Wendenring Bridge
Coordinates: 52 ° 16 ′ 26 " N , 10 ° 30 ′ 49" E
| Wendenring Bridge | ||
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| use | Bundesstrasse 1 | |
| Crossing of | Oker | |
| place | Braunschweig | |
| construction | Vault bridge made of ashlar masonry | |
| overall length | 61.50 m | |
| width | 22.00 m | |
| Number of openings | initially 3 after conversion 2 (1967/68) |
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| height | 1.9-2 m | |
| construction time | 1886-89 | |
| City Planning Council | Ludwig Winter | |
| location | ||
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The Wendenring Bridge crosses the Oker in Braunschweig below the confluence of the flood ditches. It was built in the course of the construction of the northern ring road according to the site plan of 1882/89 and was completed in 1889 as part of the city expansion plan by Ludwig Winter , the then town planning officer . As the only historical bridge construction in the course of the Wilhelmine Ring , it is designed in the forms of the Neo-Renaissance .
Building description
Since the oker bed was even wider in the 19th century, the Wendenring Bridge was built as a massive three-arch or vault construction made of natural stone masonry. Today there are only two arches. The Wendenring Bridge has a length of 61.5 m and a width of 22.0 m. The span of the two outer arches is 19.0 m each, that of the arch in the middle is 19.5 m.
The bridge arches were laid out relatively flat, the outer arches were 1.9 m high and the middle arch 2.0 m. This was emphasized by strong ashlar masonry. The arches rested on pillars and abutments, the front of which was rounded. Corresponding wall pillars rose above the foreheads of the pillars.
Characteristics of the building in the neo-renaissance style are, among other things, the massive natural stone masonry and that in the end no iron structures were used, as well as the decorations and accentuation of pedestals and ashlar masonry.
However, the original appearance of the Wendenring Bridge was lost in the middle of the 20th century. In 1967/68 the ring road was expanded to four lanes, which required the bridge to be widened with cantilevered reinforced concrete structures and sidewalks. Furthermore, the pillars and wall templates were coated with concrete. In addition, the baluster railing was replaced by a steel structure and the Wendenring Bridge now only features two instead of three arches.
| Planning and construction time: | 1886-89 | |
| Architect / Engineer: | Ludwig Winter | |
| Dimensions: length, width | 61.50 m, 22.00 m | |
| Span | 19.00 + 19.50 + 19.00 m | |
| Construction: | Vault bridge made of ashlar masonry | |
| Modifications / repairs: | 1967/68: Widening, reinforced concrete structures, construction costs: DM 462,489.41 | |
| 1985: renovation | ||
| Source: Information from the city of Braunschweig | ||
History of construction and use
The Wendenring Bridge can initially be classified in the city map of the 19th century as a bridge building with a stone structure and with the function of a traffic structure.
In the 19th century there was a great change in Braunschweig. This began among other things with the establishment of the railway line between Braunschweig and Wolfenbüttel in 1838. This stimulated industrialization and Braunschweig experienced an upswing. The population rose rapidly from almost 40,000 inhabitants (1850) to 100,000 inhabitants by 1890, making Braunschweig a major city. Industrialization and the increasing number of inhabitants led to a general urban development.
In retrospect, a contemporary voice complained in 1878:
"After all, it seemed as if a city was not being expanded according to a specific plan and fixed principles, but as if large villages were being seen with irregular streets and farmsteads."
After some discussions with the architects and engineers association, it was agreed that a 20 to 35 m wide ring road, analogous to the wall promenades, should guide the traffic through the emerging outer city at a sufficient distance from the city center. Ludwig Winter developed a site plan that same year.
This site plan, which was mapped out by city geometer Friedrich Knoll , was to preserve the old wall promenade and a new ring road was to become the main thoroughfare of the outer city. The Ringstrasse should also serve as a suitable place of residence for Braunschweig citizens with high demands; the magnificent buildings of the city stood here.
Other points that were taken into account in the site plan were the introduction of regular city quarters with new churches and schools. An upper-class residential area was created east of the city center. To the north and west of the city center, on the other hand, the industrial areas and workers' houses spread out. In June 1882 the local building plan was approved by the city council.
In addition, the city was systematically canalized in the 1880s, which led to an administrative expansion in civil engineering, as well as the expansion of existing roads and the construction of new roads and bridges. Ludwig Winter and Gustav Menadier, who was responsible for building and securing the Oker bridges, worked together within this program. At the same time, the Wendenring Bridge was built, which was essential for the construction of the northern ring road according to the site plan. In 1889, due to the upheavals in the city, the site plan was revised for the first time. This resulted in renovations in the city center, including administrative, government and judicial buildings.
Classification in contemporary building / construction
The 19th century was the time of historicism, which was influenced by the spirit of Romanticism and Gothic architecture. Due to the many social and economic upheavals, people were sometimes looking for a hold in the past, but also because they trusted in the well-known massive construction methods and the cultural history and humanistic education were of great importance, nobility and wealth and also the builders to the outside world were made through the Celebrating construction.
literature
- Elmar Arnhold, Sándor Kotyrba: Wendenring Bridge. In: Okerbrücken on the Braunschweiger Wallring. Arnhold & Kotyrba, Braunschweig 2012, ISBN 978-3-942712-20-0 , p. 58.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Settlement development. (PDF, p. 11) on braunschweig.de.
- ↑ a b Wendenring Bridge. braunschweig.de, accessed on March 8, 2016 .