Elbe Tunnel (1911)
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Old Elbe Tunnel or St. Pauli Elbe Tunnel (German: Alter Elbtunnel (coll.) or St. Pauli Elbtunnel (official name)) (opened 1911), is a pedestrian and vehicle tunnel in Hamburg, Germany. The 426 m (1,398 ft) long tunnel was a technical sensation; 24 m (80 ft) beneath the surface, two tubes with 6 m (20 ft) diameter connect central Hamburg with the docks and shipyards on the south side of the river Elbe. This meant a big improvement for tens of thousands of workers in one of the busiest harbours in the world.
Four huge lifts on either side of the tunnel carried pedestrians, carriages and motor vehicles to the bottom. They are still in operation, though due to the limited capacity by today's standards, other bridges and tunnels have been built and taken over most of the traffic.
In 2008 approx 300.000 cars, 63.000 bicycles and 700.000 pedestrians used the tunnel. The tunnel is opened 24 hours for pedestrians and bicycles. For motorized vehicles opening times are currently Monday to Friday from 5.20 AM to 8.00 PM.
Maintenance works are planned for 2009 and 2010 for the west bore and for 2010 and 2011 for the east bore.
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[edit] History and events
On July 22, 1907 the construction of the tunnel started to connect the quarters of St. Pauli near the Landungsbrücken and Steinwerder. Construction was done under pressure[citation needed] and, as during the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge towers, diver's disease was a big problem, killing three and causing 74 severe and more than 600 light cases among the 4,400 workers. Two other were caused by accidents.[citation needed]
The tunnel was opened on September 7, 1911.
The old tunnel has turned into an impressive attraction for tourists and was featured in the films The Odessa File and The American Friend (Der Amerikanische Freund).[citation needed]
In the tunnel an art exhibition (ElbArt (German)) and a long-distance running event Elbtunnel-Marathon (website of the organiser (German)) are taking place.[1] In 2008 the tunnel participated in the Tag des offenen Denkmals (Day of the open heritage site), a Germany-wide annual event sponsored by the Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz, that opens cultural heritage sites to the public.[2]
[edit] Decoration
The tunnel walls are decorated with glazed terra cotta ornaments displaying items related to the Elbe river. While mostly fish or crabs, a few show different items like waste and rats, too.
 Old boot and rats |
 Plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) |
 Sturgeon (Acipenser sturio) |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Newspaper article on the marathon 2007 Runter in die Röhre (Down into the tube) Hamburger Abendblatt (German) Retrieved on July 31, 2008
- ^ "Tag des offenen Denkmals 2008" (in German). Behörde für Kultur, Sport und Medien (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Media). June 2008. http://www.hamburg.de/contentblob/380836/data/tag-des-offenen-denkmals-2008.pdf. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Elbe tunnel 1911 |
Coordinates: 53°32′44.46″N 9°58′11.73″E / 53.5456833°N 9.969925°E
