Hartung's column
Hartung columns , named after the Berlin- based architect Hugo Hartung , are ornate cast-iron pendulum supports for steel railway bridges that were used in the Berlin area between 1880 and 1910. They were initially used in the construction of the Berlin Stadtbahn , but also in the elevation of the Anhalter Bahn and in most of the bridge structures that were built afterwards. The Hartung Column is an important and style-defining element of Berlin's railway architecture and is therefore closely linked to the Berlin S-Bahn .
history
In the years from 1870 onwards, many railway lines in the Berlin area had to be raised due to the increasing traffic load caused by the construction of railway embankments in order to avoid level crossings between the railway and road traffic. Therefore, new railway bridges were built in many places. Due to the bridge spans of up to 26.4 meters (sometimes even more), intermediate supports were necessary in order to be able to keep the bending loads on the bridge girders within reasonable limits. These supports were usually arranged between the sidewalk and the roadway.
Typical bridge dimensions from this time envisaged a clear structural clearance of initially around four meters and lane widths of six to twelve meters. At 3.80 meters, the permitted clearance height was somewhat lower, as a safety tolerance takes into account swinging or swaying vehicle boxes or loads as well as snow and ice coverings on the roadway. Depending on the number of pedestrians and the street category, sidewalks between two and five meters were planned. The central axes of the pendulum supports were usually around 0.5 to 0.75 meters from the curb and the sidewalk. The clear passage heights for later bridges had to be set at around 4.50 meters (permitted passage height 4.00 meters) in order to enable the passage of electric trams and double-decker buses .
For the taste of the time, the first simply designed components of steel bridges and other structures, as they were used between 1867 and 1877 for the construction of the Ringbahn, were, however, too sober. Therefore, in 1880, on the occasion of the construction of the light rail system leading through the inner city of Berlin, the Architects' Association of Berlin launched an architectural competition in which Hugo Hartung's Model II was awarded. It was named Hartung's Column after its creator .
Due to its technical advantages, its appealing design and its low price of 269 marks each, the Hartung column was designated the standard version for railway bridge supports in the Berlin area and remained this until shortly before the beginning of the First World War .
The Hartung columns were produced in the iron foundry Tangerhütte south of Stendal .
Constructive requirements for bridge pillars
Both sheet steel profiles and cast-iron columns can be used for the intermediate supports of steel bridges.
Cast iron offered itself as a suitable material, because supports are only subjected to pressure and buckling . Bending and lateral forces can be excluded by designing a pendulum support with ball joints on the head and foot.
Cast iron is cheaper than structural steel . In addition, the tendency of cast iron to corrode is significantly lower than that of sheet steel.
The central area of the supports was given a slightly enlarged cross-section to increase the buckling resistance.
The taste of the times demanded a representative, ornate design of the supports, which should take up and quote the elements of the ancient columns . Such decorations can be produced using the casting process. The cast-iron supports would have met the static requirements with a simple, undecorated surface. If larger quantities are required, the cost of producing the molds is relatively low. The production of decorated cast iron parts is possible at low manufacturing costs.
Today, cast iron supports are no longer used for bridges because of the higher risk of brittle fracture compared to steel in the event of a vehicle impact or fire.
Design of the Hartung column
The head of the Hartung column has a capital with spiral volutes , which is reminiscent of Ionic temple columns . In addition, a second capital is arranged below, which resembles Corinthian column heads . The upper capital is screwed to the lower chord of the bridge and sits on a hemispherical shell of the lower capital, which is firmly connected to the column shaft.
To improve the plastic shape of the volutes, lateral facings were attached to the upper capital, which have often been lost in the meantime or have been removed as planned in the western part of Berlin . The acanthus leaves of the lower capital were also put on and have been partially lost today.
The actual column is fluted , i.e. provided with longitudinal grooves. The central area is enlarged in cross-section, it is also decorated with attached tape. To adapt to different bridge loads, the wall thickness of the column shaft could be varied for up to 100, 125 and 155 tons of load per column. It was also possible to deliver different shaft lengths of 3.40, 3.66, 3.92 and 4.33 meters to adapt to different clear bridge heights. In the end, however, hardly any use was made of this, since the necessary clearance for trams and double-deck buses was to be established for most bridges.
The foot of the column is designed as an ornate base with sculpted ribs. The foot also has a hemispherical shell on which the column shaft rests.
