Weser Bridge (Grohnde)

Eight visible piles of the former Weser bridge when the Weser was low in September 2018, behind it the Grohnder ferry

The former Weser bridge Grohnde was a Pfahljoch bridge over the Weser , which was located near Grohnde , now part of the municipality of Emmerthal in Lower Saxony . The wooden structure at the former Grohnde Castle, erected in 1443, was destroyed during the Thirty Years War and never rebuilt. Since 1633, a ferry has been securing the crossing here, which still exists today as the Grohnder ferry .

description

The bridge was built to cross the Weser on a medieval military and trade route that later became a post route. According to a Hamelin account book, a citizen from Hamelin built the bridge in 1443, presumably at the instigation of the Hildesheim bishop . By building the bridge, he would have had reliable access to Grohnde Castle as a bridgehead on the west bank of the Weser.

According to historical records, the bridge was completely renewed in 1617 and 1618. For the years from 1619 to 1623, the Grohnde Office's registers show funds for repairs. The bridge is believed to have been destroyed between 1625 and 1633.

At the end of the 19th century, double-row pile yokes could still be seen on both sides of the river at low tide as the supports of the earlier bridge. In 1981, the then water and shipping authority Hann. Munden at current work 96 oak piles in the river bed free. By means of dendrochronological investigations, the year of felling of the logs could be determined to be 1563 plus / minus five years. Three of the wooden posts are exhibited on the western bank of the Weser by the historic gate building.

Today, when the tide is extremely low, around 10 wooden piles protrude from the water as remains of the bridge on the western bank. It is believed that they were preserved for over 400 years because of the favorable conservation conditions for organic matter in the water. When the piles became visible again during the summer drought and hot spell in Europe in 2018 at a Weser level of around 70 centimeters, archaeologists from the Lower Saxony State Office for Monument Preservation showed interest in a new age determination. According to the responsible district archaeologist Friedrich-Wilhelm Wulf, the wood samples are dendrochronologically examined in order to determine when the tree trunks fell.

photos
Merian engraving of the Grohnder ferry with a staked wagon ferry and a ferry boat, in the water the pile yokes of the former bridge, 1654
The location of the bridge was to the left of the ferry entrance
The wooden piles of the bridge during extremely low water, October 2018
View of symmetrically arranged wooden posts on the bottom of the water
A pile under the surface of the water
Wooden posts of the Weser Bridge on display at the historic gatehouse, dated to the year 1563