The Kennedy Bridge (
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
**Ge ...
: Kennedybrücke) is the middle of Bonn's three
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
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, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
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bridges (North, Kennedy and South bridge), connecting the city center of
Bonn
The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...
on the left side with the town center of
Beuel
Beuel ( Ripuarian: ''Büel'') is a city borough (''Stadtbezirk'') of Bonn, Germany. It has a population of 67,827 (2020).
Subdivisions
Beuel is composed of the sub-districts Beuel-Mitte, Beuel-Ost, Geislar, Hoholz, Holtorf, Holzlar, Küdinghoven ...
(which was incorporated into Bonn in 1969) on the right side. The second Reconstruction, which began in 2007, was finished in July 2011.
The history of the Kennedy Bridge
Connection between Bonn and Vilich (now Beuel)
Today's Kennedy Bridge is not the first connection between Bonn's two Rhine shores. There had already been a regular ferry service since the 17th Century. After the traffic grew faster and faster as well as high and low water, fog, ice or darkness complicated the transport, the city of Bonn made first plans of a bridge to the right bank of the Rhine in 1889. The citizens of Bonn started talks with the community of Vilich (the term „Beuel“ was first established in 1922). But it was a hard run until the festive inauguration of the first Rhine bridge on December 17, 1898. First, a dispute had to be clarified: the "Fähraktiengesellschaft", the community of the so-called "Fährbeerbten" (ferrymen) who hold the „Fährrechte“ (rights of ferry shipping) in this section of the Rhine, feared great financial losses. On May 13, 1896, the city of Bonn and the "Fährbeerbten" both agreed on a payment of 190,000
marks
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, and a further compensation of 30,000 marks.
Financing
Before the beginning of the construction — not unlike today — the financing had to be guaranteed. Negotiations with various banks were unsuccessful.
German Empire
The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
,
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...
and
Rhine Province were also defeated, so the city had to bear the full costs, which the Council officially decided in 1894.
Initially the construction costs were estimated at 2.58 million Mark. The citizens of Bonn wanted the town of Vilich to share costs with 10%, but the local council just offered the quite insufficient sum of 2,500 marks (0.1%). They feared that the construction would exceed the estimated costs. Therefore, the Vilichers were more interested in an end point of the bridge closer to their town's center. Instead, Bonn wanted the most economical connection for their business center „Markt“ across the former Vierecksplatz, the area of today's
Bertha-von-Suttner-Platz and the Berliner Freiheit. Bonn rejected the modest participation and after a long wrangling they agreed that the „Rechtsrheinischen“ (people living on the right bank of the Rhine) offer the space for the bridge ramp on their side for free and build a road to link their town with the bridge (because the bridge ended in no-man's-land there at this time) and Bonn paid for the bridge.
The largest and most beautiful bridge over the Rhine
In July 1895, a competition for the bridge was announced. ''Gutehoffnungshuette'' from
Oberhausen, ''R. Schneider'' from
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
and the architect ''Bruno Moehring'' won the 1st prize awarded with 8,000 marks. The winners also received the contract to build the bridge. In April 1896 the construction began and 33 months later the bridge was opened for public traffic. At this time, with a main span of 188 meters, it was the largest and by its situation in front of the picturesque
Siebengebirge
The (), occasionally Sieben Mountains or Seven Mountains, are a hill range of the German Central Uplands on the east bank of the Middle Rhine, southeast of Bonn.
Description
The area, located in the municipalities of Bad Honnef and König ...
most beautiful bridge over the Rhine.
The financing of the finally 4 million marks (155% of the first estimation) was realized by a public loan. From the beginning, all passers had to pay a bridge toll. This toll was hang up for cars in 1927 and finally for all passers in 1938.
Renaming to Klaus-Clemens Bridge, destruction and first reconstruction
Like every public building, the Rhine bridge was not spared from the era of
National Socialism
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Naz ...
. The Nazis renamed the bridge to Klaus-Clemens Bridge (after a
SA official from Bonn). On March 8, 1945 at 8:20 PM, only two months before the end of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, the fleeing
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...
destroyed the bridge, but the bombing didn't really stop the Allies.
Soon after the destruction ferries, boats and some truck ferries transferred goods and people between both sides. From August 29, 1945, on Bonn's Committee for Urban Planning, the "Bauausschuss", dealt with the construction of a new bridge and released the plans in March 1946. In September 1946 ''Stahlbau Rheinhausen'' and ''Grün & Bilfinger'' started with the construction. The bridge was built on the nearly intact pillows within 36 months. On November 12, 1949 the new bridge was opened.
Renaming to Kennedy Bridge
On December 2, 1963, just ten days after the assassination of U.S. President
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
the bridge was renamed to Kennedy Bridge in the presence of U.S. Ambassador George McGhee and Bonn's mayor Dr. Wilhelm Daniels.
Second reconstruction
In 2003, heavy corrosion damages were found below the sidewalks. According to another report in September 2005, the sidewalks were completely blocked for safety reasons and the city's Council decided the reconstruction and widening at the earliest possible moment. Subsequently, the funding of the 40 million
Euro
The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
has been guaranteed. The 3-phased reconstruction (north side, south side, road surface) began on April 16, 2007 and should be completed in April 2010 (later delayed to July 2011). After the reconstruction the bridge is 10 meters wider than before (26.80 meters in total).
Until the completion the whole traffic (cars and tram) was contracted to the two central lanes. Pedestrians and cyclists had to use one of the closed road lanes (depending on the reconstructed bridge side).
See also
*
List of memorials to John F. Kennedy
References
The history of the Kennedy bridgeat Bonn's website (German language).
External links
Photos of the 2nd reconstructionat an unofficial Beuel blog (German language).
{{Authority control
Bridges over the Rhine
Road bridges in Germany
Buildings and structures in Bonn
Former toll bridges in Germany
Bridges in North Rhine-Westphalia
John F. Kennedy