Distribution of the Hartung column
The Hartung column was first used in large numbers in the construction of the Berlin Stadtbahn , which went into operation in 1882. The light rail construction was the reason for the architectural competition from which this type of column emerged. Between 1880 and 1882, the Hartung column was installed at the bridges Holzmarktstrasse, Brückenstrasse, Schicklerstrasse, Rosa-Luxemburg-Strasse , Spandauer Strasse , Neue Promenade, Reichstagufer , Unterbaumstrasse, Alexanderufer, Paulstrasse, Bartningallee, Claudiusstrasse, Fasanenstrasse , Wilmersdorfer Strasse and Holtzendorffstrasse . The extent to which the Kantstrasse , Uhlandstrasse , Grolmanstrasse, Knesebeckstrasse, Bleibtreustrasse , Schlüterstrasse and Leibnitzstrasse bridges also received Hartung's columns is currently not verifiable, but it is relatively probable due to the width of the road and the bridge arrangement. In the case of the last-mentioned overpasses, the old bridges were replaced with new buildings as early as the late 1920s and early 1930s as part of the axle load increase of the Berlin Stadtbahn to 20 tons. The cast-iron columns were replaced by strong supports made of riveted rolled steel profiles, mostly in portal construction.
At particularly prominent places on the Berlin Stadtbahn, such as the overpasses at Rathausstrasse at Alexanderplatz , Friedrich-List-Ufer at Lehrter Bahnhof, Alt-Moabit , Strasse des 17. Juni and Hardenbergstrasse , other, even more ornate supports were installed. For example, the Model I , which was also designed by Professor Hugo Hartung, was used for this purpose, which at the time was significantly more expensive at 353 marks .
After the completion of the Berlin Stadtbahn, Hartung's column was also used on the Anhalter Bahn . These included the long-distance tracks and the freight tracks on Yorckstrasse, now known as Yorckbrücken (1880–1905), and later the bridges Sachsendamm (1903–1905), Edenkobener Weg (1899) and Leonorenstrasse (1898–1900).
In the Wannseebahn , this type of column was only used on the bridges Sachsendamm (1891) and Lindenthaler Allee (1904). The bridges over Yorckstrasse (1891) and over Rubensstrasse (1891) were given different types of pillars.
On the Südring , the bridges Hauptstrasse and Eisackstrasse at Innsbrucker Platz as well as Gotenstrasse (1906/1907), Naumannstrasse (1902) and Am Treptower Park (1895) were equipped with the Hartung pillar. It was also used on the north ring for the extension of the Wiesenstrasse bridge (1899).
On the Berlin Northern Railway in the direction of Oranienburg , Hartung's column was used in the Gleimtunnel (1904–1907) and at the bridges Wollankstrasse (1901/1902), Provinzstrasse (1907) and Klemkestrasse (1902-1907); it was also used on the nearby bridge Kopenhagener Strasse (1904/1905) of the Kremmener Bahn . For the Copenhagener Strasse bridge on the Northern Railway, Hartung's column was initially included in the project plans from 1910, but a more modern type of column made of river iron was chosen for the construction .
On the Görlitzer Bahn in the direction of Grünau , the bridges were Karpfenteichstrasse (1905), Dammweg (1905), Baumschulenstrasse (1905), Rixdorfer Strasse (1905/1906), Köpenicker Strasse (1903/1904) and Richterstrasse (1908/1909) with Hartung's columns fitted. The Schöneweide – Spindlersfeld branch line also received these pillars as part of the elevation in 1906 at the overpass of Rudower Strasse / Hartriegelstrasse.
In the east of Berlin , the Hartungsche column found on the Frankfurter Bahn (suburban railway to Erkner ) at the bridges Karlshorster Strasse (1898/1899), Schlichtallee (1900-1902), Treskowallee (1901/1902), Bahnhofstrasse in Köpenick (1901/1902) and Dahlwitzer Landstrasse in Friedrichshagen (1901/1902) as well as on the Ostbahn (suburban railway to Strausberg ) at the bridges Karlshorster Strasse (1903) and Stadthausstrasse (1903).
From 1910 onwards, other types of river iron columns were increasingly selected, especially when the Stettiner Bahn (suburban railway to Bernau ) was expanded between 1911 and 1916 and the Spandau suburban railway was expanded .
