic hubs in Vienna. The KunstHausWien and the headquarters of the Court of Auditors are located nearby , both in the 3rd district. The next bridge upstream is the Aspern Bridge , the next road bridge downstream is the Rotunda Bridge .

1782-1799

The second oldest bridge in the Vienna area was built from wood in 1782 and connected the then suburb of Weißgerber , today part of the 3rd district, with the Prater , which largely consists of Donauauen, or the suburb Jägerzeile , today part of the 2nd district. It was repeatedly damaged by floods and ice jams , but this damage could always be repaired. An unusually strong ice rush on February 27, 1799 destroyed the bridge.

1801-1844

Between 1801 and 1803 a new bridge was built according to plans by Johann Baptist Freiherr von Pacassi , which was given the name "Weißgerberbrücke". The foundation laid Emperor Franz on September 16, 1801. The opening to traffic took place on November 7, 1803. 1809 they wanted to blow up the bridge to the anmarschierende from the Donauauen French army under Napoleon Bonaparte to prevent them from crossing the Danube Canal; it was then only partially removed. One reason for protecting the bridge is said to have been that the Viennese called it “the beautiful bridge”. On a Prater plan from 1825, the bridge appears as the Franzensbrücke, named after Emperor Franz, the first Emperor of Austria since 1804 .

1844-1898

The old Franzenskettenbrücke

In 1844–1848 the wooden bridge was replaced by an unstiffened chain bridge with a span of 83.71 meters, a total width of 18.96 meters and three support chains according to plans by engineer Nicolaus from the kk Wasserbaudirektion; in the meantime, the settlement had become much denser on both banks of the Danube Canal. On February 15, 1848, the new building was opened to traffic. The new bridge was officially named after Emperor Franz, who died in 1835. Over the years, since the most important railway station in Vienna, the Nordbahnhof , was located at the Praterstern (since 1850 in the 2nd district), it became the bridge most used by freight traffic, so that it was reinforced in 1866 and a wooden pedestrian walkway to the downstream in 1893 further relief was established.

1898-1945

"First project from 1896" (drawing: view upstream)
"The assembly of the iron construction"
The new Franzensbrücke after its opening on September 4, 1899, view downstream; in the background the connecting railway bridge built by 1859

Since the reinforcement measures were no longer sufficient, the Vienna City Council decided in 1891 to build a new bridge. The architectural competition was not advertised until 1896. On December 17, 1897, the Vienna City Council decided to transfer the work on the bridge piers to E. Gärtner and the steel construction work to the Witkowitz trade union . The demolition work on the old bridge began on December 27, 1897.

The new Franzensbrücke was built as an arch bridge with a width of 24 meters (16 meters of lane) and was thus the widest Danube Canal bridge of its time. The plans came from Franz Pfeuffer and Franz von Krauss .

On March 15, 1898, work began on the foundations of the new bridge. At the end of August of the same year, work began on building up the first bridge pillar on the right bank. With the suspension of shipping on the Danube Canal on December 1, 1898, the Witkowitz trade union was able to start steel construction work on the bridge. These were completed on March 18, 1899. The work on the two gas pipelines integrated into the bridge structure was completed on April 1, 1899, as contractually agreed.

The wrought iron bridge railings were made by A. Milde, the coats of arms, wall crowns and bronze branches on the pier heads were made by F. Wenzel and A. Krupp.

After the beginning of August carried out stress test the solemn final stone was laid in the presence of Mayor took place on September 4, 1899 Karl Lueger and railway minister Heinrich von Wittek instead.

The construction of the staircases by the kk Hafenbaudirektion was only started after the quay and retaining walls had been completed as part of the Danube Canal regulation.

The tram tracks from Radetzkyplatz in the 3rd district through Radetzkystraße , over Franzensbrücke and through Franzensbrückenstraße in the 2nd district to Praterstern were opened in 1902.

On the right bank of the Danube Canal, the Viennese city line of the electrically operated Pressburger Bahn , a local railway to the Slovak capital, crossed under the Franzensbrücke on the Vorkai from 1914 to 1945.

During the Battle of Vienna in April 1945, the bridge was blown up by German units, and Soviet pioneers built a temporary wooden crossing in the summer of 1945.

1947 – today

Bottom of the current Franzensbrücke

The current Franzensbrücke, 17 meters wide, is one meter wider than its destroyed predecessor and was built by the Waagner Biro company as a temporary solution in 1947/1948, but still fulfills its duty as a typical Viennese permanent temporary solution. With a maximum permissible load of 800 tons, it is the most load-bearing bridge over the Danube Canal. In what was then the city of Vienna, the Franzensbrücke was the 91st road bridge to be restored.

The main girders were assembled using a method that was new to Vienna. These were assembled in the factory as two 14-tonne halves, lifted into place on the construction site by cranes and bolted together in the middle.

The newly built steel bridge was opened to traffic on September 25, 1948 by Mayor Theodor Körner .

Like its predecessor, the bridge is used by trams . Until 1980 here perverse two lines , today it is the tram line O, the Praterstern to the 10th district connects the south of Vienna.

literature

  • Journal of the Austrian Association of Engineers and Architects , Vienna, May 4, 1900.
  • Christine Klusacek, Kurt Stimmer: The city and the electricity. Vienna and the Danube. Edition Wien, Vienna 1995, ISBN 3-85058-113-6 .

Web links

Commons : Franzensbrücke  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 48 ° 12 ′ 47.5 "  N , 16 ° 23 ′ 28.7"  E