Hamburg is the second largest city in Germany and considered to be
one of the most beautiful in the country. It is also a popular tourist
destinations because of its scenic beauty and unique blend of historical
monuments and modern pubs and nightclubs, including the world-renowned
red light district, the Reeperbahn.
Despite being located
astride the River Elbe, some 100 kilometres from the North Sea, Hamburg
is a major port city. It has the country's biggest port - the
second-busiest in Europe and only the third largest in the world, after
London and New York. For those who love water, ships and harbors,
Hamburg is hence, a must visit.
Hamburg is practically surrounded on all sides by water. The Alster
river has been divided into two lakes that lie on either side of the
city, the Binnen and Aussenalster (Inner and Outer) and the River Elbe
flows right through into the North Sea. All this water means an
abundance of canals, streams and bridges. In fact, it’s a little known
fact that Hamburg has more bridges inside its city limits than any other
city in the world and more canals than Amsterdam and Venice combined.
The figure has been put somewhere around 2,300 to over 2,500 - more than
London, Amsterdam and Venice put together.
Here are some of the most notable bridges around the city.
1. Köhlbrandbrücke
The Köhlbrandbrücke was inaugurated in 1974 and is one of the most
prominent landmarks in Hamburg. It is 3940 metres long and the central,
cable-stayed part has a span of 325 metres. From 1974 until 1991 it was
the lonest cable stayed bridge span in the world. Now, it is the second
longest bridge in Germany.
2. Hamburg Elbbrücken
Hamburg Elbbrücken refers to several independent bridges which cross the
River Elbe in Hamburg. This navigable waterway within Hamburg is
divided into two main branches, the North Elbe and the Süderelbe, which
are again merged with the Norderelbe after partitioning the old
Süderelbe on the Köhlbrand and it wraps around the Elbe Islands
summarized to the largest river island in the Elbe.
3. Harburger Elbbrücke
The old Harburger Elbe bridge was opened in 1899. The 474 m long steel
arch bridge built back then for road vehicles was the first road bridge
over the Süderelbe and serves now only pedestrians and cyclists. Between
1980 and 1995, the bridge was radically restored, this accounted for
the laterally projecting cantilevered walkway.
4. Kattwyk-Brücke
The Kattwyk bridge over the Süderelbe is a 290 metre long vertical
lift bridge with two 70 m high end portals for the rail and road
transport. It connects the Elbe Island Wilhelmsburg Moorburg and was
inaugurated on March 21, 1973. With a lifting height of 46 m, it is the
largest vertical lift bridge in the world.
A special feature of
the bridge is that the rails on the bridge are in the middle of the road
carriageway. Since the Kattwyk bridge is shared by both rail and road,
vehicular traffic is blocked when a freight train is passing. These
closures take typically about eight to ten minutes. For shipping, the
bridge will open normally during the day (on workdays) every two hours.
The interruption of traffic generally takes 15 to 20 minutes.
5. Brooksbrücke
The Brooks Bridge leading into the
Speicherstadt was inaugurated in 1887. The bridge is adorned by four
statues one at each of its corners. The original sculptures were
destroyed in the Second World War. The current sculptures were erected
in 2001.
6. Ellerntorsbrücke
The Ellerntorsbrücke is an arch stone bridge that crosses the Lord grave
Fleet. She served for centuries as a direct route from Hamburg to
Altona. Built in 1668, it is the second oldest surviving stone bridge in
Hamburg.
source : Amusing Planet