During the construction of the first elevated railway line of the Berlin U-Bahn from the Warschauer Brücke to the Gleisdreieck and further in the direction of Nollendorfplatz (commissioned in 1902), neither Hartung's columns nor other cast iron columns were used. Only riveted supports made of rolled steel profiles, often as portal frames, have already been installed here. These supports were subsequently decorated with decorative elements.
The extent to which Hartung's column was also used outside the Berlin area was not yet known. A picture from the Leipzig area from June 1990 shows that this type of column was also used at the Zweinaundorfer Straße railway overpass (near Am Güterring) in the Anger-Crottendorf district .
Comparable cast-iron column types were also installed in other regions between 1880 and 1910. For example, when the three-track connecting railway was built in Wroclaw in 1902, a very similar type of column with a differently designed capital was used.
Whereabouts
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In Berlin there are still some examples of Hartung's columns as bridge supports. However, they are increasingly disappearing from the cityscape as bridge modernizations are carried out. Often the cast iron columns themselves are less responsible for the need for renovation , but rather the corroded steel superstructures or the intention to widen railway overpasses that are too narrow. However, because of the higher risk of breakage, individual cast-iron supports were also replaced by supports made of rolled steel profiles or welded box supports. The capital covers with the curved volutes have either been lost in the course of time on many of the supports or have been removed during securing work so that they do not fall off by themselves.
In some bridges over Yorckstrasse (but also in other places such as Holtzendorffstrasse), the base of the pillars was encased in concrete during the Second World War . This measure, which restricted the free swinging of the supports, was intended to prevent the bridge superstructures from being lifted by the air pressure of detonating aerial bombs and air mines and the pendulum supports from sliding off their ball joints. In addition, they should be protected from damage by vehicles colliding against them.
The BVG , which had taken over the operation of the S-Bahn in January 1984 in the western part of Berlin, had checked the bridges of all operated S-Bahn lines in the following years and by the end of the 1980s the cast-iron supports of the S-Bahn bridges, including many Hartung columns, replaced by welded steel box supports. The bridges of the parallel freight and long-distance railway tracks were not changed during these measures, as they remained under the responsibility of the Deutsche Reichsbahn .
Bridge structures with Hartung columns that were demolished and replaced by new buildings
- As early as the 1970s, during the extension of the Berlin city motorway, larger bridge structures with Hartung columns were replaced by new bridges at Innsbrucker Platz over Hauptstrasse and Eisackstrasse (bridges of the Ringbahn) and over Sachsendamm (bridges of the Anhalter and Dresdener Bahn).
- In 2002/2003, 13 sheet metal girder bridges on Hartung columns were replaced by new bridges on Holtzendorffstrasse (west of the Charlottenburg S-Bahn station ) as part of the renovation of the urban railway .
- With the construction of the new Südkreuz station , the bridges over Gotenstrasse (only S-Bahn) and over Naumannstrasse were replaced by new buildings.
- In December 2015, the double-track bridge of the Südring long-distance railway across Gotenstrasse was also removed and replaced by a new building.
- The Baumschulenweg Railway Station was rebuilt from 2006 to 2011 as part of the modernization of the Görlitz line. The bridges over Baumschulenstrasse were replaced by new buildings. On the south side of the street on the three old S-Bahn bridges there were still five Hartung columns, including the capitals. A total of eight Hartung columns were built into the redesigned southern entrance hall.
- Further Hartung columns disappeared from the cityscape after 2000 when the Görlitzer Bahn, the Frankfurter Bahn and the Ostbahn were expanded.
- Until the reconstruction of the main line of the Anhalter Bahn in 2003, the superstructures of the main line over the Edenkobener Weg rested on Hartung columns.
- The bridges of the Kremmener Bahn over Kopenhagener Straße in Reinickendorf were provided with Hartung columns in their original condition from 1905 until March 2010. The bridges were listed, but had to be replaced by new bridges due to a lack of operational safety.
- Two of the former five pillars of an S-Bahn bridge over Treskowallee at Karlshorst station were preserved until they were excavated at the end of May 2012 as part of the replacement of the railway overpass. The pillars, including their preserved capital covers, were secured.
Bridges on which Hartung columns can still be found
- (As of April 2016)
- 16 bridges with 64 columns to the Anhalter Güterbahnhof in the area of Yorckstrasse ( Yorckbrücken , eastern area), mainly from 1880.
