Wheel deflectors

Roman distance column with a trained wheel deflector near Donnas in the Aosta Valley

classic form of a wheel deflector in Kitzingen

A wheel deflector or curbstone (other names Abweichstein , deflectors , Radstößer and scratch stone ) is a conical rounded component made of stone or other massive construction for the protection of building corners , doorways or tunnel entrances before damage by wheels . Often these were large conical elements that were built into the corners of the house. Hard stones were preferred for this, as stones with a lower strength (for example sandstones) would otherwise be worn too quickly by the iron wheel tires of the horse-drawn carriages . The wheel hub should also be protected because it protruded slightly from the wheel and the whole wheel and the axle would have been damaged if the corners were touched, an expensive and time-consuming repair at the time.

Individual objects that are particularly worthy of protection have also been equipped with wheel deflectors if they are clearly endangered by car traffic. This architectural protective element has been used at least since Roman times, for example on the distance column and on the arch of the ancient street fragment near Donnas .

The wheel deflectors from the Romanesque and Gothic periods are mostly undecorated, as they were common in rural architecture in later building eras. Since the Renaissance, decorated objects have increasingly been used on urban or stately buildings.

Nowadays curbstones are made of concrete still frequently before the barn doors and Faltflügeltoren of trucks - garages installed to prevent damage to the doors. Sometimes special steel structures or simple bollards also serve as wheel deflectors.

Special applications

Structures with a similar control function can be found in car workshops and car washes . The routes to the workshop pit or to the car wash are provided with L- or T-shaped profile iron , which protrude a few centimeters above the road surface and keep the tires in the right track.

Application examples

At the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, this function is partially taken over by old cannon barrels.

A special type of wheel deflector can be found in Waldkirchen in the Bavarian Forest . Figures were made from granite here. So you can find the "Eternal Wedding", his bride the "Gretel", the "Landlord", the "Market Judge " and the "Market Woman". Waldkirchen describes itself as the "Radabweiser-Stadt in the Bavarian Forest".

Historical examples of wheel deflectors can be found across Europe. They are particularly common in rural architecture. In cities, they were removed because of the narrowing of the track width on many buildings in the 20th century, because with the development of vehicle construction, the track width of vehicles increased compared to that of horse-drawn carriages. The associated waiver of their protective function is also due to the better tracking of mechanically or hydraulically steered vehicles.

Bouncing stones and guiding stones
Signposts from the 19th and early 20th centuries: curbstones with metal rods
Curbstone from the Reich Road Traffic Regulations from 1934
Guiding stones from the "Preliminary guidelines for the expansion of rural roads" published in 1942 (RAL 1937)
The guide stones manufactured in the FRG according to RAL 1937 were confirmed by ordinance as a guide device in 1957
In the GDR, the guiding stones have been marked in red since 1966