De Hef (Koningshaven Bridge), Rotterdam

De Hef (Dutch Hefbrug, German Hubbrücke; officially Koningshavenbrug) is a former railway bridge in Rotterdam (Netherlands) on the main line Rotterdam–Roosendaal–Antwerp–Brussels. It leads from the Noordereiland over the Koningshaven to the Feijenoord district. The bridge pillars date from 1878. The middle was originally designed as a swing bridge, but this proved to be an obstacle for shipping. After the German ship Kandelfels rammed the swing bridge off its supporting pillar on November 2, 1918, the swing bridge had to be replaced by a lift bridge.

De Hef (Dutch Hefbrug, German Hubbrücke; officially Koningshavenbrug) is a former railway bridge in Rotterdam (Netherlands) on the Breda–Rotterdam railway line, the main route from Rotterdam to the south, i.e. Breda, Roosendaal, and further to Antwerp and Brussels. It leads from the Noordereiland over the Koningshaven to the Feijenoord district and is parallel to the Koninginnebrug.
Since 1993, the old, above-ground route of the railway line from Rotterdam Centraal station via Rotterdam Blaak to Rotterdam Zuid has been replaced by an underground route through the Willemsspoortunnel. This made the Binnenrotteviaduct (also known as Luchtspoor), the Willemspoorbrug and De Hef superfluous for rail traffic. The first two bridges were demolished, only de Hef was left standing as an industrial monument after the Rotterdam population protested against its demolition. It was intended to remain as a memorial at the place where trains heading south once left Rotterdam city centre. The bridge has been protected as a Rijksmonument since 2000.

It remains quite cool that such a bridge is allowed to remain as a monument. It is a lot of steel and therefore a lot of money. Special but what a beautiful thing it is.