The Fehmarn Sound Bridge (german: Fehmarnsundbrücke) connects the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

Fehmarn Fehmarn (, da, Femern; from Old Wagrian Slavic "''Fe More''", meaning "''In the Sea''") is an island in the Baltic Sea, off the eastern coast of Germany's northernmost state of Schleswig-Holstein. It is Germany's third-largest island, after Rüg ...

in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

with the German mainland near

Großenbrode Großenbrode is a municipality in the district of Ostholstein, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the Baltic Sea coast, opposite Fehmarn, approx. 8 km (5 mi) east of Heiligenhafen. Until 1963 it had a ferry connection to G ...

Description

The crossing includes the network arch bridge which carries road and rail over the Fehmarn

Sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

. Construction began in 1958 and the bridge was opened on April 30, 1963. The main

span Span may refer to: Science, technology and engineering * Span (unit), the width of a human hand * Span (engineering), a section between two intermediate supports * Wingspan, the distance between the wingtips of a bird or aircraft * Sorbitan ester ...

is above the sea, which allows shipping to pass through. The bridge is constructed of steel and is wide; are used by

Deutsche Bahn The (; abbreviated as DB or DB AG) is the national railway company of Germany. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). The Federal Republic of Germany is its single shareholder. describes itself as the se ...

for a single rail track, part of the

Lübeck–Puttgarden railway The Lübeck–Puttgarden railway is part of the international Vogelfluglinie (Bird Flight Line) between Germany and Denmark and connects Lübeck with Puttgarden on the Baltic Sea island of Fehmarn in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. The line ...

, the rest for a pedestrian walkway and two-lane roadway. The two steel arches, from which the central span is suspended by cables, are braced with steel cross-beams. The arches are in length and reach above the main deck of the bridge. The bridge was designed by engineers G. Fischer, T. Jahnke and P. Stein from the firm ''Gutehoffnungshütte Sterkrade AG'',

Oberhausen Oberhausen (, ) is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen ( ). The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Rout ...

-Sterkrade. Architect Gerd Lohmer helped with the architectural design.

Route and ferry changes

At the same time as the opening of the bridge, changes were made to ferry services. The previous ferry service to the island of Fehmarn was discontinued. The service from Großenbrode Quay, Germany to

Gedser Gedser is a town at the southern tip of the Danish island of Falster in the Guldborgsund Municipality in Sjælland region. It is the southernmost town in Denmark, and also the southernmost point of Scandinavia and the Nordic countries. The town ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

, crossing both Fehmarn Sound and the

Fehmarn Belt Fehmarn Belt (), (, former spelling ''Femer Bælt''; ) is a strait connecting the Bay of Kiel and the Bay of Mecklenburg in the western part of the Baltic Sea between the German island of Fehmarn and the Danish island of Lolland. Ferries oper ...

, was replaced with a new service from

Puttgarden is a ferry harbour and a village on the German island of Fehmarn. It lies on an important route between Germany and Denmark known as the Vogelfluglinie which crosses the strait, the Fehmarnbelt, to Rødby on the island of Lolland. Overview ...

(on Fehmarn) to

Rødby Rødby is a town, with a population of 1,983 (1 January 2022),Vogelfluglinie The (German) or (Danish) is a transport corridor between Copenhagen, Denmark, and Hamburg, Germany. As the Danish and German names (literally: '' bird flight line'') imply, the corridor is also an important bird migration route between arctic ...

(literally "bird flight line") from

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

Historic monument

The Fehmarn Sound bridge was declared an historic monument in 1999 by the State Office for Protection of Historical Monuments of

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...

, and has since become a symbol of both Fehmarn and Schleswig-Holstein.

Cold War explosive charges

As the bridge was built during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

, six explosive vaults were embedded below the approach road on the mainland side to be used in case of invasion. Their location is given away even today by six square asphalt patches. The vaults were connected to a control point about away in Heinrichsruh. Fehmarnsundbrücke.PNG, Fehmarn Sound bridge viewed from the west Fehmarnsundbruecke.JPG, Fehmarn Sound bridge viewed from land (from south) Fehmarnsundbruecke-sprengschaechte.jpg, 6 asphalt patches over former explosive charge vaults Fehmarnsundbrücke 1963 Femernsundbroen Insel Fehmarn Sound Bridge 963 Meters Schleswig-Holstein Germany - Foto 2018 Wolfgang Pehlemann P1260910.jpg, Fehmarn Sound bridge seen from east Fehmarnsundbrücke in Längsachse 1963 - E47 B 207 Straßenbrücke Eisenbahnbrücke Fußweg Westseite - Foto 2018 © Wolfgang Pehlemann P1270023.jpg, Fehmarn sound bridge seen from south. In use as a road bridge, rail bridge and with bike path

Future

Fehmarn Belt Tunnel The Fehmarn Belt fixed link ( da, Femern Bælt-forbindelsen, german: Fehmarnbelt-Querung) or Fehmarn Belt tunnel is an under-construction immersed tunnel, which will connect the Danish island of Lolland with the German island of Fehmarn, cros ...

is decided, between Denmark and Germany, with four lanes (2+2) and double track railway. But according to the agreement between the two countries, the Fehmarn Sound bridge can remain as it is, one lane per direction and a single railway track. In December 2012 a study was published saying that the bridge could not cope with the increased railway traffic expected after the tunnel opening. In 2020 it was decided to build the

Fehmarn Sound Tunnel The Fehmarn Sound Tunnel between the German mainland and the island of Fehmarn is projected to be built by 2028, and is projected to cost €718 million. The tunnel will be near Großenbrode. Background The treaty of 2008 between Germany and Den ...

References

* * Originally published in EISENBAHN-Kurier SPECIAL 53, Freiburg 1997. *

External links

Pictures of the construction and opening of the bridge

{{in lang, de Buildings and structures in Schleswig-Holstein Connections across the Baltic Sea Bridges completed in 1963 Through arch bridges Road-rail bridges Sterkrade Road bridges in Germany Network arch bridges Fehmarn