Landungsbrücken is a 700 meter long landing harbour. Often regarded as the ‘Pearl of Hamburg’, Landungsbrücken or St. Pauli Piers or St. Pauli Landing Stages or St. Pauli Landing Bridges are the many names by which it is known to the world.
It is situated in the St. Pauli region of Hamburg and is one of the major tourist attractions of the city. The harbour is located between the Fish market and the banks of the river Elbe.
The port has turned into an important location for central transportation system which is equipped with S-Bahn, U-Bahn and ferry stations. You can also find here many restaurants, departure points for pleasure boats et cetera. Here is also where on the ports western end is where the Old Elbe Tunnel is located.
The 15th of September 2003 marked an important event when the complex was formally classified as an important historical monument.
History
1839 is when the first of the shipping piers were built at the edge of the harbour. Since that time on, it has served as a terminal for the steamships. Here, they would be filled with coal and these piers provided security to them in terms of the distance between the harbour and the city. The modern piers which were built with floating pontoons along with them being accessible from land by the ten movable bridges, moreover, the current piers were built in the year 1907.
The landing place is approximately 688 metres or 2,257 feet long and originally was there for the passenger steamers of the overseas lines. Today, you can only find the Hapag- Lloyd lines landed here among others. Also, only the HADAG ferries, harbour tour ships and motor launches, passenger ships provide their services on the lower Elbe. One can also find ships travelling each day to the musical island of the concert of The Lion King.
The times of the World Wars have been destructive for the entire German land. There was hardly any region which could escape its deadly and destructive claws. The old piers also met with the same fate where they were destroyed and then were rebuilt between 1953 and 1955. Still there remained a few more structures which were due to myriad circumstances could not be rebuilt. The bridges number 2 and 3 were finally rebuilt and became functional by 1976.
A few years down the line, by 1999 – with the arrival of a new millennium, the modernisation process began. One of the major aims was to completely replace bridge number 7.
Volcanic tuff is a kind of rock which is made from volcanic ash which is ejected from a vent at the time of an eruption. Furthermore, these are then compacted and processed in the form of solid rocks under the process called consolidation. These solid rocks where then used in the construction process of the terminal building.
Later-on the piers were constructed between 1907 and 1909 in the very location as that of the old Landungsbrücken. Raabe & Wöhlecke were hired for the purpose of designing the building. It was made in such a way so that it represents the shipping station. The total length of the harbour was stated at 205 metres. Its many towers, domes, gateways to the ships piers accented its structure. There were also architectural sculptures that were created by Arthur Bock.
S-Bahn and the U-Bahn form a connection through the Landungsbrücken station.
Stammsiel
Stammsiel is listed among the oldest and largest sewerage systems which are located near the Landungsbrücken. It was designed in the year 1842 by William Lindley to be a part of the Stadtwasserkunst. Geest-Stammsiel performed the function of the collection of sewage from those parts of the city before it is transported under the Elbe into the Köhlbrandhöft which is an important purification plant. The transportation is facilitated by a pumping station which is situated nearly 100 metres on the upstream of the old Elbe tunnel. Traveling by boats is also facilitated on the sluice.
Furthermore, back in the day, for the purpose of the many rowing trips of Kaiser Willhelm II the construction of an exclusive and separate underground dock was commenced. This construction is only viewable through appointments.
More about the Landungsbrücken
When one stands here on one side there are visible colourful the many colourful stores which have had and present the many waterfront stored memories. There is something eloquent about the fish restaurants. These restaurants bring about many quaint and delicacies – freshly presented from the sea. If you are there, then on the must eat list should be the North Sea Shrimps and the cutter plaice.
The design of the complex is such that you will probably never realise that it is in-fact a floating platform. It is easy to forget and ignored in most cases, as there are hardly any jerks of sorts that one feels. 1839 is when the first of the pontoons were built here and in those days coal was stored on these platforms which was used by the engines of the many steam ships that came about here. It is for this reason that the fire in the boilers was kept far away from the actual harbour. Otherwise serious hazardous conditions would have originated from time to time. Between 1907 and 1909 the facility underwent a massive expansion roll. A few years down the lien when the World Wars arrived, the platform suffered heavy damages too but it was in a few years reconstructed and made functional again.
On the eastern side of the water station is where the water tower is located which shows time. This along with the constant thumping of the water level on the belly of the ship at every half hour is a part of a fascinating experience.
The maritime circle line
Harbours and the maritime culture of Hamburg has a different flavour. There is indeed something interesting about the connecting Hamburg maritime cultural attractions such as the Auswanderermuseum BallinStadt and Miniatur Wunderland. These loop only take about 95 minutes and hopping on and off at any point of the stops is permitted, so you can explore at your will quite easily.