Let’s step onto a bridge where history and innovation intertwine. This is the Kettenbrücke in Bamberg. It is more than just a crossing. It is a testament to human ingenuity.
The Kettenbrücke spans the Right Regnitz Arm. It also serves as part of the Main-Danube Canal. It links Hauptwachstraße with Kettenbrückstraße. This bridge is now part of the pedestrian zone around Maximiliansplatz.
Interestingly, the Kettenbrücke is the only bridge over the Right Regnitz Arm. It lies within Bamberg’s UNESCO World Heritage Site. From a shipping perspective, it stands at MDK-km 5.154. Its clearance height is 7.00 m.
The current Kettenbrücke was built between 2009 and 2010. It is a modern take on its 19th-century predecessor. The bridge stretches 72.65 m in length and 15.0 m in width. Its bridge deck is suspended from load chains. These chains are made of eyebars. They are supported by pylons and anchored in anchor blocks. These blocks are deeply rooted beneath the buildings along the canal bank. Staircases and elevators connect the bridge deck to the riverside paths.
Each of the two load chains comprises 18 steel eyebars. These are arranged in three layers. The bars are connected by hinged chain locks. They are suspended from the pylon heads. Between the pylon heads and anchor blocks, 8.75 m long eyebars provide bracing. Double hangers are attached to the chain locks. These support the crossbeams on which the bridge deck rests. Horizontal cables are attached to the projecting ends of the crossbeams. These cables cushion ship impacts. They also hold the LED lights that illuminate the Kettenbrücke.
The pylons consist of steel columns on the sides of the bridge deck. The pylon feet are mounted on base plates. These plates rest on pile head beams. The pylons rise 6.7 m above the bridge deck. The bridge deck combines a steel beam grid and a precast concrete slab. It is reinforced with in-situ concrete. It is covered with mastic asphalt.
A wooden trestle bridge stood here as early as 1312. It needed constant repair. In Bamberg’s Baroque era, Prince-Bishop Johann Philipp Anton von Frankenstein commissioned Balthasar Neumann to design a stone bridge with four arches. This was built between 1752 and 1757.
After the severe winter of 1783/84, a major flood destroyed all of Bamberg’s bridges. On February 27, 1784, the ice floe wrecked them, including the stone bridge. Many people were killed or injured. For the next 25 years, Bamberg residents used a wooden footbridge. It was built on the remains of the pillars.
In 1809, a wooden bridge designed by Carl Friedrich von Wiebeking was inaugurated. It was the largest European wooden bridge of its time. It spanned the Regnitz with a support width of 72 m. It did so without pillars. This made it less vulnerable to flooding. However, its wood showed rot damage. It had to be demolished in 1826.
After this, Bamberg’s district master builder Franz Jos. Schierlinger built a wrought-iron chain bridge. It was modeled after Friedrich Schnirch’s bridge in Saaz. Leo von Klenze designed its pylons. It opened on December 31, 1829. It was officially named Ludwigsbrücke. However, it was commonly known as Kettenbrücke.
Local lore claims John Augustus Roebling used this Kettenbrücke as a model for the Brooklyn Bridge. Roebling studied chain bridges in Berlin. But he graduated in 1826. Technical advances before the Brooklyn Bridge’s construction made that unlikely.
Like early chain bridges, Bamberg’s was lightly built. Damage soon appeared. In 1879, the permissible load had to be reduced.
Therefore, a steel arch bridge replaced it. Friedrich Hohmann designed it. It was built between 1891 and 1892. Officially, it remained Ludwigsbrücke. But locals still called it Kettenbrücke. It served until April 11, 1945. It was blown up to halt the American troops.
In 1953, a frame bridge with prestressed concrete hollow boxes was opened. Ulrich Finsterwalder helped design it. Like many post-war bridges, it couldn’t handle increased traffic after 50 years.
A competition for a new building was held in 2005. The Grad – Dietz – Goldbrunner planning team was commissioned in 2007.
As a temporary replacement, a steel footbridge was built. The concrete bridge was demolished in 2009. The Main-Danube Canal had to be closed during demolition.
The new Kettenbrücke was built between 2009 and 2010. Today, it attracts “love locks”.