The renovation of this bridge takes twice as long as it took to build it… in the 19th century. “We have an absurd Vistula pier here”
In Tczew, for five years now, an 875-meter-long pier has been running parallel to the railway bridge over the Vistula. This is not a joke – the 167-year-old Tczew road bridge, officially about 1,030 meters long, has no connection to the mainland from the Tczew side. In theory, it should connect the Tczew and Malbork counties, in practice – it is almost the longest pier in Poland. And certainly the most historic one. “Land of the absurd” – Andrzej Duda thundered in 2015. The fight to save the bridge has been going on for thirteen years.
The history of the reconstruction of the Tczew Bridge is material for a sad soap opera. The latest episode can be summarized as follows: PLN 65 million is on the table for the next stage of renovation. The money comes from the Polish Order, i.e. from the government PIS. The deadline to announce the tender is January 25. The Civic Coalition is looking for alternative solutions to settle the matter once and for all. Because more than 200 million are still needed for complete renovation.
Like the Eiffel Tower
Historical sources agree – the Tczew Bridge is an absolute engineering masterpiece of its time.
– Other bridges throughout Europe were built on the basis of our bridge, at least for the next two decades – emphasizes Łukasz Brządkowski, mayor of Tczew, co-author of the album “Mosty Tczewskie”. And he points out: – The American Society of Civil Engineers recognized it as a milestone in the development of world engineering, next to the Eiffel Tower or the Panama Canal. Moreover, this is where World War II started – the first bombs fell in Tczew [atak nastąpił 11 minut wcześniej niż na Westerplatte, most został częściowo wysadzony przez broniących go Polaków – red.].
167-year-old road bridge in TczewFormer Tczew
Read more after logging in
Get access to premium content free and without ads