Kronenbrücke, Bridge across River Dreisam in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany.
Kronenbrücke is a modern bridge spanning the Dreisam River in central Freiburg with dual lanes for vehicles and separate paths for pedestrians and cyclists. The current structure is designed to accommodate a new tram line and replaced an earlier oval-shaped twin bridge design.
A wooden footbridge on the Frankfurt–Basel trade route stood here in the Middle Ages. In 1869 an iron bridge with stone substructure replaced it, but it collapsed after a Dreisam flood and was rebuilt. The wider Friedrichsbrücke, named for Grand Duke Friedrich I's golden jubilee, opened in 1903. It was replaced by the oval twin Kronenbrücke in 1969, demolished from 2015, and the current bridge opened at the end of 2018.
The bridge's name comes from the Kronenstraße it carries into the old town; its 1969 oval twin earned the nickname "Elefantenklo" (elephant loo). The Jugendstil railing of the 1903 Friedrichsbrücke, with dragons and lion-head lamp posts, was moved to the Schnewlinbrücke, which inherited the nickname "mother-in-law bridge".
The bridge carries the FR 6 cycle route over the FR 1, making it one of Freiburg's main cycling junctions; pedestrians and cyclists have separate paths. It was closed to motor vehicles from February 2015, with a temporary foot and cycle bridge installed east of it from June 2015 until December 2018.
The 2017 rebuild used a steel-reinforced concrete structure with cast-steel nodes, unusual for a span of 40 by 40 metres. Eight heavy transporters from Steinach am Brenner delivered 25-tonne steel triangles, and 1,200 cubic metres of concrete were poured in one 13-hour night shift with 70 workers.
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