Landungsbrücken

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Old Landungsbrücken near St. Pauli, around 1900
Old Landungsbrücken near St. Pauli, around 1900
Landungsbrücken in autumn of 2004 (land side)Water level tower (left), old Elbe tunnel (right)
Landungsbrücken in autumn of 2004 (land side)
Water level tower (left), old Elbe tunnel (right)

The St. Pauli Landungsbrücken (St. Pauli Landing Bridges), part of the Hamburg Harbour, are in the quarter St. Pauli of Hamburg, Germany, between the lower harbor and the Fischmarkt (Fish Market) directly on the Elbe River.

The Landungsbrücken today are a major tourist attraction and a central transportation hub, with S-Bahn, U-Bahn and boat stations. There is an entrance to the Old Elbe tunnel directly at the western end of the Landungsbrücken. The eastern end of the building complex is marked by the Pegelturm (water level tower). Halfway up the tower, there is a water level indicator built into the wall, which gives the current condition of the tides.

Contents

[edit] Shipping piers

The first pier here was built in 1839 at what was then the edge of the harbor. It served as a terminal for steamships, which could be relatively easily filled with coal here. In addition, the pier ensured a sufficient security distance from the city, since these great ships were fueled by coal and there was thus a risk of fire. The current piers built in 1907 consist of floating pontoons, which are accessible from land by ten movable bridges. The 688 m long landing place originally served the passenger steamers of the overseas lines. Among others, the great Hapag-Lloyd liners landed here. Today only the HADAG ferries, harbor tour ships and motor launches, passenger ships serving the lower Elbe, and catamarans to Stade and Helgoland still travel to the piers. Ships travel from here daily to the musical island of the concert, "The Lion King".

The old piers were destroyed during the Second World War, so today's pontoons were rebuilt between 1953 and 1955. The last section destroyed in the War, between bridges 2 and 3, was not rebuilt until 1976. During the modernisation begun in 1999, the roofing and lighting were updated. Part of this modernisation is planned to include replacing bridge 7.

[edit] Cultural monument

The terminal building, built from volcanic tuff, and the piers were constructed between 1907 and 1909 in the same location as the old Landungsbrücken. It was designed as a representative shipping station by the architectural company of Raabe & Wöhlecke for the department of river and harbor construction of the construction deputation. With its length of 205 m, its numerous gateways to the ships' piers, its domes and towers, it sets a clear structural accent. The architectural sculptures were created by Arthur Bock.

The complex was classified as a historical monument on September 15, 2003.

[edit] Railway stations

Landungsbrücken
(U and S-Bahn)
Landungsbrücken U-Bahn railway station
Architectural information
Location St. Pauli
State Hamburg
Country Germany
Operations
DS100 code ALAS
Station code 3517
Type Bf
Category 4
Deutsche Bahn - Stations in Germany

BW BY BE BR HB HH HE MV NI NW RP SL SN ST SH TH

[edit] U-Bahn station

The first U-Bahn line in Hamburg was begun in 1906. It forms a ring around the inner city. A station was also built near the Landungsbrücken in the slope of the Stintfang, designed by the architects, Johann Emil Schaudt and Walter Puritz. The station, which is called Landungsbrücken today, was built semi-open, which means that the western end is roofed with a concrete slab and the eastern end is left open. The station with the name of Hafentor (Harbor gate), together with the stretch Millerntor - Rathaus (today St. Pauli - Rathaus), finally went into operation on June 29, 1912. The striking tower[1] at the entrance and the elevated railway stop, designed by Emil Schaudt, were torn down during construction of the City-S-Bahn. The new entrance with a copper roof (designed by Hans L. M. Loop and Fritz Trautwein) is connected to the ferry piers by a pedestrian bridge.

The eastern entrance was designed by Walter Puritz and was built in the 1920s.

[edit] S-Bahn station

The Landungsbrücken station of the S-Bahn has existed since 1975. It is part of the tunnel from the Hamburg train station to Altona (City S-Bahn), which was completely opened in 1979. Because of an S-Bahn train that burned in the station on September 30, 1984, the station has already had to be completely renovated.

The main entrance to the station has an escalator and is inside of the U-Bahn station building. There is a side entrance on Eichholz street.

The station can also be used as an air-raid shelter.

Preceding station   Hamburg S-Bahn   Following station
toward Wedel
S1
Stadthausbrücke
S2
Stadthausbrücke
toward Hamburg-Bergedorf
toward Pinneberg
S3
Stadthausbrücke
toward Stade
Preceding station   Hamburg U-Bahn   Following station
St. Pauli
toward Barmbek
U3
Baumwall
toward Mümmelmannsberg

[edit] Stammsiel

It is not well known that there is also one of Hamburg's oldest and largest sewerage systems near the Landungsbrücken. It is part of the "Stadtwasserkunst" designed by William Lindley in 1842. The Geest-Stammsiel collects sewage from far parts of the city before it is transported under the Elbe to the main purification plant Köhlbrandhöft on the opposite side of the Elbe, by means of a pumping station about 100 m upstream of the old Elbe tunnel. The sluice can be travelled by boat. For the rowing trips of Kaiser Willhelm II, a separate underground dock was constructed, which can still be viewed today by prior arrangement.

[edit] Trivia

The Landungsbrücken had a main part in the song, "Landungsbrücken Raus", by the German band, Kettcar. The song appeared on the album, "Du und wieviel von deinen Freunden" (You and how many of your friends). It also came out as a single in 2002.

[edit] Regular events

  • Hafengeburtstag (Birthday of the harbor)
  • Weltastratag
  • Elbart

[edit] External links

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(German)

Coordinates: 53°32′46″N 9°58′00″E / 53.54611, 9.966667

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