Hohenzollernbrücke

Hohenzollern Bridge Hohenzollernbrücke
Hohenzollern bridge
Coordinates	50°56′29″N 06°57′56″E / 50.94139°N 6.96556°E / 50.94139; 6.96556Coordinates: 50°56′29″N 06°57′56″E / 50.94139°N 6.96556°E / 50.94139; 6.96556
Carries	Train and pedestrian traffic
Crosses	River Rhine
Locale	Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Owner	Deutsche Bundesbahn
Characteristics
Design	Tied arch bridge (1948)
Material	Concrete piers with steel superstructure
Total length	409.19 metres (1,342.5 ft)
Width	26.2 metres (86 ft) (deck, 1987)
Longest span	167.75 metres (550.4 ft)
No. of spans	118.88 metres (390.0 ft) - 167.75 metres (550.4 ft) - 122.56 metres (402.1 ft) (1987)
History
Constructed by	Krupp Maschinen- und Stahlbau (steel), Grün & Bilfinger and Heinrich Butzer (concrete) 1946 August Klönne and Stahlbau Albert Liesegang (steel), Philipp Holzmann AG (concrete) 1956 Hein, Lehmann & Co. and Krupp Industrietechnik GmbH and Thyssen Engineering GmbH (steel) 1986
Construction start	1946, 1956, 1986
Construction end	1948, 1959, 1987
Construction cost	DM 14,000,000

Hohenzollern Bridge Hohenzollernbrücke
Hohenzollern Bridge, with Cologne Cathedral and Museum Ludwig in the background
Crosses	River Rhine
Locale	Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Preceded by	Cathedral Bridge
Characteristics
Design	Arch bridge with suspended deck (1911)
Width	32.45 metres (106.5 ft) (deck)
Longest span	167.75 metres (550.4 ft)
No. of spans	118.88 metres (390.0 ft) - 167.75 metres (550.4 ft) - 122.56 metres (402.1 ft) (1911)
History
Architect	Franz Heinrich Schwechten (1911)
Construction start	1907
Construction end	1911
Collapsed	6 March 1945

The Hohenzollern Bridge (German: Hohenzollernbrücke) is a bridge crossing the river Rhine in the German city of Cologne (German: Köln). It crosses the Rhine at kilometre 688.5. Originally, the bridge was both a railway and street bridge, however, after its destruction in 1945 and its subsequent reconstruction, it was only accessible to rail and pedestrian traffic.

It is the most heavily used railway bridge in Germany with more than 1,200 trains daily, connecting the Köln Hauptbahnhof and Köln Messe/Deutz stations.

The bridge was constructed between 1907 and 1911 after the old bridge, the Cathedral Bridge (Dombrücke), was demolished. The Cathedral Bridge was unable to handle the increasing traffic in Cologne. The new bridge was named after the House of Hohenzollern, the rulers of Prussia and German Emperors. At the time, Cologne was part of the Prussian Rhine Province.

The President of the Railway Directorate Cologne, Paul von Breitenbach started planning the construction and handed over this work to his successor Rudolf Schmidt in 1906. The project was headed by the railway engineer Fritz Beermann and under his direction the designs were worked out by Friedrich Dirksen. The construction of the Hohenzollern Bridge took place from 1907 to 1911. The bridge was inaugurated on 22 May 1911 by Kaiser Wilhelm II.

The bridge consisted of three adjacent bridge parts, each with three iron truss arches (passage openings) in the longitudinal direction to accommodate four railroad tracks and a road. Although the location of the bridge and the railway station were already controversial in previous structures, the Hohenzollern Bridge took over the orientation of the previous bridge on the central axis of the cathedral.

Friedrich Wilhelm IV.
(north of the ramp on the right bank of the Rhine)