Münsterbrücke is a pedestrian and
road bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
over the
Limmat
The Limmat is a river in Switzerland. The river commences at the outfall of Lake Zurich, in the southern part of the city of Zurich. From Zurich it flows in a northwesterly direction, after 35 km reaching the river Aare. The confluenc ...
in the city of
Zürich
Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...
,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. It is listed in the
. It is indirectly named after two ''Münster'' (minsters), the
Fraumünster
The Fraumünster (; lit. in en, Women's Minster, but often wrongly translated to urLady Minster) is a church in Zürich which was built on the remains of a former abbey for aristocratic women which was founded in 853 by Louis the German for h ...
and
Grossmünster
The Grossmünster (; "great Minster (church), minster") is a Romanesque-style Swiss Reformed Church, Protestant church in Zürich, Switzerland. It is one of the four major churches in the city (the others being the Fraumünster, Predigerkirche Zür ...
.
Geography
Münsterbrücke crosses the
Limmat
The Limmat is a river in Switzerland. The river commences at the outfall of Lake Zurich, in the southern part of the city of Zurich. From Zurich it flows in a northwesterly direction, after 35 km reaching the river Aare. The confluenc ...
, connecting
Münsterhof
Münsterhof (literally: Fraumünster abbey courtyard) is a town square situated in the Lindenhof quarter in the historical center of Zürich, Switzerland. Münsterhof is the largest town square within the ''Altstadt'' (old town) of Zürich, and is ...
and
Limmatquai
''Limmatquai'' is a street in the Swiss city of Zürich. It is named after the Limmat, and it follows the right-hand (eastern) bank of that river for about through the '' Altstadt'', or historical core, of the city. The street was once important ...
at the historical core of the medieval town of Zürich. It is the second bridge over the Limmat, below the
Quaibrücke and above the
Rathausbrücke.
Transportation
The
Zürich tram
, neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon
, twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco
Zürich ...
lines 2, 4 and 15 run past it on the
Limmatquai
''Limmatquai'' is a street in the Swiss city of Zürich. It is named after the Limmat, and it follows the right-hand (eastern) bank of that river for about through the '' Altstadt'', or historical core, of the city. The street was once important ...
. The
ZSG Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft and its Limmat tour boats pass under it. Individual transportation is limited to road transport use between upper Limmatquai (
Bellevueplatz
Bellevueplatz ("Bellevue Square", from the French ''bellevue'' meaning "beautiful sight") is a town square in Zürich, Switzerland built in 1856. Named after the former Grandhotel Bellevue on its north side, it is one of the nodal points for ro ...
), upstream of the Limmat, and Münsterhof, since the area is part of the pedestrian zone of Zürich.
Architecture
In 1835, the chief engineer of the merchant society of the city of Zürich,
Alois Negrelli
Nikolaus Alois Maria Vinzenz Negrelli, Ritter von Moldelbe (born Luigi Negrelli; 23 January 1799 – 1 October 1858) was a Tyrolean civil engineer and railroad pioneer mostly active in parts of the Austrian Empire, Switzerland, Germany and It ...
, initiated the construction of the bridge in collaboration with the master-builders
Conrad Stadler and
Johann Jakob Locher-Oeri, who engineered the sophisticated wooden scaffold. The foundations of the bridge were based on 472 oak piles with a length of up to , to bear its weight of about 6,100 tons. The foundation was filled with concrete, and the spaces between the piles were reinforced with rubblestones. Above that, cofferdams and caissons were erected and reinforced by sandstone plates that lay on cement mortar. The structure consists of four flat arches with a inside diameter and a height of above the Limmat level, and a fifth arch of above a former channel into the former ''Kornhaus'' building opposite the Fraumünster church. The pillars between the arches have a diameter of and are protected by a layer of cement and paneled with black Jura marble. The pillars and cornices and the stones of the traffic lane are made of St. Gotthard granite. The cast-iron railings were produced in the
Grand Duchy of Baden
The Grand Duchy of Baden (german: Großherzogtum Baden) was a state in the southwest German Empire on the east bank of the Rhine. It existed between 1806 and 1918.
It came into existence in the 12th century as the Margraviate of Baden and subs ...
.
The present bridge has two lanes and sidewalks on both sides, but it is commonly used as a pedestrian and bicycle bridge as road transport is limited between Limmatquai and Münsterhof.
Münsterbrücke - Limmat - Münsterhof 2015-09-29 16-12-25 (P7800).JPG, One of the bridge's supports
Münsterbrücke - Limmatquai - Geländer - Münsterhof (P7800) 2015-09-29 16-15-43.JPG, Cast-iron railings
Münsterhof - Münsterbrücke Belag - Limmtquai (P7800) 2015-09-29 16-15-06.JPG, Traffic lane made of St. Gotthard granite.
