page_title: Alte Brücke (Frankfurt)
section_title: 20th century: the "new old bridge"
hierarchical_section_title: Alte Brücke (Frankfurt) / History / 20th century: the "new old bridge"
caption_attribution_description: English: Frankfurt on the Main: Center of the Altstadt (Old Town) with the Cathedral, western part of the Fischerfeldviertel (Fisher Field Quarter) and the major part of Sachsenhausen with heavy damage and devastations of the allied bombings of World War II as seen from the air from about the Braubachstrasse (Braubach Street) to the south Deutsch: Frankfurt am Main: Zentrum der Altstadt mit dem Dom, westlicher Teil des Fischerfeldviertels und der größte Teil von Sachsenhausen mit erheblichen Zerstörungen und Schäden der allierten Bombardements des Zweiten Weltkrieges, ungefähr von Höhe der Braubachstraße aus der Luft nach Süden gesehen Français&#160;: Francfort sur le Main: Centre de la Vieille Ville avec vue sur la cathédrale, la partie Ouest du quartier Fischerfeld et de la majeure partie de Sachsenhausen. Les lourds dégats et destructions suite aux bombardements alliés de la Seconde Guerre Mondiale sont visibles sur cette vue aérienne de la rue Braubach vers le Sud.
context_page_description: Alte Brücke is a bridge in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. It is the oldest bridge over the lower course of the river Main, and until 1886 it was the only stone bridge crossing the river. From the Middle Ages until the year 1914, it connected the "Fahrgasse" in Frankfurt Altstadt with the "Brückenstraße" in Sachsenhausen. Since its first mention in official documents in 1222, the development of Frankfurt has been strongly influenced by the bridge. Over the centuries, Alte Brücke has been destroyed and reconstructed at least 18 times. With its 13 brick-built circular arches, the Sachsenhausen Bridge was one of the most prominent buildings of the city, but failing to meet the increasing demands of the modern road and ship traffic, it was demolished in 1914.
  The current Alte Brücke, sometimes called "Neue Alte Brücke", was inaugurated on 15 August 1926 by then-Lord-Mayor Ludwig Landmann. Two of its originally eight red sandstone-lined vaults were blown up by German soldiers on 26 March 1945. After an initial provisional reconstruction, the middle part of the bridge was replaced by a steel through truss bridge and placed in operation again on 15 September 1965.
context_section_description: In 1909, the Highways Department of Frankfurt composed a memorandum, summarizing the fundamental points for a reconstruction of the bridge: Reconstruction in the same place, without removing the Main island, and constructed using red sandstone taken from the river.
  In 1911, an Architectural design competition was announced. One of the participants had been the architect community Franz von Hoven & Hermann von Hoven; winners of the competition have been Franz Heberer and Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Leonhardt. On 23 May 1912, on the Main island, the foundation stone for the reconstruction has been laid. The bridge was supposed to have a width of 14 metres, and it was planned to have 8 stone arches.
  In spring of 1914, a temporary replacement bridge was acquired from Dresden. Over a length of 279 metres, with 15 wooden bridge pillars, this replacement bridge crossed the Main at the west side of the old bridge. On 3 July, the Alte Brücke was closed for street traffic, and the demolition followed immediately. The names of the two last Frankfurt citizens crossing the bridge are known: Mr. Heymann from the "Heidestraße", and innkeeper Effelsberger from the "Alter Markt" (old market). This event concluded the centuries-old history of the bridge.
  The construction work on the new bridge, which the city council conference decided to name Kaiserbrücke (emperor bridge), started 1915 on the Sachsenhausen side of the bridge with two piers over the Müllermain. However, affected by World War I, the work came to a standstill. On 22 January 1924, the temporary replacement bridge was ripped away by strong molten ice. Subsequently, the city founded a bridge construction society, with lord mayor Georg Voigt as chairman. In June 1924, construction work was resumed; the bridge was now supposed to be called "Neue Alte Brücke" ("new old bridge"), and it was planned to have a width of 19 metres. To implement this, the already existing bridge pillars had to be laboriously relocated. In December 1925, the construction work had to be interrupted again because of melting ice. On 15 August 1926, the "Neue Alte Brücke" could finally be opened by Lord Mayor Ludwig Landmann. In the course of the inauguration of the bridge, on 15 August 1926, Franz Heberer spoke in the name of the architects:
  "Now you are completed, bridge / after long severe suffering. / Now, too, bring Frankfurt honor and fortune / Until the furthest time."
   German: Nun biste fertig, Brick, / nach langem schweren Leide. / Jetzt bring aach Frankfurt Ehr‘ und Glick / Bis in die fernste Zeite.
  The finished bridge had a length of 237.40 metres and a width of 19.5 metres, 11 of which were reserved for the road, and 4 on each side for the sidewalks. The eight arches of the bridge, five over the main river, one on the Main island, and two over the Müllermain, had differing widths. The two middle arches had been the widest, with a width of 29.5 metres each. This construction design was a tradeoff between modern traffic capacity and the traditional looks of the bridge.
  The Neue Alte Brücke only reached an age of 18 years: On 26 March 1945, shortly before the end of World War II, the German Wehrmacht imploded the two large middle arches of the bridge to prevent the approaching Allies from crossing the Main. This did not turn out to be a successful strategy: Within the next three days, soldiers of the United States Army occupied the whole city.
  Already in the same year, at the end of 1945, a reconstruction of the Alte Brücke was initiated, this time without the naming attribute "Neue" ("new"). Out of tank armor plates and other war material, a steel middle part was created for the bridge. It had a maximum load rating of about 24 metric tons. This construction was supported by a broad steel pillar. On 13 September 1947, the Alte Brücke was opened for street traffic again, as the second Main bridge of Frankfurt, after the "Eiserner Steg".
  Because the provisional middle part of the bridge was only wide enough for two road lanes, a complete reconstruction of the bridge was soon planned. However, this reconst
caption: Aerial view of the Alte Brücke after its destruction by German soldiers in 1945
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