Grunwald Bridge (Wroclaw)

Connects Warsaw Rebel Square with Grunwald Square . It is part of road 98 .

Upstream is the Zoo Footbridge , below is the Peace Bridge .

From the moment of its opening until 1919, the bridge was called Imperial ( German: Kaiserbrücke ). From 1919 to 1933 - Freedom Bridge ( German: Freiheitsbrücke ) ^[3] . In 1933, the bridge was returned to its original name. The bridge received its current name on September 6, 1947, in memory of the Battle of Grunwald ^[4] .

In the late 1880s. the idea arose to connect the Old Town with the growing northeastern areas of the Shchitnitsky Park and the . Redemption from land owners took several years, so only by the beginning of the twentieth century. on the right bank of the river appeared the first section of this route, Kaiserstrasse. In 1902, the architect up a sketch of the suspension bridge in the alignment of the new street. In December 1904, the city magistrate announced an architectural competition for the design of the bridge. The jury consisted of R. Pludemann, Chief Mayor G. Bender, engineer , F. Hamel, city councilors Leysus and Simon and architect K. Hoffmann (from Darmstadt ) ^[5] . According to shipping requirements, the bridge clearance was to be at least 3.98 m ^[6] . In total, 39 projects were received, among which mainly there were only arched and suspended structures. On April 5, 1905, according to the results of the competition, the first prize - 2,000 marks - was awarded to architect Martin Mayer (Hamburg) and engineer Robert Weirauch (Berlin) for the design of a single-span suspension bridge under the motto "Gespannt" ^{[7] [6]} .

The choice of the hanging structure for such a small span (about 112 m) was due to architectural considerations and the desire to create a monumental structure ^{[3] [6] [8]} . R. Pludedemann, A. Scholz, , E. Güntel and Brugsch ^[9] took part in the development of the final project.

The construction of the bridge was started in February 1908 with the construction of pits for anchor blocks and pylon foundations ^{[10] [8]} . The foundation work was completed in January 1909. In March of the same year, the construction of pylons and the assembly of steel structures of the bridge began ^{[11] [6]} .

The main contractor was from Grunwald (metal structures). Clinker brick was supplied from Neukirche (modern Nowy Koscul), Portland cement from Oppeln , granite from Strigau . In total, 15 companies from Breslau participated in the construction. Construction management was carried out by engineer ^{[11] [3]} .

About 2,400 tons of granite were used to clad the bridge. The mass of metal structures was 2300 tons (1976 tons of rolled products, 289.5 tons of cast steel, 4.1 tons of lead, 1.4 tons of copper), including 1040 tons of load-bearing cables ^[6] .

In September 1910, static and dynamic tests of the bridge were carried out, 24 trams, each weighing 12 tons, were used as the load. The grand opening of the bridge took place on October 10, 1910 ^[12] . It was originally planned to invite William II to the ceremony, but because of the need for an early start to the movement, the bridge was opened without the participation of the emperor ^{[3] [11]} . The total cost of the work amounted to more than 2.8 million marks ^[13] .

In 1945, during the siege of the city, the bridge was badly damaged by air raids and shelling, supporting cables were damaged. The span was based on four temporary wooden supports, built on the basis of flooded barges. In addition, due to the construction of a field airport on the site of Kaiserstrasse on the right bank, the height of the pylons was reduced (especially on the right bank) ^[13] . Only foot traffic and military vehicles were allowed over the bridge.

In the spring of 1946, the bridge was closed for reconstruction, which lasted until September 1947 ^[14] . The work included the construction of new temporary supports, lifting the bridge, replacing or welding damaged steel elements, adjusting the displaced load-bearing elements, and repairing the pavement and sidewalks ^[15] . The work was carried out under the supervision of engineer J. Francos, with the participation of engineer R. Sivinsky ^[3] . Technical supervision was carried out by engineers E. Hildebrandt, F. Pshevirsky and M. Vishnevsky ^[16] . The reconstruction was carried out by the Wroclaw State Joint Construction Company ( Polish. Państwowe Zjednoczone Przedsiębiorstwo Budowlane we Wrocławiu ) and the state-owned car building plant ( Polish. Państwowa Fabryka Wagonów ) (installation works) ^[17] . According to the project of architects D. Chaika and E. Zhepetskiy, the upper parts of the pylons were restored without reconstruction of some decor elements (helmets on pylons, some bas-reliefs), as a result of which modern pylons have a lower height than the original ones ^{[18] [15] [17 ] ] [3]} . The bridge was opened on September 6, 1947. ^[19] The cost of work amounted to 22 million zlotys.

In 1956 and 1966 Repair work was carried out on the roadway and sidewalks of the bridge. In 1986, the stone lining of the pylons was cleaned and welds were repaired, in 1990 the roadway of the bridge was expanded (from 11 to 12.1 m) due to sidewalks ^[17] .

In 1976, the bridge was included in the list of monuments of Wroclaw ^[20] .

In 2003-2005, in order to increase the carrying capacity of the bridge, a major overhaul was performed, which included stabilization of bearings, repair and corrosion protection of steel elements of the bridge, replacement of the roadway and sidewalk cover, and restoration of pylons ^{[21] [17]} .

Single span metal suspension bridge. The length of the bridge is 186.5 m, the width of the bridge is 20 m (of which the width of the carriageway is 12.1 m and two sidewalks are 2.95 m each) ^[22] .

The bridge is designed for the movement of trams, vehicles and pedestrians. The carriageway of the bridge includes 4 lanes for the movement of vehicles (including 2 tram tracks). The covering of the roadway and sidewalks is asphalt concrete. The metal railings are completed on the foundations with a granite parapet.

• Biliszczuk J., Budych L. Rabiega J. Most Grunwaldzki Kaiserbrucke 1910-2010. - Wroclaw: Mosty Dolnośląskie, 2010 .-- 188 p. - ISBN 000-83-931855-0-4. (Polish) (German)
• Gryglewska A. Architektura Wrocławia XIX-XX wieku w twórczości Richarda Plüddemanna. - Wrocław: Oficyna Wydawnicza PWr, 1999. - S. 58–59, 63, 218–219. - 246 p. - ISBN 83-7085-386-2 . (polish)
• Łagiewski M. Mosty Wrocławia. - Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich Wydawnictwo, 1989 .-- pp. 25-27. - 70 p. - ISBN 83-04-02937-5 . (polish)
• Trauer G. Die Kaiserbrücke in Breslau . - Breslau: Magistrat der Königlichen Haupt- und Residenzstadt Breslau, 1910. (German)
• Trasa turystyczna “Mosty i przeprawy” // Fundacja Otwartego Muzeum Techniki . - Wrocław, 2007. - S. 30-31 . (polish)

• Most Grunwaldzki // Wratislaviae Amici (Polish)