Friedensbrücke (Vienna)

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The Friedensbrücke, view from the Vorkai in the 9th towards the 20th district
Friedensbrücke underground station; on the right part of the bridge with the tram stop; in the middle in the background a building of the General Accident Insurance Institution , in which the later Lorenz Böhler Accident Hospital was located at address 20., Webergasse 2-6, from 1925 to 1972

The Friedensbrücke crosses the Danube Canal in Vienna and connects the Alsergrund (9th district) and the Brigittenau (20th district) on the 9th, Alserbachstraße - 20th, Wallensteinstraße.

Location and traffic

The Friedensbrücke is located near the Franz-Josefs-Bahnhof and the Liechtenstein Garden Palace (all 9th ​​district) as well as the Augarten (2nd district). Until 1972, the later Lorenz Böhler Accident Hospital in the 20th district was in the immediate vicinity (see illustration). In addition to the street listed above, it also connects the two main streets running along the banks of the Danube Canal, called Spittelauer Lände in the 9th district and south of the Rossauer Lände bridge (car traffic south and downstream), in the 20th district Brigittenauer Lände (car traffic north and upstream) ; Both state roads are designated B227 under road construction law .

The horse tram has been running on the Friedensbrücke or its predecessor since 1873 and the first electrically operated tram line in Vienna has been running since 1897 , known as line 5 ( Westbahnhof - Praterstern ) since 1907 ; at that time it connected four terminal stations of the railway network starting from Vienna. Since 1928, line 31/5 (a combination of parts of lines 5 and 31), called line 33 since 1996 (today subway station Josefstädter Straße - Friedrich-Engels-Platz / Floridsdorfer Brücke ), ran over the Friedensbrücke.

On the Alsergrund side of the bridge is the Brigittabrücke station, which went into operation in 1901, later the Friedensbrücke of the Vienna Electric Light Railroad . In 1976, the first section of today's U4, which had been converted to underground operation, from the Friedensbrücke underground station north to the Heiligenstadt underground station was put into operation here on its low-lying route (at the level of the pre-quay) , the first modern Vienna's underground line. From 1978 the underground section was extended southwards, in 1981 the Wiental-Donaukanal line of the Stadtbahn was completely converted to the U4.

history

A wooden footbridge, which is only known to have been named “Stroheck Bridge” after a small straw market called “Stroheck”, was the first crossing that crossed the Danube Canal here and was noted here without specifying the source and period. Felix Czeike states that the straw market was relocated in 1720. The leaseholder of the existing overpass over the Danube Canal built a temporary ship bridge on the (heavily frequented) Brigittakirtag . (The Kirtag was last held as a folk festival in 1847.)

Around 1830 the Alser Bach flowed into the Danube Canal on the side of what is now the 9th district , further west surrounded by noble country estates , the banks of which were largely unobstructed. The bank in today's 20th district still consisted of pastureland in the Danube floodplains. In 1840, the city map shows the port facilities planned in Brigittenau near the later bridge; the port was not built. In 1850 the area on both sides of the later bridge was incorporated into the city of Vienna (until 1900 the 2nd district stretched on the left, eastern bank of the Danube Canal , and since 1900 the 20th district). In 1856 Brigittenau was already parceled out here on the city map, but largely undeveloped, and the settlement on Alsergrund has become much more dense.

1871-1924

In 1869 the Viennese city administration drew up a catalog of requirements in which, among other things, the building material and the spatial conditions of the future bridge, but also the required minimum load-bearing capacity were specified. A construction geared towards utility was required, but no value was explicitly placed on beauty and decoration. 1870 was Emperor Franz Joseph Railway opened shortly thereafter in the 9th district, near the under construction bridge the still existing Franz Josef station opened, from which one direction Tulln an der Donau, Waldviertel and Bohemia , from 1871 to Prague and from 1872 to Eger . The bridge building had become very important.

The only Austrian bidders, the Witkowitzer Eisenwerke , who supplied the iron construction, and the builder Wegerer, who took over the earthworks, were awarded the contract for the bridge built in 1871/1872. The plans for the bridge came from August Köstlin . Before construction began, the city of Vienna reduced the span of the bridge, and the pillars and the stairway paths accompanying the Danube Canal were moved closer to the water.

Finally, a bridge was built with a span of around 65 meters and a total width of around 19 meters, with the carriageway being around 11 meters wide. The two pavements, each around 3.8 meters wide, were located outside the load-bearing walls and were supported by consoles. The clear passage height for shipping was around 6 meters.

Despite the timely completion of the new bridge, which was named "Brigittabrücke" or "Brigittenbrücke" after the namesake of Brigittenau, the opening to traffic was delayed. During the construction, the City of Vienna decided to install a pipe for the Viennese water supply . In 1873 tram traffic from a forerunner line of today's “five” was taken over this bridge and in 1897 the line was electrified.

Because of the construction of the Danube Canal line of the Vienna steam light rail , the bridge structure was raised by 90 centimeters in 1892.

After 1900, due to the strong increase in traffic, it was decided to build the Brigittabrücke, but it was repeatedly postponed due to lack of funds. Instead, increased traffic restrictions were issued several times. In 1919 trucks were finally banned from driving on the bridge and maximum weights were set for carts. Tram line 5, one of the most important lines at the time, was only allowed to use the bridge with two instead of three cars of the smallest design per set, and only one train at a time; a light signal was set up for this purpose.

