Hallesche Tor Bridge
Coordinates: 52 ° 29 ′ 52 ″ N , 13 ° 23 ′ 31 ″ E
| Hallesche Tor Bridge | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| use | Road traffic | |
| Convicted | southern Friedrichstrasse | |
| Crossing of | Landwehr Canal | |
| Subjugated | Elevated viaduct | |
| place | Berlin-Kreuzberg | |
| construction | Arch bridge | |
| overall length | approx. 52 m | |
| width | 34 m | |
| Clear height | 4.04 m | |
| start of building | 1874, reconstruction: 1952 | |
| completion | 1876 as Belle Alliance Bridge , from 1947 to 1973: Mehring Bridge , from 1974: Hallesche-Tor-Brücke |
|
| opening | 1876, again: 1953 | |
| planner | Heinrich Strack and Erich Dietrich | |
| location | ||
|
||
The Hallesche-Tor-Brücke is a pedestrian and road bridge in the Berlin district of Kreuzberg . It is used to cross the Landwehr Canal and was first made of stone at the end of the 19th century instead of an old wooden bridge. The building, clad with sandstone and decorated with marble figures, was named Belle Alliance Bridge after the name of the street over it. After its destruction in the Second World War and its reconstruction, the bridge has been called Hallesche-Tor-Brücke since 1974 .
location
The structure is located at kilometer 6.1 of the Landwehr Canal at Hallesches Tor underground station . As a road bridge, it connects the lanes on both sides of the canal (Hallesches Ufer and Tempelhofer Ufer / Waterloo-Ufer) and, as a pedestrian bridge, connects Mehringplatz over the southern end of Friedrichstraße with Blücherplatz. Transversely through the channel passes under the bridge and tunnel route of the U-U6 .
Building history
A first wooden bridge existed in front of the Hallesches Tor of the former Berlin excise wall over the former Schafgraben as early as 1705. After the drainage ditch had been converted into a canal, a new bridge had to be built. Heinrich Strack provided the designs for a sandstone-clad cage arch bridge made of brick masonry with a granite parapet and sculptural decoration. In the years 1874–1876, the Prussian state , which was then still responsible for all bridges, had the construction plans carried out under the direction of Emil Dietrich and paid around 500,000 marks for the entire jewelry . When the new structure was inaugurated, it was named the Belle Alliance Bridge , but the sculptures were not yet completed. The name was derived from the nearby Belle-Alliance-Platz , which in turn reminded of the victorious united (Prussian and British) armed forces in the battle of Waterloo against Napoleon's troops (a farmstead at the slaughter site was called Belle Alliance - in German Good Connection ).
In the same year, responsibility for all bridge structures in the urban area of Berlin was transferred to the Berlin administration. A market was held directly on the bridge, for example Italians offered the residents of the area a large selection of plaster figures.
The construction of the first underground line in Berlin (today: lines U1 / U3 ), which largely ran parallel to the Landwehr Canal as an elevated railway , led to adjustments to the Belle Alliance Bridge in 1904. The two pedestals on the north bank of the canal were reduced and the two associated sculptures were placed on other bridges. For the construction of the new underground subway route (today's U6 line ), which was planned from 1903 , extensive safety work had to be carried out on the bridge foundations and the bridge itself had to be widened. The necessary planning was evidently drawn up between 1908 and 1910 by Josef Brix and Felix Genzmer - both taught urban planning as professors at the Technical University. In the final months of World War II, the bridge was badly damaged by bombs and barricade fighting. In the summer of 1945, the occupiers had the remains repaired.
Data and jewelry of the Belle Alliance Bridge
The bridge had a length of 22 meters with a span of 18.80 meters, but was 34 meters wide. It was well dimensioned to accommodate the rapidly growing traffic such as the horse tram , the first motor vehicles and the numerous carriages and pedestrians.
There were quarter-round balconies above the bridgeheads, alongside pedestals to delimit the railing. The balusters of the parapets were made of Meissen granite , which also stretched a bit on both sides of the bridge on the bank. On the vault cladding there were round reliefs with motifs on trade and industry on both sides of the bridge, and a keystone designed as a Neptune head in the middle of the vault .
