Friday, December 2, 2011

Bridge Over the River Elbe

What an extraordinary bridge. It was built in 1899 and survived World War II. The ornate portals were  removed in 1960.



Here are the backs of the cards in the same order. The first one was postmarked at sea in 1930. the second one was sent in 1905.



Here's a photo from Wikipedia, showing a British tank guarding the bridge in 1945.

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10 comments:

  1. Lisa BDecember 2, 2011 at 7:56 AM

    Great postcards, I have one of the same bridge (I'll try and post it soon) and I wondered if it was still there.

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  2. L. D. December 2, 2011 at 8:20 AM

    That one suspension bridge is just amazing. It looks like over kill with two sets of suspensions. It would have made it a very heavy load to hold up that bridge.

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  3. Karen S.December 2, 2011 at 9:18 AM

    Oh this is a marvelous post...that last photo of the tank is just so very impressive and it breathes so much strength in its protection! The spiral looking bridge is amazing...I'd say dazzling if a bridge could be termed that! great post, thanks!

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  4. Cappuccinoandartjournal.blogspot.comDecember 2, 2011 at 9:26 AM

    Beautiful bridge and very interesting cards.

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  5. Plush Possum StudioDecember 2, 2011 at 1:01 PM

    That's a beauty! Too bad they had to remove those fascinating looking portals.
    Thanks again for another great post!
    Rose

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  6. AnonymousDecember 2, 2011 at 1:48 PM

    Wow, what a bridge! How stupid to demolish it ...

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  7. Archie TechtDecember 2, 2011 at 9:25 PM

    The juxtaposition of the traditional masonry towers with the dynamic trusswork is fairly startling. The lenticular (parabolic) truss reminded me of the Washington St. bridge in my hometown of Binghamton, NY, which was actually built before this one in 1886 by the Berlin (as in Berlin, Connecticut, not Germany...) Iron Bridge Co. The company patented the lenticular truss, which had a combination of iron columns and cable webbing between single member upper and lower parabolic arches, while this version has all cables between the arches which are themselves actually trusses. The Binghamton bridge survives but is pedestrian only at this point, as it was deemed structurally inadequate for modern vehicle loads.

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  8. papel1December 3, 2011 at 6:20 PM

    I am so glad the bridge survived. It is so ornate and really beautiful.
    Judy

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  9. JanineDecember 4, 2011 at 10:08 AM

    Hallo Christine, ich hoffe es geht dir wunderbar und du geniest die Adventszeit.
    Diese Postkarten sind großartig.
    Die Elbbrücke sah phantastisch aus, wieseo haben diese Vollidioten sie in den 60ern abgerissen.
    Es ist zum weinen, wenn ich daran denke wieviele Bausünden in den 60ern begangen worden sind.
    Dämliche Städteplaner haben fast genau so viel Schäden angerichtet wie der Krieg.
    Alles liebe und bis bald
    Janine

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  10. AnonymousDecember 4, 2011 at 11:21 AM

    That's probably the most interesting bridge I have ever seen. Shame it couldn't have been preserved.

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