Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Krämerbrücke

The Krämerbrücke is a bridge in the Thuringian city of Erfurt in Germany which is covered with inhabited, half timbered buildings on both sides. It is unique in Europe north of the Alps. The footbridge spans the Breitstrom, a branch of the Gera River, connecting Benediktsplatz and Wenigemarkt.
After a city fire in 1472, which destroyed nearly half of the city and the stands on the bridge, it was reconstructed in its current form with then 62 half-timbered buildings. To make the three-storey houses of 13 m to 15 m height habitable, the deepness of the buildings was extended by the wooden “Sprengwerke” next to the arch vaults. The width of the bridge finished in 1486 since then amounts to 26 m with a space of 5.5 m between the two rows of houses. At the latest since 1510 the name Krämerbrücke (which means "grocers' bridge") was commonly used.
Because of its special importance for the history of Erfurt and history of architecture in general, the Krämer Bridge was granted special preservation in GDR-times. All buildings were restored from 1967 to 1973 and extensive repair works were done to the vaults in 1985/1986 and 2002.

Isole Borromee