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The Middle Bridge (german: Mittlere Brücke ommon name/ german: Mittlere Rheinbrücke fficial name french: Pont du Milieu) is a historic bridge in the Swiss city of
Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (B ...
. It is situated on the oldest existing bridge site across the
Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...
, between
Lake Constance Lake Constance (german: Bodensee, ) refers to three bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Lak ...
and the
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian ...
.


The Medieval Bridge

The first document pertaining to the Middle Bridge dates back to 1223. A loan document of that year shows that the bishop Heinrich of Basel (also known as Heinrich von Thun) temporarily transferred the cathedral treasury to a Jewish moneylender as deposit for a loan. The money was to be used for the construction of the Middle Bridge, the first bridge across the Rhine in Basel, which played a significant role in the development of trade in the city. The exact time of construction is unknown, but it must have been complete to a certain extent in 1224, since a document of that year mentions “Johannes on the Rhine bridge.” In two documents from 1225, the monasteries of
St. Blasien St. Blasien (Sankt Blasien) is a small town located in the Waldshut district in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in the Southern Black Forest, 17 km northeast of Waldshut-Tiengen. St. Blaise's Abbey in the Black Forest is locat ...
and Bürgeln are exempted from the bridge toll in return for their financial contributions. For mules, horses and goods crossing the bridge, there was a toll of 30 silver marks, which the bishop appropriated until the debt to the Jews of Basel was paid off. The bridge gave the city a tremendous economic boost, and following its construction, the villages of Niederbasel and Oberbasel formed the fortified town of Kleinbasel on the eastern banks of the Rhine. It was united with Grossbasel in 1392.


The Modern Bridge

Between 1903 and 1905, the old bridge underwent a renovation project during which it was rebuilt entirely out of stone. The new construction was named «Middle Rhine Bridge». The old bridge was simply named the «Rhine Bridge» back when it was the sole bridge in Basel crossing the river; later, when the Wettstein and Johanniter bridges were built, it became known as the «Old Rhine Bridge». The name «Middle Rhine Bridge» was chosen because three bridges spanned the Rhein in Basel at the time, and this one was situated in the middle of the other two bridges. The bridge is 192 meters long and 18.8 meters wide and is built out of
granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies un ...
from the north face of
Saint-Gotthard Massif The Gotthard Massif or Saint-Gotthard Massif (german: Gotthardmassiv or ; it, Massiccio del San Gottardo; rm, Massiv dal Gottard) is a mountain range in the Alps in Switzerland, located at the border of four cantons: Valais, Ticino, Uri and G ...
. The construction was undertaken by Albert Buss & Cie. from
Pratteln Pratteln (Swiss German: ''Brattele'') is a municipality in the canton of Basel-Landschaft in Switzerland, located in the district of Liestal. History Pratteln is first mentioned around 1102-03 as ''Bratello''. Geography Pratteln has an area, ...
and
Philipp Holzmann Philipp Holzmann AG was a German construction company based in Frankfurt am Main. History Early years The company was founded in 1849 by Johann Philipp Holzmann (1805-1870) at Sprendlingen in present-day Dreieich near Frankfurt am Main as Phil ...
from
Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...
, and cost 2.67 million Francs. The bridge features seven arches - six of which stretch across the Rhine, and one which stands over the riverside footpath on the New Town side. A reproduction of the bridge's ''Brückenkapelle'' known as the ''Käppelijoch'', was built over the central support of the bridge. The bridge is a great work of
historic History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
bridge construction in Switzerland. Architectural and city planning deliberations played a decisive role in the choice of building materials and general design to be used for the bridge: in order to avoid interfering with the image of the old town, Emil Faesch from Basel was chosen to build the stonework of the bridge, while Friedrich von Thiersch from Munich was chosen to build its modern iron truss skeleton.


Construction

In order to avoid disrupting traffic over the Rhine, a temporary replacement bridge was constructed over twelve wooden
truss A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure. In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so that the assembl ...
supports a few meters away from the original bridge. The completed Bridge was unveiled to the public on the 11. November 1905 during a fair.


Renovation

The bridge was refurbished with no alterations made to its appearance in 2002. The bridge has been closed to private motor vehicles as part of the car free city centre since the start of 2015. The pavements were widened by 40cm at the cost of road space in the summer of 2017.


