Hohenzollern Bridge

Hohenzollern Bridge Hohenzollernbrücke
Hohenzollern bridge
Coordinates	50°56′29″N 06°57′56″E / 50.94139°N 6.96556°ECoordinates: 50°56′29″N 06°57′56″E / 50.94139°N 6.96556°E
Carries	Train and pedestrian traffic[1]
Crosses	River Rhine[1]
Locale	Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany[1]
Owner	Deutsche Bundesbahn
Characteristics
Design	Tied arch bridge (1948)[1]
Material	Concrete piers with steel superstructure[1]
Total length	409.19 metres (1,342.5 ft)[1]
Width	26.2 metres (86 ft) (deck, 1987)[1]
Longest span	167.75 metres (550.4 ft)[1]
Number of spans	118.88 metres (390.0 ft) - 167.75 metres (550.4 ft) - 122.56 metres (402.1 ft) (1987)[1]
History
Constructed by	Krupp Maschinen- und Stahlbau (steel), Grün & Bilfinger and Heinrich Butzer (concrete) 1946 August Klönne and Stahlbau Albert Liesegang (steel), Philipp Holzmann AG (concrete) 1956 Hein, Lehmann & Co. and Krupp Industrietechnik GmbH and Thyssen Engineering GmbH (steel) 1986[1]
Construction begin	1946, 1956, 1986
Construction end	1948, 1959, 1987
Construction cost	DM 14,000,000[1]

Hohenzollern Bridge Hohenzollernbrücke
Hohenzollern Bridge, with Cologne Cathedral and Museum Ludwig in the background
Crosses	River Rhine
Locale	Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany[2]
Preceded by	Cathedral Bridge
Characteristics
Design	Arch bridge with suspended deck (1911)[2]
Width	32.45 metres (106.5 ft) (deck)[2]
Longest span	167.75 metres (550.4 ft)[2]
Number of spans	118.88 metres (390.0 ft) - 167.75 metres (550.4 ft) - 122.56 metres (402.1 ft) (1911)[2]
History
Architect	Franz Heinrich Schwechten (1911)[2]
Construction begin	1907
Construction end	1911
Collapsed	6 March 1945[2]

The Hohenzollern Bridge (German: Hohenzollernbrücke) is a bridge crossing the river Rhine in the German city of Cologne (German Köln). It crosses the Rhine at kilometre 688.5. Originally, the bridge was both a railway and street bridge, however, after its destruction in 1945 and its subsequent reconstruction, it was only accessible to rail and pedestrian traffic.

It is the most heavily used railway bridge in Germany with more than 1200 trains daily,^[3] connecting the Köln Hauptbahnhof and Köln Messe/Deutz stations.

History

The bridge was constructed between 1907 and 1911 after the old bridge, the Cathedral Bridge (Dombrücke), was demolished. The Cathedral Bridge was unable to handle the increasing traffic in Cologne. The new bridge was named after the House of Hohenzollern.

The President of the Railway Directorate Cologne, Paul von Breitenbach started planning the construction and handed over this work to his successor Rudolf Schmidt in 1906. The project was headed by the railway engineer Fritz Beer and under his direction the designs were worked out by Friedrich Dirksen. The construction of the Hohenzollern bridge took place from 1907 to 1911. Inauguration took place on May 22, 1911 by Kaiser Wilhelm II.^[4]

The bridge consisted of three adjacent bridge parts, each with three iron truss arches (passage openings) in the longitudinal direction to accommodate four railroad tracks and a road. Although the location of the bridge and the railway station were already controversial in previous structures, the Hohenzollern bridge took over the orientation of the previous bridge on the central axis of the cathedral.

• 
  König Friedrich Wilhelm IV.
  (north of the ramp on the right bank of the Rhine)
• 
  Kaiser Wilhelm I.
  (south of the ramp on the right bank of the Rhine)

Four equestrian statues of Prussian kings and German emperors of the Hohenzollern family flank each ramp. The Cathedral Bridge was already adorned with the statues of Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia by sculptor Gustav Blaeser and Kaiser Wilhelm I by Friedrich Drake, which are now placed on the right bank of the Rhine (see pictures above). In addition sculptor Louis Tuaillon made the equestrian statues of Emperor Friedrich III and, during his lifetime, Wilhelm II, which were placed on the left bank of the Rhine (see pictures below). They depict the era of Prussian rule in the Rhine province.

• 
  Kaiser Friedrich III.
  (north of the ramp on the left bank of the Rhine)
• 
  Kaiser Wilhelm II.
  (south of the ramp on the left bank of the Rhine)

The Hohenzollern Bridge was one of the most important bridges in Germany during World War II; even under consistent daily airstrikes the bridge was not badly damaged. On 6 March 1945, German military engineers blew up the bridge when Allied troops began their assault on Cologne.

After the war's end, the bridge was initially made usable on a makeshift basis but soon reconstruction began in earnest. By 8 May 1948, the Hohenzollern Bridge was accessible by pedestrians again.

The (southern) road traffic decks were removed so that the bridge now only consisted of six individual bridge decks, built partly in their old form. The surviving portals and bridge towers were not repaired and were demolished in 1958. In 1959, the reconstruction of the bridge was completed.

During the 1980s, the bridge was renovated with two new tracks. A very small portion of the old road ramp on the Deutz side was preserved, together with cobblestones and tram tracks. The rest was removed in connection with the construction of the Kölntriangle development and converted into a pedestrian and bike path.

The Hohenzollern Bridge now regularly has over 1200 trains pass through daily.^[3] The bridge is regarded as an important part of Cologne as it connects Cologne's central station with major European cities on the other side of the Rhine.

The total length of the Hohenzollern Bridge is 409.19 meters (1,342.5 ft).

Since 2008 people have placed love padlocks on the fence between the footpath and the railway lines.^[5] Dutch band Nits dedicated a song to this in the song "Love Locks" from their 2012 album Malpensa.

The Hohenzollern Bridge (center) about six weeks after its destruction

References

1. Hohenzollernbrücke (1987) at Structurae
2. Hohenzollernbrücke (1911) at Structurae
3. DB Bahn: Hauptbahnhof Köln – Drehkreuz des Westen (in German)
4. Lothar Hammer: Köln: Die Hohenzollernbrücke und die deutsche Brückenarchitektur der Kaiserzeit. S. 31,90,97. (Abweichende Datumsangaben in Helmut Fußbroich: Gedenktafeln in Köln mit Bezug auf Ulrich Krings: Der Kölner Hauptbahnhof, Landeskonservator Rheinland, Arbeitshefte, Bd. 22, S. 37)
5. Stolarz, Sarah (February 9, 2009). "Cologne Gets a Lock on Love". Deutsche Welle.

Hohenzollern Bridge (right) seen at night from the other side of the Rhine at Deutz.