Berlin Bridge in Kaliningrad is not only a landmark, but also a piece of history. Unfortunately, it is gradually becoming a thing of the past.
One way or another, but not all connoisseurs of antiquity are in favor of preserving the rare flyover, since spending long hours in traffic jams is an unpleasant pastime.
Memory of the war
In the late 30s of the last century, one of the large-scale construction projects was launched in the east of Koenigsberg. Every day, almost 24 hours a day, machinery worked to build the Berlin Bridge in Kaliningrad. Gradually, concrete supports of a new design appeared along the banks of the Pregol.
However, at one point, the project was suspended. Five-year plans followed one after another, but the picture did not change: deserted shores, a huge floodplain, rare ships and fishermen. And on top of all this, the gloomy monument of the Great Patriotic War “flaunted” - the wide Berlin Bridge in Kaliningrad, half of which remained unrepaired after 1945.
Spans lifted up towards the sky are a tribute to the memory of the war that life itself designed. Annuallythousands of tourists come to see the Berlin Bridge in Kaliningrad. In the summer, excursions are also organized here along the water surface, since a truly unique spectacle opens up from the river to the huge bridge structure. You won't see this anywhere else!
The bridge during the Great Patriotic War
It is noteworthy that the Berlin Bridge (Kaliningrad) was called Palmburg during the war years. Today it is called Coastal. Why is it better known as Berlinsky?
The fact is that the old Koenigsberg-Elbing motorway (the current Polish city of Elblag) was gradually transformed into a highway that leads to the capital of Germany. Since the above freeway ends in Berlin, so does the Berlin Bridge.
It should be noted that folk toponyms often become official. In bureaucratic documents, the above-mentioned wartime monument is listed as "a bridge crossing over Novaya and Staraya Pregolya." Naturally, such a name is very difficult for the perception of an ordinary person, but the “Berlin Bridge” sounds pretentious and beautiful, and it is likely that it will be called that way in the documents.
Koenigsberg Divorce
Now the famous bridge is overgrown with several myths and some believe in them.
One of them is that the design of the "Berlinka" is movable. The second myth follows from the first: they say, the bridge is repaired by 50%, which means that the Russiansit turned out that only one side of it could be built. The overpass design can be really misleading.
During the war, when there were fierce battles for East Prussia, the Soviet Army was able to come close to the Berlin. Our commanders decided not to bomb it, but to cross it in order to storm Kaliningrad. Having guessed the plans of the Russian army, the Germans mined it. Why was the bridge not opened?
Some experts say that in reality the Berlinka had a prefabricated-monolithic, not a movable design, which, among other things, allowed the risk of undermining with serious damage.
One way or another, but the soldiers of the Third Reich would be happy to raise the bridge, but not. Then the Germans blew it up, and the construction turned into a "drawable" one.
Did the Russians really manage to build only one side of the Berlinka? In the 60s of the last century, the building was repaired only by 50%, not because there was a risk: it potentially "could explode." In fact, even one side provided normal traffic, the amount of which in those years was not too large.
Berlinka content is expensive
Currently, the situation with the Berlin Bridge in Kaliningrad is not easy. The existing structure cannot cope with the flow of cars, resulting in many kilometers of traffic jams.
“The construction and restoration of roads is one of the priority tasks. It needs to be done quicklypace to be in time for the start of the 2018 FIFA World Cup,” the officials emphasize.
Reconstruction of the above historical monument is not a cheap pleasure. However, the first steps towards this have already been taken: the federal authorities have allocated 4.6 million rubles from the state treasury for the repair of the Berlinka.
The process of restoring the bridge was planned as part of the second stage of the project "Construction of the southern bypass of Kaliningrad". The first stage was not yet ready, as information became known that the builders were demolishing the Berlin Bridge in Kaliningrad. "Finally, wait!" - said the inhabitants of the former Koenigsberg.
The structure collapsed…
However, at the beginning of January this year, domestic media announced that as a result of dismantling work, the Berlin Bridge collapsed on people in Kaliningrad. The situation was aggravated by the fact that 4 people died as a result of this incident. Naturally, the investigators immediately began to find out the reasons why the Berlin Bridge collapsed on people in Kaliningrad. As a result of the investigation, it became known that the tragedy occurred due to a banal non-compliance with safety regulations. The perpetrators were prosecuted.
What the project envisages
According to the construction project, along with the old one, a new Berlin bridge (Kaliningrad) should appear. Then the new design will take over the entire transport load, freeing the Berlinka from it, which will beupgrade later. With such measures, the authorities want to solve the problem of traffic jams. Residents of the region are looking forward to the day when the old Berlin Bridge will be dismantled in Kaliningrad, and a modern six-lane overpass will appear in its place. The project includes three lanes on both sides (each 3.75 m long) and sidewalks.
According to the forecasts of the authorities, the final project will be ready by 2016.
Construction work on the modernization is in full swing, and the old structure is no longer recognizable.
Of course, some residents will experience real nostalgia for Berlin, but the facility still needs to be modernized to solve the problem of traffic jams. Well, the historical basis of the bridge will be preserved.
