2543 - Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

This tourist card from Cologne shows the Hohenzollern Bridge. It was originally built between 1907 and 1911 and was named after the House of Hohenzollern, the rulers of Prussia and the German Emperors. It was a very important bridge during World War II and the allies tried to severely damage it on several occasions. As the Allied troops approached Cologne in March of 1945, Germany military engineers blew up the bridge on 6 March 1945. Allied troops were just beginning their assault on Cologne at the time.

After German's surrender in May, the bridge was make operational on a makeshift basis and reconstruction began almost immediately. By May 1948, pedestrians could use the bridge again. It was finally reconstructed by 1959.

In the 1980s, the bridge was converted to a rail, bicycle, and pedestrian bridge. Today the bridge has 1200 train pass daily over it.

Love padlocks became a thing at the bridge in 2008, where couples lock a padlock on the rails of the bridge. It is estimated there were over 500 000 locks on it in June 2015.

On the eastern side of the bridge the German Alpine Association maintains a public climbing facility with a wall area of about 850 square meters since 1998.

Comments

3227 - Mölln, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

Mölln is a small city of about 20 000 located in northern Germany. The Elbe-Lübeck Canal flows through the town, and there are eight small lakes that surround the city. It was founded in the 12th century and was a part of the Old Salt Route. Salt that was produced in the salt mines of Lower-Saxony was shipped to the Baltic Sea. Till Eulenspiegel, a legendary trickster known for exposing vices and provoking thought, is said to have lived in Mölln the last year of his life. He apparently died of the plague in 1350, but his existence has never been proven. Mölln has several monuments dedicated to him.

3322 - Hamburg, Germany

Happy birthday to me! What a lovely handmade card from the sender. Beautiful penmanship. Am Rothenbaum is the site of the main court of the German Open Tennis Championships. The International German Open has been played at the Rothernbaum since 1892, making it Germany's longest running tennis tournament. The current stadium was built in 1999 and can hold 13 200 people.

3232 - Manitowoc, Wisconsin, United States of America

The Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal North Pierhead Light was built in 1882. There were nine keepers of the light until 1897. It was redesigned in 1903 and is 12 meters high. The Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal was started in 1872 and wasn't opened for large-scale watercraft until 1890. The canal is 2.1 kilometers long that goes from Sturgeon Bay in Lake Michigan to Green Bay. There are no locks on this canal. The canal was sold to the United States government in 1893 and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers maintains the canal.

Search This Blog