- The 130-meter-wide transfer structure to the freight yard of the Berlin Northern Railway above Gleimstrasse from 1903, also known as the Gleimtunnel ; this structure does not consist of individual bridges arranged in parallel, but of a coherent structure supported by 80 Hartung columns. The capitals are still in place on most of the pillars.
- A bridge with four pillars at Schönholz station , on which a former long-distance railway track of the Northern Railway runs over the Provincial Road.
- A single-track bridge with four pillars on which the Schöneweide - Spindlersfeld S-Bahn line crosses Rudower Strasse / Hartriegelstrasse. It is the last bridge with Hartung's pillars that will continue to be used (as of June 2012). The Hartung pendulum supports were secured against road traffic with strong collision protection. Unfortunately, the capitals are no longer available on these columns.
The model I of the Berlin architectural competition of 1880 no copy has survived.
Other cast iron column types in Berlin
In addition to the Hartung columns, there are a few other types of cast iron columns in Berlin:
- At the Yorckbrücken (bridge next to Bautzener Straße) an old bridge of the Dresden Railway from 1875 has been preserved. According to the current state of knowledge, this is the oldest surviving railway bridge with cast-iron pendulum supports in Berlin, but it has not been used for many years.
- The freight track bridges of the Wannsee Railway over Rubensstrasse from 1891 have cast iron columns without a volute capital and without fluting.
- The bridges of the Wannseebahn and the Berlin-Potsdamer Stammbahn at the S-Bahn station Yorckstraße (Großgörschenstraße) were equipped with pillars based on a design by Hartwich. In the case of the S-Bahn bridges that were used, they were exchanged for welded steel box columns in the 1980s; the remaining bridges that are no longer used still have the old columns.
Cast iron columns in Breslau (Wrocław)
During the construction of the three-track Wroclaw connecting railway (commissioned in 1902), cast iron pendulum supports were also installed at several overpasses.
The Breslau pendulum supports resemble Hartung's column in the shaft, but differ particularly in the design of the capital.
As part of the modernization of the Wrocław railway system in 2009, these pillars were to be reinforced by pouring concrete. However, this led to the frost-related bursting of the cast iron pillars in winter 2009/2010. Therefore, it is now necessary to replace all columns for safety reasons.
It is not yet known who designed the Wroclaw pendulum supports. The strength calculations were carried out between 1896 and 1900 by the Wroclaw Railway Directorate.
Reuse
In recent times, expanded Hartung columns have often been set up in other places. These supports have already been used several times as a decorative element to decorate buildings.
- Since the late 1980s, two Hartung columns have adorned the entrance to a Greek restaurant with beer garden on Perelsplatz and the corner of Handjerystraße in Berlin-Friedenau . The cast iron capital covers are still in place here.
- Also since the end of the 1980s, two Hartung columns have flanked the entrance to Pohlstrasse 51 in Berlin-Tiergarten .
- In 2006, a group of twelve Hartung columns in the form of a colonnade was erected as a memorial for this typical bridge component in the Victoriastadt in the Berlin district of Lichtenberg not far from the Nöldnerplatz train station . These supports come from the old bridge on the Ostkreuz – Lichtenberg railway line over Stadthausstrasse, which is located immediately south of the monument, and was built in 1903 and replaced by a new building in 2005/2006. Here the cast-iron capitals had meanwhile been lost; they were replaced by sheet metal panels for the memorial.
- As already mentioned above, eight renovated Hartung columns were installed in the newly designed southern entrance hall of the Baumschulenweg S-Bahn station . The structured foot pieces are, however, hidden under the floor level. It is not known whether the pillars have a load-bearing function here or were only used as historical reminiscences.
- At Los-Angeles-Platz in Charlottenburg there are two Hartung columns as part of the design of the square.
literature
- Larissa Sabottka: The iron bridges of the Berlin S-Bahn - as-built documentation and analysis . Ed. v. State Monument Office Berlin. Gebr. Mann, Berlin 2003. ISBN 3-7861-2463-9
- District Office Tempelhof-Schöneberg of Berlin (ed.): The Yorckbrücken. A traffic engineering monument of Berlin's railway history . Berlin 2007.
Web links
- The Hartung pillar: a role model for three decades ( Memento from February 4, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- Project flyer for the memorial for the Hartung Columns in Victoria City (PDF file)
- Images of the Hartung columns on the Rudower Strasse / Hartriegelstrasse bridge from October 2010
- Pictures of the bridges Klemkestrasse and Kopenhagener Strasse with Hartung's columns