In 1924 the city administration wrote out the new construction of today's Friedensbrücke. Nine drafts of iron bridges and five of reinforced concrete bridges were received. The Waagner-Biro offer was selected .

Shifting of the Brigittabrücke built in 1871/1872 by 20 meters, December 17, 1924

The Brigittabrücke was moved 20 meters upstream in 1924 according to plans drawn up by Waagner-Biro under the supervision of the Vienna City Planning Office; as an emergency bridge it was supposed to keep traffic going during the construction period. From October 8, 1924, the shunting track required to move the bridge was built and on December 12, the bridge was lifted a few centimeters in order to be able to expand the bridge's bearings. These had to be prepared for the new use at the new bridge location.

On the night of December 16-17, 1924, tram traffic was stopped and the overhead line disconnected. The bridge was first raised by 40 centimeters and then lowered onto the carriage of the transfer track. On December 17, the bridge was moved upstream in a two-hour action, the roadway connected to the bank and the overhead line of the tram reconnected. After a stress test carried out on December 18, the bridge was opened to traffic again on December 19, 1924.

After the completion of the new bridge, the Brigittabrücke was allegedly built in 1927 in the area of ​​the Freudenauer Hafen (winter harbor) where the Freudenauer Hafenbrücke has crossed the Danube Canal since 1958 . The process could not be verified in Adolph Lehmann's Vienna address book 1931, which contains lists of bridges, and therefore possibly remained an unfinished project.

1924-1945

In 1924, work began on the urgently needed new building. In 1926 the Waagner Biro building planned by Otto Schönthal and Emil Hoppe was completed and was named "Friedensbrücke" in memory of the Peace Treaty of St. Germain . It was opened to traffic on October 3, 1926.

In 1941 the name was changed by the Nazi regime to “Brigittenauer Brücke”, presumably because “Friedensbrücke” in the middle of World War II , which Hitler had started as a war of conquest, was out of date and people did not want to return to the name of a saint. (Today " Brigittenauer Brücke " is the name of a Danube bridge opened in 1982. )

On April 10, 1945 the bridge, like almost all Danube Canal bridges, was blown up in the course of the Battle of Vienna from the Wehrmacht , which was withdrawing towards the left bank of the Danube , in order to make it more difficult for the Red Army penetrating the city from the west and south-west . However, only the central part was damaged during the blast. In the same month the bridge was made accessible to pedestrians by Red Army pioneers . From September 1945 until the summer of 1955, the sector boundary between the American sector (9th district) and the Soviet sector (20th district) ran along the Danube Canal .

1946 – today

Old tram tracks, which became visible during the reconstruction of the lane on the bridge, October 2010

The missing middle section was replaced by pioneers of the Red Army under the command of Major General Galitzky together with workers from the Waagner Biro company. The official reopening took place on February 12, 1946; the bridge was now called the Peace Bridge again.

The commander of the Russian occupation troops in Vienna, Lieutenant General Lebedenko , and numerous officers of the Soviet troops were present at this ceremony, as was the mayor of Vienna General a. D. Theodor Körner with City Councilor Weber , City Planning Director Johann Gundacker and other guests. The Friedensbrücke was the second restored Danube Canal Bridge after the Augarten Bridge.

1969–1971 the roadway on the bridge was widened by 6.8 meters. The tram tracks were relocated and new bridge railings were installed. A tram stop island was built in the direction of travel to the 9th district. The old bridge structure was revised.

literature

  • Christine Klusacek, Kurt Stimmer: The city and the electricity. Vienna and the Danube. Edition Wien, Vienna 1995, ISBN 3-85058-113-6 .
  • Walter Hufnagel (Ed.): Crossings. Bridges - City - Vienna. Verlag Sappl, Kufstein 2002, ISBN 3-902154-05-5 .
  • Alfred Pauser: Bridges in Vienna. A guide through building history. Springer Verlag, Vienna et al. 2005, ISBN 3-211-25255-X .
  • Journal of the Austrian Association of Engineers and Architects. Vienna, 1873 ( The Brigittenbrücke, Sophienbrücke and Tegetthoffbrücke in Vienna. Page 31).
  • August Köstlin and Anton Battig:  The Stroheck and Sophien Bridge over the Danube Canal. In:  Allgemeine Bauzeitung , year 1876, p. 109 (online at ANNO ).Template: ANNO / Maintenance / abz
  • Journal of the Austrian Association of Engineers and Architects. Vienna, 1925 ( Relocation of the Brigittabrücke in Vienna. Page 33).
  • Journal of the Austrian Association of Engineers and Architects. Vienna, 1925 ( About the design of the Brigittabrücke in Vienna in reinforced concrete. Page 400).

Web links

Commons : Friedensbrücke  - collection of images

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Felix Czeike: Historisches Lexikon Wien , Volume 5, Kremayr & Scheriau, Vienna 1997, ISBN 3-218-00547-7 , p. 382
  2. ^ Lehmann 1931, section bridges
  3. ^ Friedensbrücke in the Vienna History Wiki of the City of Vienna

Coordinates: 48 ° 13 ′ 38 ″  N , 16 ° 21 ′ 56 ″  E