Strukturfindungsprozesse der Spätrenaissance - Planung und Bau der Fleischbrücke Nürnberg (1596-1598)

Structure-finding processes of the late Renaissance - Planning and construction of the Fleischbrücke in Nuremberg (1596-98).

The late 16th century Fleischbrücke (Meat Bridge) in Nuremberg is considered to be the most significant bridge of the late Renaissance in Germany. After floods had destroyed the double arched predecessor building in the spring of 1595, the new bridge was to be constructed without a central pillar. However, because of adjacent development, only a very flat arch was possible. Also, the ground was not solid enough to accommodate the thrust. In response to these challenges, the Nuremberg master builders developed an exceptional building with an extremely flat arch. The arch features a span and a span to rise ratio that is far superior to any other comparable building of the German-speaking world of the time and which is additionally also characterized by unusual solutions for stone dressing and pile foundation. In the summer of 1598 it was built in a record time of just nine weeks. Designed under the influence of a still "unscientific" structural engineering technique, the Fleischbrücke has, over the centuries, nonetheless proven to be a lesson in robust and sustainable construction.
Planning, structural design and implementation were the expression and result of a highly developed urban building culture of a Reichsstadt's infrastructure and logistics. An architectural contest in bridge design was held and a solution gradually developed through a process of iterative optimization. A very extensive pool of archived documents enables us to trace back the process of structural design development with great precision. Design and construction of the Fleischbrücke are among the best documented planning processes of a bridge in early modern times. The article examines which of the considerations that were part of the construction process - from its initial planning to the final completion of this landmark of engineering feat - were followed up upon, discarded or ultimately implemented.