Stone Bridge (Regensburg)
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The Stone Bridge (''Steinerne Brücke'') in
Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...
, Germany, is a 12th-century bridge across the
Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...
linking the Old Town with Stadtamhof. For more than 800 years, until the 1930s, it remained the city's only bridge across the river. It is a masterwork of
medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
construction and an emblem of the city.


Location

The south end of the bridge may have been the location of an ancient city gate.Archäologische Grabungen: Die aktuellen Grabungsergebnisse (Stand 18.9.2009)
Aktuelles, Steinerne Brücke, Tourismus, Stadt Regensburg
The early 16th-century Amberg Salt Store () and the early 17th-century Regensburg Salt Store were built against it.
Projekt Steinerne Brücke zu Regensburg, Geschichte,
University of Regensburg The University of Regensburg () is a public research university located in the city of Regensburg, Germany. The university was founded on 18 July 1962 by the Landtag of Bavaria as the fourth full-fledged university in Bavaria. Following groundbr ...
The
Regensburg Sausage Kitchen The Historic Sausage Kitchen of Regensburg (German language, German: ''Historische Wurstküche zu Regensburg'') is a restaurant in Regensburg, Germany. This is notable as perhaps the oldest continuously open public restaurant in the world. In 1135 ...
east of the Salt Store was built against the city wall in the 14th century; an earlier building on the same site probably served as a canteen for the workers building the bridge. Further east is the Regensburg Museum of Danube Shipping. The bridge has historically caused problems for traffic on the Danube,Franz Ržiha, "Die Steinerne Brücke bei Regensburg", ''Allgemeine Bauzeitung mit Abbildungen'' 43 (1878) 35–40, 45–49
p. 36
as was observed by
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
in 1809. It causes strong currents which required upstream shipping with insufficient power to be towed past it until 1916, when an electric system was installed to draw ships under the bridge. This was removed in 1964. Since modern barge traffic requires more clearance than the arches of the bridge provide, this stretch of the river is now only used by recreational and excursion shipping. Larger watercraft bypass it to the north by means of the Regensburg Regen-Danube Canal, which was built on the flood plain called the Protzenweiher which had been used for a cattle market and public amusements and forms part of the European Water Route between
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
at the mouth of the Rhine and Constance on the Black Sea. (Demolition of the bridge to remove the obstruction was proposed as early as 1904.)


History

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...
had a wooden bridge built at Regensburg, approximately east of the present bridge, but it was inadequate for the traffic and vulnerable to floods, so it was decided to replace it with a stone bridge. The Stone Bridge was built in only eleven years, probably in 1135–46.The Stone Bridge: 850 Years in Regensburg, Enduring Time and Man
Regensburg.de
Louis VII of France Louis VII (1120 – 18 September 1180), called the Younger or the Young () to differentiate him from his father Louis VI, was King of France from 1137 to 1180. His first marriage was to Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of the wealthiest and ...
and his army used it to cross the Danube on their way to the
Second Crusade The Second Crusade (1147–1149) was the second major crusade launched from Europe. The Second Crusade was started in response to the fall of the County of Edessa in 1144 to the forces of Zengi. The county had been founded during the First Crus ...
. It served as a model for other stone bridges built in Europe in the 12th and 13th centuries: the
Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...
bridge (now Augustus Bridge) in
Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...
,
London Bridge The name "London Bridge" refers to several historic crossings that have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark in central London since Roman Britain, Roman times. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 197 ...
across the
Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...
, the Pont d'Avignon across the
Rhône The Rhône ( , ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Ròse''; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Rôno'') is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and Southeastern France before dischargi ...
and the Judith Bridge (predecessor of the
Charles Bridge Charles Bridge ( , ) is a medieval stone arch bridge that crosses the Vltava river in Prague, Czech Republic. Its construction started in 1357 under the auspices of King Charles IV, and finished in the early 15th century.; The bridge replaced ...
) across the
Vltava The Vltava ( , ; ) is the longest river in the Czech Republic, a left tributary of the Elbe River. It runs southeast along the Bohemian Forest and then north across Bohemia, through Český Krumlov, České Budějovice, and Prague. It is com ...
in
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
. It remained the only bridge across the Danube at Regensburg for about 800 years, until the construction of the Nibelungen Bridge. For centuries it was the only bridge over the river between Ulm and
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
, making Regensburg a major centre of trade and government. The bridge originally had its own administration, using a seal depicting it, the oldest example of which dates to 1307; tolls were used for its upkeep.Das Stadt- und Brückenwappen
Denkmäler an der Steinernen Brücke, Projekt Steinerne Brücke zu Regensburg


