Magdeburg vertical-lift bridge, Vertical-lift footbridge in Magdeburg, Germany.
The Magdeburg vertical-lift bridge is a pedestrian and railway bridge that spans 220 meters across the Elbe and features a mechanical lifting system. This system allows the movable section to raise so ships can pass underneath.
The bridge was built around 1900 as part of the Biederitz-Magdeburg-Buckau railway line and represents the engineering skill of that era. It showed an innovative solution to allow ships and rail traffic to coexist in the same location.
The bridge shows how people around 1900 brought river and traffic together - pedestrians and trains used the same structure. Today you can see how the design from that era still works and shapes the daily life of the city.
You can enter the bridge from both sides of the Elbe and find signs pointing toward viewing areas. The best way to understand the structure is to walk across it and observe the mechanics from different angles.
The bridge's lifting system uses counterweights to balance the moving section so it requires relatively little force to raise. This mechanical elegance shows how engineers of that time solved problems with simple, clever solutions.
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