Kronenbrücke, Freiburg

The Kronenbrücke was built on the site of the original bridge which crossed the Dreisam and was one of the two oldest bridges in Freiburg im Breisgau, a city on the edge of the Black Forest in the Baden-Württemberg region of Germany. In 1869, an iron bridge with stone substructure replaced the original wooden bridge across the River Dreisam. This, however, lasted only three years due to excessive flooding and the replacement erected was Gartenstraßen. After extensive work was done to dams and shores to prevent the bridge collapsing in the manner of its predecessor and the building of two others, to reduce frequent stressing, the now renamed Friedrichsbrücke, named after Grand Duke Frederick, opened in 1903. Despite hopes of the bridge lasting for centuries, it was replaced due to a variety of reasons in 1962 with the removal of its base done in 1967, and final construction completed in 1969. The new bridge was the Kronenbrücke an oval-shaped twin bridge, enhancing traffic management and navigation on the inner city ring road. History was soon to be repeated as the current incarnation was unable to be modified to allow a planned tram line. The Kronenbrücke was demolished in 2015 to make way for a new economical bridge featuring a tram line. Its replacement, also called Kronenbrücke, has a simpler straight road guidance system which allowed a more economical bridge size. ()