Suez Canal (Mannheim)
The Suez Canal has been popularly referred to in Mannheim since around 1890 as Tunnelstrasse , which since the 1870s has connected the city center with the Lindenhof district as a railway underpass of the main train station .
history
Around this point there were old road connections to the Lindenhof , whose name was later adopted for the district, and to the Gontardschen Gut near the Rhine near the remains of the former Eichelsheim Castle . The necessity of an underpass resulted from the continuation of the Mannheim – Heidelberg railway line coming from the east across the path through the palace gardens along the south side of the palace and then across the Rhine . The Rhine Bridge was built from 1865 to 1867. In addition, the main train station was built in its current location between 1874 and 1875.
Initially, on the city side, the grand ducal tree nursery bordered the railway area between the main station and the palace. In connection with the construction of Bismarckstraße in the 1880s, this was parceled out for development and, in continuation of the inner city squares , the streets that currently (as of 2018) form the squares L 8 to L 15. The planned continuation of Bismarckstrasse along the castle, which was implemented from 1893, further increased the volume of traffic.
On the southern side of the tracks, the Lindenhof district was emerging, first as an industrial development, but then as a residential area. This resulted in a volume of traffic that could not be safely handled with a level crossing next to the main train station. So, starting from Bismarckstraße, an underpass was planned and realized between squares L 13 and L 15.
Plans and "Tunnelstrasse" as a name go back to at least 1874. The exact time of construction is currently not known, but at the latest in the city map of 1880 the underpass is marked and structurally recognizable and can be read in 1895 as "Tunnelstrasse".
The Lindenhof flyover , about 200 meters to the west, was not built until 1897, including for the tram to the Lindenhof (from 1901).
Name "Suez Canal"
Allegedly the title "Suez Canal" comes from the manufacturer Dr. Heinrich Propfe, owner of a chemical factory for the production of water glass in Lindenhofstrasse. He is said to have been friends with the builder of the actual Suez Canal , Ferdinand de Lesseps , and admired him and also supported the connection of the Lindenhof to the city center. Lesseps even received an invitation for the inauguration of the “Suez Canal” in Mannheim.
Another origin of the name is assumed to be the inadequate drainage technology, which in the early years often led to the tunnel being flooded. Until the second half of the 1970s, there was a swinging barrier on the inner city side of Tunnelstrasse. With this, the driveway was closed if a water backlog flooded the carriageway in the underpass due to the high water level of the Rhine or as a result of heavy rain . That is why the name “Suez Canal” remained current for a long time.
Description of the tunnel road
From the city-side Bismarckstraße, the street runs downwards as a ramp between squares L 13 and L 15, then a few meters next to the station building under the platforms and tracks, and then again as a ramp to street level in the Lindenhof district. The first two sections are provided on the right and left with the old walls made of red sandstone, which are covered with exposed aggregate concrete slabs in the area under the tracks. The Suez Canal is already referred to as a “little beautiful underpass” in the 1907 “Guide through Mannheim”. The ceiling is built under the tracks with profile steel girders and concrete . In addition, there are individual bridge structures at the north and south end.
The traffic is routed in the actual underpass as a one-way street towards Mannheim-Lindenhof. A marked cycle path is structurally not separated in the opposite direction. On the inner city side there is an entrance and exit to an underground car park and therefore a two-way carriageway.
Due to construction work by Deutsche Bahn to expand Mannheim main station to include platform F, the Suez Canal was closed to car traffic from September 2014 to December 2017. The tunnel area was lengthened by 13 meters by a further overpass on the south side.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Situation plan 1874 with the new projected road facilities, State Archive Baden-Württemberg, Department General State Archive Karlsruhe H Mannheim 118 Fig. 1
- ↑ City map Mannheim 1880 , State Archive Baden-Württemberg, Department General State Archive Karlsruhe H Mannheim 96 Fig. 1
- ↑ City map Mannheim 1895 , State Archive Baden-Württemberg, Department General State Archive Karlsruhe H Mannheim 99 Fig. 1
- ↑ MARCHIVUM: Mannheimer street names, road tunnel. Retrieved September 7, 2018 .
- ^ Brockhaus Mannheim; Mannheim, Leipzig 2006; P. 326, ISBN 978-3-7653-0181-0
- ↑ Guide through Mannheim, reprint of the historical city guide from 1907, Wellhöfer Verlag, Mannheim, p. 35, ISBN 3-939540-07-2
- ↑ Mannheimer Morgen of December 23, 2017, page 1, "Suez Canal open again".
Coordinates: 49 ° 28 ′ 51 ″ N , 8 ° 28 ′ 9 ″ E