pier

This article deals with the ship landing stage; other meanings under pier (disambiguation) .

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The Chelsea Piers in New York in the Hudson

A pier or nautical a pier is a structure in a harbor that serves as a landing stage for watercraft and as a quay tongue protrudes into the water mostly at right angles to the quay . Piers thus increase the port's capacity without having to lengthen the quay. If the port side of a large pier is used for mooring purposes, it is also called a pier. The plural of "pier" (from English pier ) is piere and piers.

In contrast to the pier, piers and jetties are built over the water, so the water can flow freely below them. A floating jetty , on the other hand, is not a solid structure, but consists of a pontoon that floats on the water.

Design and purpose

A pier consists of a heaped-up harbor embankment, which slopes vertically on the water side and is therefore fixed there with steel sheet piling , concrete or wood . The surface of the pier is also usually paved, usually a concrete or asphalt pavement.

Size and design depend on the intended use. In addition to moorings for passenger ships , there are also special piers for unloading containers , dangerous goods or general cargo . Piers have particularly stable foundations to accommodate large loads ( gantry cranes , containers) and forces (docking and casting off maneuvers) .

As part of the structural change , a number of piers in the center of port cities were rededicated and are now the location of museums, restaurants and other leisure facilities.

International usage

Pier in Quebec

In English, pier is a pier , a structure on pillars or stakes under which the water can flow. Such a pier or jetty serves as a pier, pier, ship landing stage or as a platform over the water on which port facilities, buildings, but also entire entertainment districts or districts are built (for example Pier 39 in San Francisco).

The different meanings in English and German often lead to the wrong use of the German term. Even dictionaries sometimes give mixed up definitions.

See also

• Floating dock
• Hydraulic engineering

Web links

Commons : Pier  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Wiktionary: Pier  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

• Definition of pier by the port association Hameln.
• Pier I to Pier IV in the Rostock port plan .
• Old Pier, Pier 1 and Pier 2 in the Skagen harbor plan .
• Pier of Pervalka on the Curonian Spit in the area guide to the sports boat map set 13 of the Delius-Klasing Verlag.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Duden online: Pier
2. ↑ wharf, pier schiffslexikon.com