General Information
Project Type
| Structure: |
Lattice truss bridge |
|---|---|
| Material: |
Iron bridge |
| Structure: |
Through truss bridge |
| Material: |
Structurae Plus/Pro - Subscribe Now! |
| Function / usage: |
original use: Railroad (railway) bridge original use: Road bridge current use: Pedestrian bridge (footbridge) |
Awards and Distinctions
| 2004 |
for registered users |
|---|
Location
| Location: |
Tczew, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland |
|---|---|
| Crosses: |
|
| Next to: |
Tczew Bridge (1959)
Tczew Bridge (1891) |
| Coordinates: | 54° 5' 33.46" N 18° 48' 21.28" E |
Technical Information
Dimensions
| total length | 837.30 m | |
| span lengths | 6 x 130.88 m | |
| number of spans | 6 |
Materials
| piers |
granite
sandstone |
|---|---|
| foundations |
concrete
|
| truss |
puddled iron
|
Chronology
| 1847 | Work begun at the site on a chain suspension bridge is stopped after Carl Lentze sees the design for the Britannia Bridge. |
|---|---|
| 1850 | Construction begins anew based on Carl Lentze's final design using a lattice truss inspired by Britannia Bridge. |
| 1850 — 1851 | One abutment and one pier base are completed. |
| 27 July 1851 | The Prussian King lays the first cornerstone in a ceremony on the Tczew side of the bridge. |
| 1852 | All piers and both abutments are completed. |
| 1853 | Substructure completed. |
| 1855 | The two middle spans are completed. |
| 8 October 1855 | Rudolph Schinz dies of a stroke while construction continues. |
| 1856 | Four spans are completed. |
| 12 October 1857 | The bridge is opened for traffic with all six spans completed. Not all of the decorative towers on the piers are completed and only one decorative portal – at the Tczew abutment. |
| 1858 | The towers and other details and decorations are completed. |
| 1891 | The railroad track is removed and the bridge henceforth only used as vehicular and pedestrian bridge. |
| 1912 | Three truss spans are added to the bridge (and the parallel one) to increase the lengths by 3 x 81.60 m = 244.80 m. |
| 1929 | After taking over the bridge in 1920, the Polish government has the decorative carvings removed. |
Notes
The Tczew Bridge is particular for a number of reasons. The key one is definitely the history: it is the oldest existing bridge on Vistula, opened in 1857. Refurbished and prolonged a number of times, it was destroyed during WWII. Re-opened in 1959, it hardly resembles the original construction, so one may debate whether this is still the 1857 bridge. The original look of the city could be gathered when looking at one of the spans, with towers on the pillars. The rest looks very heterogeneous, rather like a few brides put one next to another. The third longest bridge (1 073 m) stands on huge flood fields on the right bank rather than on the river itself. Its width changes: it is usually 9 m, though on two westernmost spans is reduced to just 5 m and here cars leaving Tczew should give way to those entering the city.
Participants
- Carl Lentze (designer)
- Friedrich August Stüler (architect)
- Rudolph Eduard Schinz (structural engineer)
Relevant Web Sites
Relevant Publications
- (1984): Buiding bridges. History, Technology, Construction. Beton-Verlag, Düsseldorf (Germany).
- (1988): Die ersten preussischen Eisenbahnbrücken. Dirschau, Marienburg, Köln. Verschwundene Zeugnisse für Fortschrittsglauben u. Geschichtsbewusstsein. Begleitbuch zur Ausstellung d. Ostpreuss. Landesmuseums Lüneburg. pp. 88.
- (2003): History and construction of the Old Vistula Bridges in Tczew. Presented at: First International Congress on Construction History, Madrid, 20-24.01.2003.
- (1855): Die im Bau begriffenen Brücken über die Weichsel bei Dirschau und über die Nogat bei Marienburg. Verlag Ernst und Korn, Berlin (Germany).
- (1997): Mosty na Wisle i ich budowniczowie. Warsaw (Poland).
- About this
data sheet - Structure-ID
20007005 - Published on:
01/12/2002 - Last updated on:
15/04/2016
