Rotunda Bridge

The Rotunda Bridge crosses the Danube Canal in Vienna and connects the districts of Landstrasse and Leopoldstadt .

Rotunda Bridge

Sgraffito on the house at Wittelsbachstrasse 1, referring to the double bridge

location

The so-called “ Hundertwasserhaus ” and the Federal Institute for the Blind are located near the Rotunda Bridge . Tram line 1 runs over the Rotunda Bridge on its route to the Vienna Prater . In 1904, the first of four urban river baths was anchored in the Danube Canal near the Sophienbrücke bridge.

On August 23, 1894, Jaromir Mundy , a co-founder of the Vienna Voluntary Rescue Society , shot himself at what was then the Sophienbrücke.

At the Rotunda Bridge there was a stop for the Pressburger Bahn .

1797-1809

According to Klusacek (see literature below), Prince Andreas Rasumofsky had a wooden bridge built over the Danube Canal not far from his palace , which later housed the Federal Geological Institute for a long time . It collapsed due to an ice rush in 1809.

According to Pauser, the first bridge was built in 1776 on the initiative of the later Emperor Joseph II. This Danube Canal crossing was made of oak as a double bridge instead of an overpass.

1810-1819

The stone bridge, again commissioned by Prince Rasumofsky in 1810/1811, had to be demolished in 1819 because of the damage suffered during a flood.

1824-1871

Because of a fire in his palace, Prince Rasumofsky was unable to finance a third bridge. Therefore, under Ignaz von Mitis, a private stock corporation was formed , which had the first chain bridge in Vienna built between 1824 and 1825 . However, this was only passable for pedestrians and riders and the financiers of Emperor Franz I had secured the right for forty years to collect a cruiser bridge toll from anyone who wanted to cross the Danube Canal on the bridge named after Archduchess Sophie . The plans came from Johann von Kudriaffsky , who also planned the Franzensbrücke.

The new appearance of this bridge with a span of 71 meters gave its name to an entertainment venue that was named "Kettenbrückensaal" (or: "Tanzsaal zur Kettenbrücke" at Donaustraße 4 in Leopoldstadt). Here in Mardi Gras in 1827, Johann Strauss' father 's “Chain Bridge Waltz” was premiered.

During the revolution of 1848 there was fighting over the bridge on September 26th, and Robert Blum was in command of the defenders against the imperial troops . It was demolished and rebuilt on the occasion of the upcoming world exhibition .

1871-1935

Sophienbrücke

In the years 1871/1872 a new bridge was built, which was also accessible for wagons. As a constructive model, the municipality of Vienna chose August Köstlin's Brigitta Bridge, which was also built in 1871 according to his plans . In contrast to this, however, the city reserved the right to attach a corresponding and ample decoration. This bridge was also built by the Witkowitz ironworks . The completion of the Sophienbrücke was delayed by the subsequent decision to install two water pipes for Vienna's water supply, each around 50 centimeters in diameter. A paving made of oak sticks on a base made of sawdust was chosen as the road surface, the joints being filled with tar.

From 1873 it was also used by the horse tram that drove into the Prater. The bridge soon proved to be too weak, which is why the load had to be limited and there could only be one tram train on the bridge at a time.

On May 22, 1914, the Vienna City Council decided to start building the new bridge in 1916. However, the war and the subsequent lack of money prevented this project. Only the name of the transport structure was changed. The new name giver was the nearby rotunda , the main building of the 1873 World's Fair.

In 1927 the bridge was repaired to prevent it from being closed for safety reasons.

From July 18, 1904, one of the city's river baths was in operation above the Sophienbrücke .

1935-1945

According to plans by Clemens Holzmeister , Waagner Biro built the long overdue new arch bridge between 1935 and 1937 , which was blown up in April 1945.

1945-1953

Between summer and autumn 1945, pioneers of the Red Army , Austrian companies and Austrian workers built a temporary bridge made of wood and steel with a 12-meter-wide carriageway, two 2.5-meter-wide sidewalks and tram tracks.

This building was opened in the presence of Vice Mayor Speiser , city councilors, officers of the Red Army and other guests of honor by Lieutenant General Lebedenko , who in his speech pointed to the reconstruction of the bridge as a renewed gesture of Soviet friendship.

1953 until today

Board with information about the new construction of the bridge

Since the Rotunda Bridge was an important access route to the exhibition grounds and the Prater Stadium , the Vienna City Council decided to build a new one in the summer of 1953. On April 26, 1954, the official city councilor for construction, Ernst Thaller, hammered the first rivets into the steel structure of the new bridge as a symbolic act. It was opened on January 8, 1955 by Mayor Franz Jonas .

Due to the local conditions, it was not possible to build the temporary bridge a few meters sideways, as the tram tracks could not be moved. Work on the new bridge to be built according to plans by Erich Franz Leischner first had to be carried out a little upstream. After this was completed, the temporary structure was first pushed aside and then the new bridge was moved to its final location.

literature

• Christine Klusacek, Kurt Stimmer: The city and the electricity. Vienna and the Danube. Edition Wien, Vienna 1995, ISBN 3-85058-113-6 .
• Alfred Pauser: Bridges in Vienna - A guide through the history of construction. Springer Verlag, Vienna 2005, ISBN 3-211-25255-X
• Journal of the Austrian Association of Engineers and Architects. Vienna 1873 (page 31)

Coordinates: 48 ° 12 ′ 21 ″  N , 16 ° 23 ′ 49 ″  E