Winterhafen Swing Bridge (Drehbrücke am Winterhafen)

The swing bridge at the Winter Harbor in Mainz was built around 1877 and is therefore one of the oldest swing bridges still in existence. It crosses the Winter Harbor and serves as a link between the old town and the pier on the Victor Hugo bank. Twelve years after the Winter Harbor opened in 1865, the swing bridge allowed ships to pass through at any water level. After the Rhine bank was expanded, there were two swing bridges in Mainz. The bridge at the customs and inland harbor was demolished after 1945. The building is a listed building and is considered a cultural monument. The mechanical rotating device of the bridge at the Winter Harbor had not been functional since 1996 and was replaced by a hydraulic device in 2009 because it was at risk of brittle fracture. In addition, yachts will also be able to drive into the Winter Harbor in the future to increase the recreational value of a nearby construction site. The old swing bridge was dismantled on March 20, 2009 with the participation of Riga Mainz. The new swing bridge was manufactured in April of the same year in the workshops of the Wiesbaden company Huhle Stahl- und Metallbau. The new steel structure was assembled on October 29, 2009.[1] The structure is 37.50 meters long, 4.50 meters wide and weighs 54 tons. The old bridge section weighed just 21.5 tons. It is an asymmetrical, two-wing road swing bridge made of riveted steel framework. This means that the appearance of the new bridge will be largely adapted to that of the old bridge. The construction materials meet modern requirements, for example the floor covering is made of aluminum instead of wooden planks as before.The "king pin" as a pivot point is placed on a sandstone pillar. This part of the mechanism, which is no longer visible, has a diameter of 20 centimeters. The only part of the movement mechanism that can be seen is the running and rolling ring of the swing pillar. The bridge abutments are accentuated by balustrades that end in curved wall sections with stone benches.Source Wikipedia: de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drehbr%C3%BCcke_am_WinterhafenThe beautiful beer garden "Mole" directly at the swing bridge should also be mentioned.

It is a masterpiece of engineering. The swing bridge was built in 1877 – top class.

The swing bridge at the Winterhafen in Mainz was built around 1877 and is therefore one of the oldest surviving swing bridges.