Schlachte Great Crane

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Foundations of the great crane KranfundamentSchlachte.JPG
Foundations of the great crane
The Bremen crane shown in 1640 Bremen crane Merian1640.jpg
The Bremen crane shown in 1640

The Schlachte Cranes were important to the port of Bremen as they enabled heavy loads to be moved off boats on the River Weser. The Schlachte became an important harbour for the city after silting prevented the use of the Balge as a harbour. Today, only the foundations of a 19th-century crane remain on the Weser waterfront.

Bremen Place in Germany

The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany, which belongs to the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a federal state of Germany.

Schlachte (Bremen)

The Schlachte is a promenade along the east bank of the River Weser in the old town of Bremen in the north of Germany. Once one of the city's harbours, it is now popular for its restaurants, beer gardens and river boats.

Balge (river) geographical object

The Balge was a short branch of the Weser on its eastern side, running through what is now the centre of Bremen. As it served as a harbour in the early Middle Ages, it significantly contributed to Bremen's development as a port. The river gradually narrowed until in 1608, it was canalised. In 1838, it was completely filled with earth.

Contents

History

1725 diagram of the crane by Leupold Schlachtekran Bremen 1725.jpg
1725 diagram of the crane by Leupold

A map of Bremen made around 1640 clearly shows what must be a large crane. The wooden structure was built around a central mast that allowed the crane to turn.

A new harbour crane installed in 1684 is attributed to Jacob Leupold. [1] This crane could also rotate but two large treadwheels enabled six men to lift a load of three tonnes. In his book on the theory of machines, Leupold illustrates two cranes at Bremen. The more ambitious model is pictured here. The boom would have been much longer as it has been shortened to fit within the illustration. The crane would have been used for moving exceptionally heavy loads of single items as the predominant method of moving loads was to use human labour.

Jacob Leupold German multidisciplinary scientist

Jacob Leupold was a German physicist, mathematician, instrument maker, mining commissioner and engineer. He wrote the seminal book Theatrum Machinarum Generale.

Treadwheel

A treadwheel, or treadmill, is a form of engine typically powered by humans. It may resemble a water wheel in appearance, and can be worked either by a human treading paddles set into its circumference (treadmill), or by a human or animal standing inside it (treadwheel). These devices are no longer used for power or punishment, and the term "treadmill" has come to mean an exercise machine for running or walking in place.

The Schlachte became an important harbour for the city after silting prevented the use of the Balge as a harbour. Today the stone foundations of a large crane are preserved on the Schlachte promenade along the River Weser. A plaque explains the history of the cranes.

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Weser river in north-western Germany

The Weser is a river in Northwestern Germany. Formed at Hannoversch Münden by the confluence of the rivers Fulda and Werra, it flows through Lower Saxony, then reaching the Hanseatic city of Bremen, before emptying 50 km (31 mi) further north at Bremerhaven into the North Sea. On the opposite (west) bank is the town of Nordenham at the foot of the Butjadingen Peninsula; thus, the mouth of the river is in Lower Saxony. The Weser has an overall length of 452 km (281 mi). Together with its Werra tributary, which originates in Thuringia, its length is 744 km (462 mi).

Aktien-Gesellschaft „Weser" was one of the major German shipbuilding companies, located at the Weser River in Bremen. Founded in 1872 it was finally closed in 1983. Altogether, A.G. „Weser" built about 1,400 ships of different types, including many warships. A.G. „Weser" was the leading company in the Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau AG, a cooperation of eight German shipbuilding companies between 1926 and 1945.

Osterholz District in Lower Saxony, Germany

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Aller (Germany) Sidestream of the river Weser

The Aller is a 215-kilometre (134 mi) long river in the states of Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony in Germany. It is a right-hand, and hence eastern, tributary of the Weser and is also its largest tributary. Its last 117 kilometres (73 mi) form the Lower Aller federal waterway (Bundeswasserstraße). The Aller was extensively straightened, widened and, in places, dyked, during the 1960s to provide flood control of the river. In a 20-kilometre (12 mi) long section near Gifhorn, the river meanders in its natural river bed.

