Small Hungarian Bridge

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The Little Hungarian Bridge over the Vienna River

The Small Hungarian Bridge is a half-timbered arch bridge made of cast iron, used purely as a pedestrian bridge over the Vienna River . It connects the 1st ( Inner City ) with the 3rd district of Vienna ( Landstrasse ) in Vienna , i.e. the Heumarkt with the Wiener Stadtpark .

It is one of the oldest three-hinged arch bridges in the world.

location

The Small Hungarian Bridge is located in the Vienna City Park at its eastern end. Nearby are the Wien Mitte train station , the Hilton Hotel (where one of the market halls in Vienna used to stand) and the Museum of Applied Arts (MAK).

history

1853-1898

In various internet sources the first Little Hungarian Bridge is mentioned as being built in 1853. It is not known whether it replaced an even older bridge after the devastating flood of the Vienna River in 1851, or whether it was the first new construction to be built at this point. In 1898 it was replaced by the dismantled Tegetthoff Bridge. In 1945 it was damaged and restored. A restoration took place from 1978 to 1980.

1872–1898 (Tegetthoff Bridge)

The bridge as the Tegetthoff bridge

The bridge was constructed in 1872 by August Köstlin and Anton Battig . However, under the name “Tegetthoffbrücke” and at a different location, namely the “Stadtpark” tram station as an extension of Johannesgasse. There she crossed Vienna, which was not yet regulated at the time, with a span of 34.5 meters. In the architectural competition advertised by the municipality of Vienna with five foreign and two Austrian competitors as participants, the land pillars constructed and approved by the Vienna City Planning Office were already specified. The future bridge had to be adapted to its design.

The iron parts were supplied by the Société Anonyme des Hauts Fourneaux, Usines et Charbonnages from de Sclessin near Liège in Belgium . The reason for this was the reluctance of the domestic ironworks to manufacture new rollers for the production of the required quadrant iron. The neo-Renaissance ornamentation and the railings also came from Belgium. The candelabra was designed by the sculptor Leimer and cast in Blansko in South Moravia .

The unusual color scheme chosen by the two architects, namely white and gold, caused public discussion. In March 1872 the Tegetthoff Bridge was tested.

Because of the Vienna river regulation - in this area the Vienna river was vaulted - it was removed and relocated to its new location. On September 1, 1898, the dismantling work on the bridge was completed.

1898 until today

On October 22nd of the same year, work began on re-erecting the bridge, which was called the “Markthallenbrücke” during construction. In December, the bridge including the front was rust protective Miniumanstrichs finished, only the bridge railings were still missing.

However, with its original span, the bridge was much too long for the new Vienna river profile of 26 meters wide. They made do with the fact that the support points opposite the line of the wall were moved back by about four meters.

Instead of the eleven main girders, only seven were reused, which reduced the width of the bridge by eliminating the sidewalks to 11.6 meters wide - compared to 19 meters earlier. The cast iron ornaments and the railings with the rich decorations were also reused. The renovation work was carried out by the Anton Biró company and completed in 1898.

On April 28, 1898, the newly built bridge was named "Little Hungarian Bridge" during the opening ceremony.

In 1945, during the Battle of Vienna , the Small Hungarian Bridge was damaged. A general renovation took place between 1978 and 1980. It is not known when the bridge was placed under monument protection.

See also

literature

  • Alfred Pauser: Bridges in Vienna - A guide through the history of construction. Springer Verlag, Vienna 2005, ISBN 3-211-25255-X .
  • Manfred Wehdorn: " Architectural monuments of technology and industry in Austria - Volume 1 Vienna - Lower Austria - Burgenland ", Hermann Böhlaus Nachf. Gesellschaft mbh, Graz - Vienna, ISBN 3-205-07202-2
  • Journal of the Austrian Association of Engineers and Architects , Vienna, 1873 (page 31)

Web links

Commons : Small Hungarian Bridge  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 48 ° 12 ′ 20 ″  N , 16 ° 22 ′ 54 ″  E