Construction and modifications

The Stone Bridge is an
arch bridge An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its structural load, loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either si ...
with 16 arches. At the south end, the first arch and first pier were incorporated into the Regensburg Salt Store when it was built in 1616–20, but remain in place under the approach road to the bridge. An archaeological investigation was performed in 2009, and revealed fire damage during the Middle Ages. The bridge was originally long; the building in of the first pier reduced it to .Technische Daten, Architektur und Baugeschichte
Projekt Steinerne Brücke zu Regensburg
The southern, Old Town end of the bridge is half a metre lower than the northern, Stadtamhof end, and the bridge bends slightly because of the course of the river at that point. Construction of the bridge was made easier by an unusually hot, dry summer in 1135, which caused very low water levels in the Danube.Ržiha
p. 37
Some of the bridge piers are on the two islands in the Danube within the city, the Upper and Lower Wöhrd. The others rest on foundations of oak logs on the riverbed, which were constructed inside
cofferdam A cofferdam is an enclosure built within a body of water to allow the enclosed area to be pumped out or drained. This pumping creates a dry working environment so that the work can be carried out safely. Cofferdams are commonly used for constru ...
s of oak planking. To protect them from being undermined by the river, they are surrounded by pillar-shaped artificial islands or abutments; these were enlarged in 1687. The bridge abutments are a substantial impediment to the flow of water, with as little as 4 metres between them, creating strong whirling currents under the bridge and downstream, which are referred to as the "Regensburg Danube
Strudel Strudel ( , ) is a type of layered pastry with a filling that is usually sweet, but savoury fillings are also common. It became popular in the 18th century throughout the Habsburg monarchy, Habsburg Empire. Strudel is part of Austrian cuisine ...
". Five of them were reduced in size in 1848 as part of construction of the Ludwig Canal, and they were all reduced and strengthened with concrete and stone during renovation work in 1951–62. The construction using abutments is a modification of the technique used by the Romans for the bridge over the Mosel at Trier, where the piers rest directly on the riverbed. Watermills were built at the south end of the bridge, making use of the currents it created; the revenues contributed to the upkeep of the bridge. The Bavarians had them burnt in 1633 during the
Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...
; some were rebuilt in 1655 but in 1784 an ice dam on the river destroyed them. One was rebuilt at the foot of the Salt Store for a few more years. In the Thirty Years' War, during the Swedish attack on the city in 1633, the fourth bridge span (the third now visible) was blown up. The gap was filled by a wooden drawbridge and only repaired in 1790/91 after it became apparent that the missing section was weakening the bridge.Krieg und Zerstörung im Umkreis der Steinernen Brücke, Architektur und Baugeschichte
Projekt Steinerne Brücke zu Regensburg
The bridge originally had three towers, of which only the south tower, a gate tower to the Old City, survives. The original south tower was built around 1300; beside it stood a chapel of St Margaret. In the mid-16th century this was converted into a debtors' prison and the tower became known as the Debt Tower (''Schuldturm'').
Projekt Steinerne Brücke zu Regensburg
The middle tower was built around 1200.
Projekt Steinerne Brücke zu Regensburg
Both the south and the middle towers were destroyed by fire in the Thirty Years' War, when the city was under occupation by the Swedes. They were rebuilt in 1648, the clock being added to the south tower at that time, but the middle tower was demolished in 1784 after being almost destroyed by the ice dam. The north tower (the Black Tower), was probably built in the second half of the 12th century, in association with the bridge itself.
Projekt Steinerne Brücke zu Regensburg
It was heavily fortified between 1383 and 1429, including a drawbridge. This tower was damaged in 1809 during the
Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