Crane (machine) type of machine

A crane is a type of machine, generally equipped with a hoist rope, wire ropes or chains, and sheaves, that can be used both to lift and lower materials and to move them horizontally. It is mainly used for lifting heavy things and transporting them to other places. The device uses one or more simple machines to create mechanical advantage and thus move loads beyond the normal capability of a human. Cranes are commonly employed in the transport industry for the loading and unloading of freight, in the construction industry for the movement of materials, and in the manufacturing industry for the assembling of heavy equipment.

Bremen-Vegesack District in Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, Germany

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Schnoor street in Bremen

Schnoor is a neighbourhood in the medieval centre of the German city of Bremen, and the only part of it that has preserved a medieval character. The neighbourhood owes its name to old handicrafts associated with shipping. The alleys between the houses were often associated with occupations or objects: There was an area in which ropes and cables were produced and a neighboring area, where wire cables and anchor chains were manufactured.

Bremerhaven Place in Bremen, Germany

Bremerhaven is a city at the seaport of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Bremen cog museum ship

Bremen cog or Bremer Kogge is a well-preserved wreck of a cog dated to 1380, found in 1962 in Bremen. Today it is displayed at the German Maritime Museum in Bremerhaven as one of the main features. Three nearly identical replicas of this cog have been built: Ubena von Bremen, Hansekogge and Roland von Bremen.

Haus der Stadtsparkasse (Bremen)

Haus der Stadtsparkasse is a Rococo landmark on the "Marktplatz" in Bremen, Germany. It was completed in the 1950s combining the historic front gable from another site with the more recent architecture of the remainder of the building.

Bremer Marktplatz square

The Bremer Marktplatz is a square situated in the centre of the Hanseatic City of Bremen, Germany. One of the oldest public squares in the city, it covers an area of 3,484 m2 (37,500 sq ft). It is no longer used as a market place except for the Christmas market and the annual Freimarkt Fair at the end of October.

Spitzen Gebel

Spitzen Gebel is a historic building in the centre of Bremen, Germany, located at No. 1, Hinter dem Schütting. Its origins date to the year 1400, but it was rebuilt in the Gothic style in 1590 with additions in 1610. Since 1973, it has been a listed building.

Teerhof

The Teerhof is a peninsula between the River Weser and the Kleine Weser, opposite the city centre of Bremen, Germany. It was first mentioned in 1624 as "Theerhof" when it was the northernmost part of an island. Today it consists mainly of residential buildings and the Weserburg modern art museum.

Jacob Ephraim Polzin Architect active in Bremen, Germany

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Langenstraße (Bremen)

The Langenstraße is a historical street in the old town of Bremen in the north of Germany. First mentioned in 1234, it is one of Bremen's oldest streets and one of the most important for the city's merchants. It no doubt originated at the time when the first settlements grew up on the north bank of the Balge. It runs west from the Marktplatz parallel to the River Weser over Bürgermeister-Smidt-Straße to Geeren. Many of the street's historic buildings were seriously damaged during aerial bombings in the Second World War but were carefully reconstructed in the postwar period.

Suding & Soeken building, Bremen gabled house at No. 28 Langenstraße in Bremen, Germany

The Suding & Soeken building is a gabled house at No. 28 Langenstraße in Bremen, Germany. Referred to as a Kaufmannshaus or Kontorhaus, it is one of the city's few historic merchant houses to survive the war undamaged. It is noted for its projecting Renaissance bay window and its two-tiered Baroque stairway ascending from the hallway.

Ports of Bremen ports and harbours in Bremen and Bremerhaven, Germany

The Ports of Bremen, Bremen Ports or Bremish Ports, in German "Bremische Häfen" consist of the commercial ports in Bremen and Bremerhaven. They are managed by bremenports GmbH & Co. KG, a company of private status in public property.

References

  1. 1 2 Theatrum Machinarum Generale ("The General Theory of Machines"), Jacob Leupold.

Literature

International Standard Book Number Unique numeric book identifier

The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier which is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency.

Coordinates: 53°04′32.58″N8°48′10.09″E / 53.0757167°N 8.8028028°E / 53.0757167; 8.8028028

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.