Napoleon Bridge (Gifhorn)
Coordinates: 52 ° 27 ′ 16 ″ N , 10 ° 31 ′ 26 ″ E
| Napoleon Bridge | ||
|---|---|---|
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| use | Road bridge | |
| Crossing of | Bohlenriede, tributary to the Alten Hehlenriede | |
| Subordinated | former road between Braunschweig and Lüneburg | |
| place | Gifhorn | |
| construction | Vault bridge | |
| overall length | 19 m | |
| width | about 5 m | |
| Number of openings | 1 | |
| Clear width | about 6 m | |
| completion | around 1750 | |
| Status | Monument, pedestrian use only | |
| closure | before 1989 | |
| location | ||
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The Napoleonsbrücke is an arched bridge built in the middle of the 18th century over a branch of the Alte Hehlenriede in Gifhorn in Lower Saxony . The heritage-protected bridge structure belonged to the trade and military route from Braunschweig to Lüneburg . The name is based on the tradition that Napoleon crossed the bridge in 1803 when he occupied the Electorate of Braunschweig-Lüneburg and again in 1806 with his troops.
location
The bridge is located almost four kilometers southwest of the city center of Gifhorn in a wooded area. The bridge is in a remote location due to the Berlin – Lehrte railway line running in the east-west direction and the federal highway 4 running in the north-south direction . Only farm roads lead to it . It crosses the Bohlenriede drainage train , a small tributary of the Hehlenriede, which is also known as the Alte Hehlenriede . In the past, these bodies of water carried far more water than they do today, especially when the Aller was flooded. In the 18th century and possibly even earlier, the bridge was part of a national road link. The road led from the south of Ribbesbüttel to the bridge and ran north to Gifhorn. The Kurhannoversche Landaufnahme from 1781 shows this street course. From 1798 the bridge lost its importance, as the route of the traffic route was relocated around one kilometer to the east, where it followed the course of the federal highway 4 before its modern expansion to the bypass road .
description
The three meter high bridge has a span of almost six meters with a total length of 19 meters. The side parts consist of quarry stone masonry , the bridge arch is made with wedge stones. The brackets for the bridge railing are chiseled stone set into the masonry . Velpker sandstone was used as building material . Originally, the approximately five meter wide roadway was covered with a cobblestone made of round reading stones . The structure rests on a pile grid made of oak logsin the underground. It is not known when the bridge was built. Structural features suggest that it was built around 1750.
In terms of traffic, the bridge has no function today, as the watercourse of the Bohlenriede can be crossed on a developed path to the side of the bridge. The city of Gifhorn created this parallel crossing in 1989 after the bridge was closed to motorized traffic. Even then, the bridge was no longer capable of bearing loads.
Monument assessment
According to the monument authority , the bridge's status as a monument is based on its significance for the local history of Gifhorn. The trade and military route between Braunschweig and Lüneburg led through Gifhorn and continued in Lüneburg with the old salt route to Lübeck . The structure was thus part of the most important historical north-south road connection in northern Germany . In addition, from a monument preservation point of view, the bridge is of economic and technical historical value for the pre-industrial infrastructure of the northern Braunschweig region . In addition, as a historical landmark , the bridge is a sight.
Rehabilitation and subsequent criticism
In 2019, the city of Gifhorn renovated the structurally dilapidated and collapsing bridge. The city expanded the historic railing with a modern additional railing made of metal because of its traffic safety obligations. It serves as a barrier for pedestrians and prevents vehicles from entering the structure. The renovation costs amounted to around 200,000 euros . The largest part of this was due to the renovation in accordance with the historic monuments with historical building materials amounting to 155,000 euros.
In 2020 media reports came up in which the renovation was described as a "waste of tax money" and the additional railing as unaesthetic and unhistorical. The German Taxpayers Association considered the type of renovation to be excessive and criticized the procedure as “200,000 euros for a bridge that nobody knows and needs”. Instead of preserving it in accordance with the preservation order, the bridge, which "is used by almost no one", will be made tangible and accessible. In 2020, the association listed bridge renovation among the twelve most striking examples of tax waste in Lower Saxony in its annually published " Black Book " .
literature
- Rudolf Schürig: How did the Napoleon Bridge come about? A monument near Ribbesbüttel. In: Calendar for the district of Gifhorn - A home book for 1985. P. 45–47.
- Gottfried Frese: The Napoleon Bridge in the Gifhorner Eyßelheide. A historical flashback. In: Calendar for the district of Gifhorn - A home book for the year 1989. P. 145–146.
Web links
- Napoleon bridge in Monument Atlas Lower Saxony
- Napoleon's Bridge at bruecken.web
- Photo of the bridge before its renovation
Individual evidence
- ^ Napoleon Bridge in the Lower Saxony Monument Atlas.
- ↑ Reiner Silberstein: Gifhorn has Napoleons Bridge overhauled in Gifhorner Rundschau on September 3, 2019.
- ↑ Jan Vermöhlen: Exaggerated bridge renovation in the 2020 Black Book of the Association of Taxpayers Germany.
- ^ A b Christian Franz: Tax guards reprimand Gifhorner bridge renovation in Gifhorner Rundschau from July 9, 2020.
- ↑ Reiner Silberstein: Bild-Zeitung: Gifhorner Napoleonsbrücke is "Monument Stuss" in Gifhorner Rundschau from February 5, 2020.
- ↑ Reiner Silberstein: Association of Taxpayers criticizes the renovation of the Napoleon Bridge in Gifhorner Rundschau from February 7, 2020.
- ↑ Bridge posse in Gifhorn: renovation of the ailing Napoleon Bridge causes head shaking on Sat 1 Regional from February 19, 2020.
- ↑ Real madness: Renovated Napoleon Bridge in Gifhorn; at Extra 3 on August 19, 2020 on YouTube .
- ↑ Gifhorn: Are bridge railings a waste of money? at ndr.de on February 7, 2020.
- ↑ Black Book 2020: Tax Waste in Lower Saxony at ndr.de from October 27, 2020.
- ^ Christian Franz: Gifhorner Napoleonsbrücke as a waste of taxes in Gifhorner Rundschau of October 27, 2020.