when the French and Bavarians retook the city from the Austrians, and had to be demolished the next year. In 1824/25 the site where it had stood was widened to accommodate a bazaar. The chapel was removed and replaced by a tollhouse in 1829. In the early 20th century, when the
tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...
way was built, all buildings between the remaining tower and the Amberg Salt Store were removed, widening the street approaching the bridge, and a wide arch was built over it beside the tower. Late in the Second World War, on 23 April 1945, German troops dynamited the second pier of the bridge immediately in front of that point, and also the eleventh, to slow the advance of American troops. The Americans installed temporary planking the following winter, but the damage was not fully repaired until 1967. The bridge originally had thick stone balustrades, with very narrow pedestrian gangways beside them. The balustrades were replaced in 1732 with thinner slabs of sandstone, widening the roadway.Ržiha
p. 40
In 1877 these were in turn replaced with granite from Flossenbürg, and the wooden ramp which had connected the bridge to the Upper Wöhrd since 1499 was replaced with an iron one at the same time. Finally, in 1950, the bridge was given concrete balustrades. The north end of the bridge was formerly the border between the Duchy (later Electorate) of
Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
and the Free Imperial City of Regensburg. At the highest point of the bridge is a stone carving called the ''Bruckmandl'' or ''Brückenmännchen'' (bridge mannikin), a largely naked young man shielding his eyes with one hand and with an inscription reading "" (likely a reference to the hot summer when the bridge was begun). He has been said to symbolise the city's freedoms and its emancipation from the control of the Bishop. He has also been said to represent the bridge builder, and another figure on the
cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...
to represent the cathedral builder.Zwei Regensburger Wahrzeichen ''oder'' "Des Baumeisters Bund mit dem Teufel"
, Sagen über Dom und Brückenbau, Sagen und Zeitgeschichte: Rund um die Steinerne Brücke, Projekt Steinerne Brücke zu Regensburg
He was originally seated on the roof of a mill, and now sits on the bridge itself on the roof of a miniature toll-house. The current version is the third. The original was replaced in 1579; the current statue was erected on 23 April 1854.
Denkmäler an der Steinernen Brücke, Projekt Steinerne Brücke zu Regensburg
The 1579 statue, which lost its legs and arms in the fighting in 1809, is in the Regensburg Museum of History. There was formerly a crucifix on the bridge; it was removed in 1694. The bridge also has a number of other sculptures: full statues of Emperor Friedrich II (standing on a masked head with ram's horns, and originally on the now demolished north tower; the current statue is a 1930 replica),
Philip of Swabia Philip of Swabia (February/March 1177 – 21 June 1208), styled Philip II in his charters, was a member of the House of Hohenstaufen and King of Germany from 1198 until his assassination. The death of Philip's older brother Henry VI, Holy Roman E ...
and his consort Queen Irene (both enthroned and originally on the middle tower; Philip's sculpture is a replica) and reliefs including various arms (including both the city and the bridge itself), heads that may be those of the original builder and the rebuilders later in the Middle Ages, a lizard, a
basilisk In European bestiary, bestiaries and legends, a basilisk ( or ) is a legendary reptile reputed to be a Serpent symbolism, serpent king, who causes death to those who look into its eyes. According to the ''Natural History (Pliny), Naturalis Histo ...
, a weasel, a lion (replaced with a replica in 1966), two roosters fighting and a reclining dog. There were also originally an apotropaic mask and a Roman sculpture of a winged lion on the middle tower. The roosters and the dog have been related to the legend about the building of the bridge; alternatively the Bruckmandl, the basilisk, the dog, the three heads and a now lost "small stone within a large stone" which was in the floor of the watchman's hut next to the middle tower have all been interpreted as Christian symbolism indicating that the bridge was the work of a school of clerical architects.