Art


«Amazone»

The Amazon sculpture by Carl Burckhardt, shown leading a horse, can be found by the Old Town
Bridgehead In military strategy, a bridgehead (or bridge-head) is the strategically important area of ground around the end of a bridge or other place of possible crossing over a body of water which at time of conflict is sought to be defended or taken over ...
. It was commissioned by the Basel art society and depicts a striding
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...
leading a
horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...
. Burckhardt completed the plaster model for the statue, but succumbed to a short illness in 1923 before it was cast. The bronze cast was finalised after his death. There are visible trowl marks left over from the plaster model which Burckhardt likely would have removed had he not died before its completion. The Amazon would have also held slack reins in her hands. It is assumed that the sculpture remains uncompleted. The Amazon was Burckhardt's last work. It was originally intended to be installed in the garden of the
Kunsthalle A kunsthalle is a facility that mounts temporary art exhibitions, similar to an art gallery. It is distinct from an art museum by not having a permanent collection. In the German-speaking regions of Europe, ''Kunsthallen'' are often operated by ...
, but due to the sudden unexpected death of its artist, the arts society donated it to the
canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ente ...
, which installed it in its present location. The piece has no relation to its current location and is purely considered a public art installation, sometimes mockingly referred to as
Street furniture Street furniture is a collective term for objects and pieces of equipment installed along streets and roads for various purposes. It includes benches, traffic barriers, bollards, post boxes, phone boxes, streetlamps, traffic lights, traf ...
.


«Helvetia auf der Reise»

The sculpture ''Helvetia auf der Reise'' by ''Bettina Eichin'' was originally a 1980 entry in the ''Kunstkredit'', an art competition in Basel. It depicts a woman who has laid her suitcase down, sitting pensively on a wall on the New Town bridgehead and looking out across the Rhine. The tablet mounted on the wall next to the figure reads "One day,
Helvetia Helvetia () is the female national personification of Switzerland, officially ''Confoederatio Helvetica,'' the Swiss Confederation. The allegory is typically pictured in a flowing gown, with a spear and a shield emblazoned with the Swiss fl ...
leaves the two franc coin, walks among the people, and embarks upon a long journey. On the way she travels through Basel. After a tiring walk through the city, she takes her coat off, lays down her suitcase and her spear and shield, and rests upon a pier on the Middle Bridge, looking thoughtfully up the Rhine…" ''Bettina Eichin'', whose art has always been politically conscious, said in an interview in 2010 "With the Helvetia allegory, I wanted to make the Helvetia allegory on our coins a woman again, to lift her from her embossing, for her to free herself - exactly how we women did. Only a few people 30 years ago understood what I wanted to express with the Helvetia sculpture. ��She steps out from the embossing of the coin - from money, goes on her way and rests upon her pedestal, tired, thoughtful, and distant - qualities that are not valued in women. She gazes up the Rhine towards the pharmaceutical industry and beyond the borders. She has laid down her spear, left her symbols of power behind her, and her suitcase suggests she has been on the road - a century of packing suitcases, getting away and leaving."


«Lagerstätte»

On the occasion of the 600 year celebration of the unification of Old and New Basel in 1992, the 3 lesser basel Ehrengesellschaften gifted the Canton the sculpture ''Lagerstätte'' by the artist ''Ludwig Stocker''. It is located by the first
pier Seaside pleasure pier in Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century.">England.html" ;"title="Brighton, England">Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th ...
of the bridge on the new town side, and depicts the 3 symbols of the Ehrengesellschafts, ''the Vogel Gryff'', ''the Wild Maa'', and ''the Leu'', lying alongside each other on a
catafalque A catafalque is a raised bier, box, or similar platform, often movable, that is used to support the casket, coffin, or body of a dead person during a Christian funeral or memorial service. Following a Roman Catholic Requiem Mass, a catafalqu ...
. Due to the sculpture being partially submerged in the Rhine, it can sometimes not be seen at all and only reasonably visible at best. The 3 Ehrengesellschafts had originally intended for the sculpture to be placed in ''Claraplatz'' or on the river bank, but were denied by the canton. Finally, the current location was agreed upon.www.ralu.ch
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References


External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Middle Bridge, Basel Basel Bridges over the Rhine