Judenbrücke (Coburg)
Coordinates: 50 ° 15 ′ 34 ″ N , 10 ° 57 ′ 32 ″ E
| Jewish Bridge | ||
|---|---|---|
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| use | Road bridge | |
| Subjugated | Itz | |
| place | Coburg | |
| construction | Vault bridge | |
| overall length | 30 meters | |
| width | 6 meters | |
| Number of openings | 3 | |
| Clear width | 8.5 meters | |
| height | 5 meters | |
| completion | 1783 | |
| location | ||
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The Judenbrücke is a road bridge that spans the Itz in Coburg at river kilometer 45.5 . The oldest still preserved Itzbrücke in the city is located at the western end of Judengasse.
history
The Judensteg was first mentioned in 1470. In 1607 a wooden bridge was built, which had six bays and was completed in 1612. The structure spanned the Itz at the narrowest point in the course of a convoy to Heldburg , which served as a feeder to the trade route to Frankfurt . In 1629 a “snack basket” was installed on the bridge, in which fruit thieves were locked as punishment and dipped into the Itz with a hinged bottom. In the following decades the annual flood repeatedly damaged the wooden structure, so that in 1667 extensive repairs had to be carried out. On January 1, 1764, a strong flood destroyed the Judenbrücke, a year later the wooden bridge was temporarily rebuilt.
Almost twenty years later, on May 6, 1783, the construction of a stone bridge with three openings began. On June 28, 1783, the foundation stone was laid for the vaulted bridge that still stands today . Stones from the nine meter high city wall between the inner Judentor and the inner Ketschentor were mostly used as building material. The construction work was carried out by the timber builder Johann Michael Roeder and the stone builder Meier. The building cost the city 3444 guilders without the stones of the city wall.
The stability was already severely impaired during the flood with ice drift in February 1784 . Major repairs were made in 1819, 1839, 1874 and 1880. In 1819 and 1839, the heavily damaged bridge piers in particular had to be repaired.
With the commissioning of the Coburg train station , west of the Itz, in November 1858, the importance of the Judenbrücke grew for inner-city traffic as part of the only access route. In 1884 this led to the roadway being widened with the help of an iron construction. In the course of the straightening of the Itz, the western abutment was reinforced by a retaining wall at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century , and in 1974 the pillars were given concrete sleeves at the foundation depth.
In particular, the insufficient width of the bridge acted as a traffic obstacle in the decades that followed. For this reason, a wooden footbridge for pedestrians was built above the bridge in 1963, until the Alexandrinenbrücke upstream opened in 1978. The Judenbrücke has served local traffic since 1983. It is only passable to the west.
construction
The approximately 30 meter long, 5 meter high and 6 meter wide vaulted bridge is made of sandstone blocks. It has three openings, each with a clear width of 8.5 meters. The 5.5 meter wide carriageway is delimited by masonry parapets that are 0.25 meters wide and at least 0.75 meters high. The upstream parapet has a double cartouche with the initials EF from Duke Ernst Friedrich on the outside above the central apex . Medallions with the Meissner lion or the Wettin diamond wreath coat of arms are located above the side openings. On both sides of the pillars, semicircular, 1.25 meter deep pulpits are arranged. The pillars have three-quarters high foreheads that are pointed on both sides as icebreakers. Concrete fittings that taper to a point secure the pillar feet.
Left medallion with Meissner lion
Double cartridge
Right medallion with Wettinian diamond-shaped wreath coat of arms
literature
- Walter Landefeld: The history of the Jewish bridge in Coburg . In: Heimatkundliche Lesebogen für das Coburger Land, No. 9–12, December 1973, pp. 43–46.
- Peter Morsbach, Otto Titz: City of Coburg. Ensembles-Architectural Monuments-Archaeological Monuments . Monuments in Bavaria. Volume IV.48. Karl M. Lipp Verlag, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-87490-590-X