Current use and restoration

The bridge and the cathedral are the two major emblems of the city.Ulf Vogler
"Steinerne Brücke in Regensburg:Rettung für Wahrzeichen"
n-tv n-tv (styled ntv) is a German free-to-air television news channel owned by RTL Deutschland. n-tv broadcasts news and weather every hour and half-hour in the morning. It also broadcasts magazine shows and documentaries. History n-tv began a ...
17 February 2007
However, the bridge has been seriously damaged by heavy traffic in recent decades and by water and salt damage from poor drainage and lack of sealing of the masonry. For over a decade, the bridge was closed to private vehicles, and beginning in 2005 it was remotely monitored 24 hours a day from Nuremberg for signs of impending collapse. On the evening of 1 August 2008 it was also closed to buses and taxis and became a pedestrian and bicycle bridge. This was because of a report that the balustrades would be insufficient to stop a bus. The bridge has been under restoration since 2010; completion was originally expected in 2014 but then postponed until 2017 at the earliest.Ablauf der Instandsetzung
Instandsetzung, Tourismus, Stadt Regensburg
Temporary bridges are being used to enable the over 120,000 annual users of the bridge to bypass the section being rebuilt. The State of Bavaria conducted a thorough search taking two years and costing 100,000 
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...
to find appropriate stone to use in restoration, similar in colour and structure to the original material of the bridge and sufficiently tough and resistant to weathering. A satisfactory kind of sandstone was eventually found in an abandoned quarry near Ihrlerstein. The bridge is to remain closed to motor vehicles after the renovation.


Legend

There is a legend that the bridge builder and the
cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...
builder (who were apprentice and master) had a bet as to who would finish first. When the building of the cathedral progressed faster than that of the bridge, the bridge builder made a pact with the Devil: the Devil would aid him in exchange for the first three souls (or the first eight feet) to cross the bridge. The Devil helped as requested, and the bridge was finished first. But the bridge builder sent a rooster, a hen and a dog across the bridge first.For variants of this trope, see "
Devil's Bridge Devil's Bridge is a term applied to dozens of ancient bridges, found primarily in Europe. Most of these bridges are stone or masonry arch bridges and represent a significant technological achievement in ancient architecture. Due to their unusu ...
".
A statue of a falling man on the cathedral is said to represent the master throwing himself off in reaction. Enraged, the Devil attempted to destroy the bridge, but failed, but that is why it is bent. In fact the bridge was already complete when construction began on the cathedral in 1273.


See also

* List of medieval stone bridges in Germany *
List of bridges in Germany This list of bridges in Germany lists bridges of particular historical, scenic, architectural or engineering interest. Road and railway bridges, viaducts, aqueducts and footbridges are included. Historical and architectural interest bridges {{ro ...


References


Sources

* Edith Feistner, ed. ''Die Steinerne Brücke in Regensburg''. Forum Mittelalter 1. Regensburg: Schnell & Steiner, 2005. * Helmut-Eberhard Paulus. ''Steinerne Brücke mit Regensburger und Amberger Salzstadel und einem Ausflug zur Historischen Wurstküche''. Regensburger Taschenbücher 2. Regensburg: Mittelbayerische Zeitung, 1993. * Hans-Jürgen Becker. "Opus pontis—Stadt und Brücke im Mittelalter: Rechtshistorische Aspekte am Beispiel der Steinernen Brücke zu Regensburg". ''Zeitschrift für bayerische Landesgeschichte'' 73 (2010) 355–70


External links


Projekt Steinerne Brücke zu Regensburg
Geschichte,
University of Regensburg The University of Regensburg () is a public research university located in the city of Regensburg, Germany. The university was founded on 18 July 1962 by the Landtag of Bavaria as the fourth full-fledged university in Bavaria. Following groundbr ...
: Class project of Albert Schweizer Realschule with Barbara Aumann, Jasmin Preißer, Barbara Schiller, Barbara Unterbauer and Christina Weber * J. Schönsteiner
Beschreibung der Donaubrücke Regensburg—Steinerne Brücke
From Bundesministerium für Verkehr. ''Steinbrücken in Deutschland''. Düsseldorf: Beton, 1988. . At Baufachinformation.de
The "Steinerne Brücke" in Regensburg Germany
modelled in 3 dimensions using Google SketchUp
Instandsetzung: Sanierung eines Kulturdenkmals von europäischem Rang
Tourismus, Stadt Regensburg

{{Authority control Stone bridges in Germany Buildings and structures completed in 1346 Bridges completed in the 12th century Pedestrian bridges in Germany Bridges over the Danube Former toll bridges in Germany Buildings and structures in Regensburg Bridges in Bavaria