Fehmarn Sound bridge
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| Fehmarn Sound bridge | ||
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 Fehmarn Sound bridge seen from Wulfener Hals |
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| Official name | Fehmarnsundbrücke (German) | |
| Crosses | Fehmarn Sound | |
| Longest span | 240 m (787 ft 5 in) | |
| Total length | 963.4 m (3,160 ft 9 in) | |
| Width | 21 m (68 ft 11 in) | |
| Height | 67 m (219 ft 10 in) | |
| Vertical clearance | 23 m (75 ft) | |
| Opening date | 1963-04-30 | |
| [[Image:Süderort.svg | ]] | |
| Coordinates | Coordinates: | |
This article is based on a translation of the article Fehmarnsundbrücke from the German Wikipedia.
The Fehmarn Sound bridge connects the German island of Fehmarn in the Baltic Sea with the German mainland near Großenbrode.
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[edit] Description
The 963-metre (3,159 ft) long road and rail suspended deck arch bridge together with associated earthworks crosses the 1,300 m (4,265 ft) wide Fehmarn Sound. Construction began in 1958 and and the bridge was opened on April 30, 1963. The main deck is 23 m (75 ft) above the sea, which allows shipping to pass through the 240 m (787 ft) long central section. The bridge is constructed of steel and is 21 m (69 ft) wide; 6 m (20 ft) are used by Deutsche Bahn for a single rail track, the rest for a pedestrian walkway and two-lane roadway. The two steel arches, from which the central span is suspended by cables, are braced with steel cross-beams. The arches are 248 m (814 ft) in length and reach 45 m (148 ft) above the main deck of the bridge. The bridge was designed by engineers G. Fischer, T. Jahnke und P. Stein from the firm Gutehoffnungshütte Sterkrade AG, Oberhausen-Sterkrade. Architect Gerd Lohmer helped with the architectural design.
[edit] Route and Ferry Changes
At the same time as the opening of the bridge, changes were made to ferry services. The previous ferry service to the island of Fehmarn was discontinued. The service from Großenbrode Quay, Germany to Gedser, Denmark, crossing both Fehmarn Sound and the Fehmarn Belt, was replaced with a new service from Puttgarden (on Fehmarn) to Rødby, Denmark crossing just the Fehmarn Belt. The new bridge and ferry changes brought about a substantial time saving for both road and rail traffic along the so-called Vogelfluglinie (literally "bird flight line") from Hamburg to Copenhagen. The Fehmarn Belt bridge has been proposed to replace the Puttgarden–Rødby ferry.
[edit] Historic Monument
The Fehmarn Sound bridge was declared an historic monument in 1999 by the State Office for Protection of Historical Monuments of Schleswig-Holstein in Kiel, and has since become a symbol of both Fehmarn and Schleswig-Holstein.
[edit] Cold War Explosive Charges
As the bridge was built during the Cold War, six explosive vaults were embedded below the approach road on the mainland side to be used in case of invasion. Their location is given away even today by six square asphalt patches. The vaults were connected to a control point about 1 km (0.6 mi) away in Heinrichsruh.
 Fehmarn Sound bridge viewed from the sound |
 Fehmarn Sound bridge viewed from land |
 6 asphalt patches over former explosive charge vaults |
[edit] References
- Meier, Günter (1988). Die Vogelfluglinie und ihre Schiffe (in German). Herford: Koehler. ISBN 3782204417. OCLC 74958103.
- Ernst, Friedhelm; Meier, Günter (1999). Die "Vogelfluglinie" : die Eisenbahnfähren, die Fehmarnsundbrücke, neue Verkehrsströme nach der Wende, die neuen "Doppelendfähren" (in German). Freiburg (Breisgau): EK-Verlag. OCLC 76062078. Originally published in EISENBAHN-Kurier SPECIAL 53, Freiburg 1997.
- Fehmarnsundbrücke bei Burg auf Fehmarn (German). Hamburg University of Technology. Retrieved on 2008-01-28.
