There is one attraction in Koenigsberg (now Kaliningrad in the Russian Federation) - the Palmburg Bridge. Rather, it was. Supports and now stick out to the sky, like a drawbridge. But it's not. The local landmark is overgrown with numerous fairy tales and legends. Although the bridge is not that old, the philosopher Immanuel Kant, a citizen of Königsberg, has never seen it. The two banks of the Pregol River were connected only in 1935. For ten years, cars and pedestrians moved along it, and neither sleep nor spirit knew that the bridge was a surprise. What was it? This will be discussed in the article. And also about what a new cruel joke the bridge played with people in January 2015.
Building
In 1929, the Weimar Republic developed a special program, according to which the territory of Germany was to be covered by a network of autobahns. As a result, each town was included in the economic infrastructure of the country. On the other hand, thousands of workers could be involved in the construction. If you recall the history, after the defeat in the First World War, the German economy was in decline. The unemployment rate was appalling. That's whyautobahn construction solved many problems. The program was continued after the National Socialist Party came to power. But A. Hitler already then introduced a certain militaristic idea into the construction of autobahns. The Palmburg Bridge was a link on the road connecting Königsberg (in East Prussia) and Elbing (now the Polish city of Elblag). Work on its construction was completed in the spring of 1935. They say that the red ribbon was cut by Adolf Hitler himself, who arrived on this occasion in Königsberg.
Etymology
The original name of the bridge is Palmburger Brücke. It was given in honor of the estate, located nearby. The owner of a small latifundia was a man who was passionate about growing exotic plants. There were also palm trees in his greenhouse. Now there is no estate, no exotic plants. On the site of the "Palm Town" stands the unremarkable village of Pribrezhnoye. But the farm gave the bridge its name. For a long time it was called that - Palmburgsky.
Berlin Bridge - this is how the crossing over the Pregol began to be called after the end of World War II. After all, the track did not end with Elbląg. From this Polish city, the autobahn went straight to Berlin. And the bridge in Kaliningrad played a huge role in the fact that now we are celebrating the end of World War II in Europe in May, and not, say, in February. But more on that later.
Palmburg Bridge Secret
We have already mentioned that Adolf Hitler built not just roads, but military installations. This was the Palmburg Bridge. Contrary to appearance and urbanlegends, he was never divorced. The structure was built as a prefabricated-monolithic. Most of the supports were placed on land, since the banks of the Novaya and Staraya Pregol are very swampy. Separate fragments of the crossing were concreted directly on the bridge. Thus, the crossing can be called a split and overpass, but not a drawbridge. The “surprise” of the bridge was that mine chambers were built into the supports. If necessary, the explosives worked, the central element fell into the water, making it impossible both for the crossing of ground forces and the movement of ships along the river. But then, in 1935, the bridge was very functional. The six hundred and thirty-three meter long structure had four lanes. Only two of them were restored during the Soviet era.
Palmburg (Berlin) Bridge and its role in World War II
In late 1944 and early 1945, Soviet troops were rapidly advancing west. Cities were taken one by one, and it seemed that the end of the war was near. In January, the 11th and 39th armies under the command of Colonel General K. Galitsky and Lieutenant General I. Lyudnikov launched an attack on Königsberg. By the end of the month, Soviet troops managed to almost completely surround the city. The significance of the Palmburg Bridge was understood by both the Russians and the Nazis. Behind him stretched a smooth motorway to Berlin. Therefore, Nazi Germany tried to destroy the Palmburg Bridge, while Russia wanted to keep it for the further advance of its troops.
On the night of January 29-30, 1945, the commandant of Koenigsberg, Otto Lyash, made a decision. At 0hours 36 minutes an explosion thundered. As planned by the engineers during the construction of the bridge, the central fragment collapsed into the water, blocking the fairway of Pregolya. The offensive of the Red Army bogged down, the blitzkrieg failed. The Soviet troops were forced to switch from offensive to defensive, and "trampled" at the gates of Königsberg until April 9, 1945.
Palmburg bridge in Kaliningrad
After the war, the crossing over the Pregolya branches was rather poorly organized: a path made of logs was laid across the wetlands, and low boardwalks across the rivers. Taking into account that the bridge was included in the bypass route around Kaliningrad, the situation became critical. There were always traffic jams at the crossing, although there were not as many cars in those years as they are now.
In 1949, the blown up Palmburg Bridge got into the shots of the famous movie "Meeting on the Elbe". An old film captured the pylons looking up at the sky. In the early seventies, it was decided to restore the bridge. Two of the four lanes were repaired with sin in half. In the 1990s, the reconstruction of the Berlin Bridge was discussed again. But the money allocated for this disappeared in an unknown direction, construction stalled, never started.
Berlin Bridge today
At the beginning of the 2000s, projects for the reconstruction of Kaliningrad sights reappeared. But no funds were allocated for them. In 2012, the government decided to build a new bridge nearPalmburgsky. It was launched in December 2013. This construction on 22 pillars and a length of 1780 meters became part of the Southern ring road of Kaliningrad. In 2014, the authorities decided to destroy the Palmburg Bridge. What the Red Army tried to save at such a price in 1945 was now subject to demolition. The townspeople were very upset by the death of their sights. But the cruel irony of Palmburg Bridge was that it collapsed on its own in January 2015, crushing two workers to death and injuring four others.