A short time after the inauguration of the bridge, two to three meter high allegorical figures carved from Tyrolean marble were set up on the following subjects : river navigation by the sculptor Otto Geyer , fishing by Julius Moser , industry by Eduard Lürssen and fruit trade (also known as market traffic) by Friedrich Reusch . With the construction of the elevated railway line, the two groups of fishing and shipping were removed. The Fischfang sculpture was given a new place on the Melanchthon Bridge at Urbanhafen, where it remained until the bridge was demolished in 1957 due to the renovation and new construction of the Urbank Hospital . Then she was moved to the Sedan bank near the Waterloo Bridge . In 1989 it was restored to its original location on the Halleschen-Tor-Brücke. Four pairs of wrought-iron candelabra adorned the bridge facing the road. The fruit trade sculpture was destroyed as a result of the war, the industry was dismantled from the damaged bridge in 1945 - its whereabouts are unknown.
Reconstruction as a Hallesche Tor bridge
In 1953, the bridge was reconstructed according to the old Strack's plans, but without setting up the bridge sculptures first. Because Belle-Alliance-Platz was renamed Mehringplatz after it was cleared in 1947 , the rebuilt bridge was initially called Mehringbrücke , and from 1974 onwards was named Hallesche-Tor-Brücke , a reminder of the historic location of the lost Berlin city gate. The two preserved stone sculptures were only found again after a long search for the restoration of the bridge by the district office. Now they have also been restored and put back on their bases in November 1988. The original locations could not be adhered to because the groups industrial diligence and fruit trade no longer exist. The reliefs on the bridge cladding were not reworked, nor were the keystones . One of the original keystones was given a new place in a wall of the Tegel Center in the Tegel district in 1972 .
In the neighborhood
Since 2006, a privately organized European festival has been held annually between the Oranienburger Tor and the Hallesches Tor. In 2007, for example, this art festival included a parade with flag-swingers , artisans from all over Europe showed their skills in front of an audience, dealers offered specialties from European regions. There were sports and games for children, various music groups performed on a stage on Mehringplatz, and a fashion show was also presented. A path of visionaries was laid out at the kick-off event . For this, the organizers had 27 quotes from famous Europeans worked into the pavement in the pedestrian zone at the end of Friedrichstrasse in Kreuzberg . In 2007 a plaque with a saying by Albert Einstein was added.
The America Memorial Library is located south of the bridge . Separated from this by Blücherstraße, which has been moved to the south, the cemeteries in front of Hallescher Tor follow in the same direction .
literature
- Architects Association of Berlin (ed.): Berlin and its buildings . Ernst & Korn, Berlin 1877, vol. 2, p. 48 f.
- Eckhard Thiemann, Dieter Deszyk, Horstpeter Metzing: Berlin and his bridges , Jaron Verlag, Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-89773-073-1 .
Web links
- Hallesche Tor Bridge . In: District lexicon of the Luisenstädtischer Bildungsverein
- Kreuzberger Chronik with a small reference to the Belle Alliance Bridge
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Hallesche-Tor-Brücke . In: District lexicon of the Luisenstädtischer Bildungsverein
- ↑ a b Uwe Dannenbaum: Groups of figures made of marble once adorned the bridge at Hallesches Tor. Kreuzberg's building authority is looking for "fruit trade" and "industrial diligence". In: Berliner Morgenpost approx. 1988/1989.
- ^ Italian migrant workers. In: German Historical Museum . Retrieved August 8, 2013 .
- ^ Competition Greater Berlin 1910. Spreading the bridge at Hallescher Tor (1908–1910). In: Architecture Museum of the Technical University of Berlin . Retrieved August 8, 2013 .
- ^ Hermann Rückwardt : Photo Belle Alliance Bridge, Berlin. In: Architecture Museum of the Technical University of Berlin . 1878, Retrieved August 8, 2013 .
- ↑ a b Database sculpture in Berlin with details and photo of the Fischfang statue ; ( Memento of the original from August 8, 2010 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. Retrieved October 30, 2009
- ↑ Melanchthon Bridge ( Memento of the original from November 27, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on a city map from 1926; Retrieved October 31, 2009
- ^ Anne Vorbringer: Europe in Kreuzberg. For the second time, a festival dedicated to the EU is taking place on Friedrichstrasse. In: Berliner Zeitung , 12./13. May 2007
