The Kaiser Wilhelm Bridge (german: Kaiser-Wilhelm-Brücke or "Emperor William Bridge") is a

swing bridge A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the swing span (turning span) can then pi ...

Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsh ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and the town's landmark.

Location

The Kaiser Wilhelm Bridge connects the beach (''Südstrandpromenade'') with the South Quarter.

History

Construction began in 1905, and at its completion in 1907 it was Europe's longest swing bridge. The design scheme was created by Ernst Troschel, construction was executed by

MAN A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromo ...

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

. In 1998 the rotary mechanics of the southern part of the bridge were damaged when a tugboat collided with a frigate and had to be partially repaired. In 2003, a cargo ship rammed and slightly damaged the bridge. From September 2010 to September 2013, the bridge was closed to the public for repairs.

Specifications

The bridge has a length of and a width of 8 m. The two pillars are 20.4 m tall. The maximum passage height is 9.00 m at + 1.10 m medium water-level in the harbour, the passage width is 58.60 m. On the bridge the road traffic can only drive one way at the same time. It is controlled by traffic lights. Before it tilts out the bridge is blocked for the whole traffic by light signals and pikes.

Postage stamp

In 2007,

Deutsche Post The Deutsche Post AG, operating under the trade name Deutsche Post DHL Group, is a German multinational package delivery and supply chain management company headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It is one of the world's largest courier companies. ...

released a 1.45-euro stamp to commemorate the centennial of the bridge.

External links

''This article was translated from the German Wikipedia article on December 15, 2006.'' Buildings and structures in Wilhelmshaven Bridges completed in 1907 Swing bridges Road bridges in Germany {{Germany-bridge-struct-stub