Münsterbrücke - Limmatquai - Limmat - Münsterhof (P7800) 2015-09-29 16-13-46.JPG, View from Stadthausquai looking downstream
The
Hans Waldmann
Hans Waldmann may refer to:
* Hans Waldmann (mayor) (1435–1489), mayor of Zurich and Swiss military leader
* Hans Waldmann (fighter pilot)
Hans Peter Waldmann (24 September 1922 – 18 March 1945) was a German Luftwaffe (Air Force) fighte ...
(1435–1489) equestrian monument in front of the Fraumünster church was unveiled by the
Kämbel guild on 6 April 1937 at the site of the former Fraumünster ''Kornhaus'' (granary), which was torn down in 1897, above the fifth arch of the bridge.
History
The earliest bridge at the location was built in the Roman era, and in medieval Zürich a wooden bridge, called the ''Obere Brücke'' (upper bridge), connected the two banks of the Limmat. Between 1836 and 1838, the former wooden bridge was replaced by a stone bridge.
Alois Negrelli
Nikolaus Alois Maria Vinzenz Negrelli, Ritter von Moldelbe (born Luigi Negrelli; 23 January 1799 – 1 October 1858) was a Tyrolean civil engineer and railroad pioneer mostly active in parts of the Austrian Empire, Switzerland, Germany and It ...
engineered and supervised the construction of the bridge as it is still present today; it was inaugurated in August 1838. The bridge congested the traffic on the Limmat, so a land connection in the then "modern" Zürich was urgently needed by replacing the narrow medieval ''Reichsstrasse'' towards the present Rathausbrücke crossing. Thus, sections of the present
Limmatquai
''Limmatquai'' is a street in the Swiss city of Zürich. It is named after the Limmat, and it follows the right-hand (eastern) bank of that river for about through the '' Altstadt'', or historical core, of the city. The street was once important ...
on the eastern shore of the Limmat were built simultaneously.
Starting in 1861, the Fraumünster ''granary'' temporarily housed in one of its numerous empty rooms the ''Betraum'' of the Jewish citizens of Zürich until the
Synagoge Zürich Löwenstrasse
The Synagoge Zürich Löwenstrasse ( he})---> is the oldest and largest synagogue in the Swiss municipality of Zürich. In 1884 built in Moorish style, the oldest synagogue of Zürich also houses the prayer and school house of Israelitische Cultu ...
was built in 1881. Until May 1901 and between 1910 and 1924 there was even a tramway crossing the bridge towards Paradeplatz. The original construction has been repaired several times, most recently in the late 1990s.
Altartafeln von Hans Leu d.Ä. (Haus zum Rech) - linkes Limmatufer - Münsterbrücke 2013-04-08 15-19-43.jpg, Wooden medieval bridge (''Obere Brücke'') between Münsterhof
Münsterhof (literally: Fraumünster abbey courtyard) is a town square situated in the Lindenhof quarter in the historical center of Zürich, Switzerland. Münsterhof is the largest town square within the ''Altstadt'' (old town) of Zürich, and is ...
/Fraumünster
The Fraumünster (; lit. in en, Women's Minster, but often wrongly translated to urLady Minster) is a church in Zürich which was built on the remains of a former abbey for aristocratic women which was founded in 853 by Louis the German for h ...
and Grossmünster
The Grossmünster (; "great Minster (church), minster") is a Romanesque-style Swiss Reformed Church, Protestant church in Zürich, Switzerland. It is one of the four major churches in the city (the others being the Fraumünster, Predigerkirche Zür ...
(''Altarbild'' by Hans Leu d.Ä., late 15th century)
Johann Heinrich Müller, 1825-1894 F1 Zürich, von Münsterbrücke.JPG, View from Münsterbrücke, looking downstream, c. 1882: St. Peter
) (Simeon, Simon)
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire
, death_date = Between AD 64–68
, death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire
, parents = John (or Jonah; Jona)
, occupation ...
, Haus zum Schwert (centre), Rathausbrücke, Rathaus
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
, Haus zum Rüden
The Haus zum Rüden (or for short: Rüden) building is the assembly hall of the Gesellschaft zur Constaffel and one of the historically notable buildings in Zürich, Switzerland. It is situated at the Limmatquai promenade in Zürich, Switzerland, ...
. Etching by Heinrich Müller Heinrich Müller may refer to:
* Heinrich Müller (cyclist) (born 1926), Swiss cyclist
* Heinrich Müller (footballer, born 1888) (1888–1957), Swiss football player and manager
* Heinrich Müller (footballer, born 1909) (1909–2000), Austrian ...
Münsterbrücke Kaufhaus.jpg, Münsterbrücke with horsecar
A horsecar, horse-drawn tram, horse-drawn streetcar (U.S.), or horse-drawn railway (historical), is an animal-powered (usually horse) tram or streetcar.
Summary
The horse-drawn tram (horsecar) was an early form of public rail transport, wh ...
, c. 1896
Cultural heritage of national importance
Münsterbrücke is listed in the
as a ''Class A'' object of national importance.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Munsterbrucke
Bridges in Zürich
Altstadt (Zürich)
Bridges completed in 1836
Bridges over the Limmat
Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Zürich
Road bridges in Switzerland
Pedestrian bridges in Switzerland