The Kaiser Wilhelm Bridge ( or "Emperor William Bridge") is a

swing bridge A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a movable bridge that can be rotated horizontally around a vertical axis. It has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravit ...

Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsha ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, and the town's landmark.

Location

The Kaiser Wilhelm Bridge connects the beach (''Südstrandpromenade'') with the South Quarter.

History

Construction began in 1905, and at its completion in 1907 it was Europe's longest swing bridge. The design scheme was created by Ernst Troschel, construction was executed by

MAN A man is an adult male human. Before adulthood, a male child or adolescent is referred to as a boy. Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the f ...

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

. In 1998 the rotary mechanics of the southern part of the bridge were damaged when a tugboat collided with a frigate and had to be partially repaired. In 2003, a cargo ship rammed and slightly damaged the bridge. From September 2010 to September 2013, the bridge was closed to the public for repairs.

Specifications

The bridge has a length of and a width of 8 m. The two pillars are 20.4 m tall. The maximum passage height is 9.00 m at + 1.10 m medium water-level in the harbour, the passage width is 58.60 m. On the bridge the road traffic can only drive one way at the same time. It is controlled by traffic lights. Before it tilts out the bridge is blocked for the whole traffic by light signals and pikes.

Postage stamp

In 2007,

Deutsche Post (, ) is a brand of the DHL Group (listed as ), used for its domestic mail services in Germany. The services offered under the brand are those of a traditional mail service, making the brand the successor of the former state-owned mail monopoly ...

released a 1.45-euro stamp to commemorate the centennial of the bridge.

References

External links

''This article was translated from the German Wikipedia article on December 15, 2006.'' Buildings and structures in Wilhelmshaven Bridges completed in 1907 Swing bridges Road bridges in Germany {{Germany-bridge-struct-stub