Bridges of Wehlau

A postcard with a picture of the bridge over the Alle, printed by offset printing on good, not at all "postcard" paper of a cream shade in the printing house Kunstanstalt Stengel & Co. in Dresden. There is a perforation along the left edge of the postcard. In general, this bridge is a very popular object on postcards from Wehlau. The most interesting thing about the postcard is that the customer of the print run was the construction company Windschild & Langelott Aktiengesellschaft (Joint-Stock Company "Windschild and Langelott"). It was they who built the bridge over the Alle, blown up by Russian troops during the First World War. So, it's high time to tell the story of this bridge, as well as other bridges of Wehlau, and say a few words about the company "Windschild and Langelott" itself.

Wehlau Alle-Bruecke bridges wehlau — Bridge over the Alle River in Wehlau. Length 48.37 m. Built in 1922 from reinforced concrete by the Joint-Stock Company "Windschild & Langelotte", Königsberg, Berlin, Bremen, Dresden, Hamburg. Most likely, the postcard was part of an advertising set of several postcards demonstrating objects built by the company.

Wehlau Alle-Bruecke back side — The back of the postcard

In Wehlau, located at the confluence of the Alle and Pregel, there were (and are) several bridges. The Long Bridge (Lange Brücke) across the Pregel is one of the longest (forgive me for the butter), if not the longest, automobile bridges in the Kaliningrad region inherited from the Germans, was laid on December 11, 1880. The seven spans of this bridge stretch for three hundred meters. The railway bridge across the Lava was built on the branch connecting Königsberg and Eydkuhnen in 1860. The third large bridge was the Allebrücke. It was built on the site of a wooden one, which was periodically torn down during ice drifts. The ceremonial opening took place on August 26, 1872. The bridge had two spans. By the way, it was the bridge across the Alle that for a long time was the main bridge connecting Wehlau and Königsberg, since the road to the center of the province ran along the southern bank of the Pregel.

Wehlau total view — View of the town hall, market square, Pregel and Langebrücke from the tower of the Church of St. Jacob in Wehlau.

Wehlau Langebrucke 1922 — Long bridge across Pregel. 1922 (postmark).

Wehlau Lange Pregelbrücke bridges Wehlau — Langebrücke - 7 spans and 300 m long.

Wehlau Lange Branch — View of the Long Bridge from the northern bank of the Pregel. Early 1900s (?).

Wehlau Allebrucke 1922 bridges Wehlau — The first metal two-span bridge across the Alle River. 1922 (postmark). It was this bridge that was blown up by Russian troops during their retreat from Wehlau in 1914.

Wehlau Allebrucke 1917 — View of Wehlau from the Allebrücke. 1917 (postmark). The wooden bridge deck is clearly visible.

Wehlau Brooke — On this postcard, in the upper right corner, you can see a bridge over the Alle. The horse-drawn carriages are on another bridge, built over a small lake fifty meters west of Lava. The distance between these two bridges was very small, literally 50-70 meters. It was not possible to find out what happened to this bridge during the two world wars. But, be that as it may, this bridge has not survived to this day.

Snamensk 2015 — To the left of the Znamensk-Pravdinsk road, the remains of bridge No. 2 are visible. The construction of the modern road did not require the construction of a bridge. 2015.

In general, the history of the Wehlau bridges goes back to the Middle Ages, when the city experienced rapid economic growth. True, this growth slowed down at the end of the 16th century, and not least of all the reason that Wehlau lost the economic competition to Insterburg (you must admit, the geographical location of both cities - at the confluence of two rivers - is very similar) was the fact that the wooden bridges of Wehlau were in terrible condition, and the merchants who hurried to the city at the end of July for the annual Jacobin Fair (the predecessor of the famous horse market ) used to say: "A coward does not go to Wehlau."

bridges of velau — Wehlau. Illustration from Christoph Hartknoch's book "Old and New Prussia" (Alt- und Neues Preussen), 1684. On the left is the bridge over the Pregel, and in the center is the bridge over the Alle. Indeed, both bridges do not inspire confidence.

During the First World War, all three bridges in the city were damaged. The Langebrücke was blown up by the Germans before the advancing Russian troops, who in turn blew up the Allebrücke before retreating in order to delay the German troops. During the Second World War, both of these bridges were blown up again . The Allebrücke blew up for unknown reasons back in late December 1944, and the Long Bridge, like the railway bridge, was blown up by the Germans on the morning of January 22, 1945.

Wehlau Notbrucke 1916 bridges Wehlau — German sappers build a temporary bridge near the Long Bridge across the Pregel. 1914 (1916 according to the postmark).

wehlau eisenbahnbridge — Railway bridge in Wehlau damaged during the First World War. Most likely winter 1914/1915.

The Long Bridge was later restored and has successfully survived to this day. In 2014, it was renovated. The railway bridge is also in the same place. But the bridge across the Alle was built in a new place, 30-40 meters south of the previous one. It is also single-span.

Wehlau Allebruecke 1927 — Bridge over the Alle, built by Windschild & Langelotte. 1927 (postmark).

And now a few facts about the company "Windschild & Langelott". It was founded no later than 1889 (I was unable to find out the exact city where it was founded). At various times, it had branches in Bromberg (now Bydgoszcz), Dresden, Bremen, Berlin, Hamburg, Königsberg and Insterburg (Chernyakhovsk). It was a multi-industry company, one of the largest in Germany, had its own cement production and was engaged in construction in various areas, from laying canals, building dams, bridges and railway structures to urban water supply and sewerage. Now there is a company with the same name, registered in Oldenburg (Lower Saxony), but since its foundation date is October 1, 2010, I am inclined to believe that, most likely, the current company has only the name in common with the previous one.

In addition to the bridge over the Alle, Windschild and Langelott built several more bridges in East Prussia. Some of them have survived to this day and are used for their intended purpose. Several bridges are located in the Romincka Forest .

Bruecke uber Angerrap Windschild & Langelott — Construction of a road bridge across the Angerapp (Angrapa) River near Tittnaggen (Krugertal) west of Gumbinnen (Gusev). The bridge has survived. 1900s.

In addition to bridges, the company also distinguished itself by building a small dam in Neukuhren (now Pionersky), located in a ravine to the left of the road to the port.

Neukuhren 2014 — Remains of the dam built in 1928 in Neukuhren by Windschild & Langelott. 2014.

Well, the last detail related to Windschild & Langelotte that I would like to note is the old sewer manholes. There are photos of manholes produced by Windschild & Langelotte in Königsberg on the Internet. In particular, such manholes could be seen until recently in Kaliningrad, Sovetsk (I think this manhole no longer exists) and Malbork (Poland).

At least a couple of such hatches still (November 2023) please the eye of everyone walking along the streets of Baltiysk in the area of the lighthouse.

Windschild & Langelott manhole covers in Baltiysk. As you can see, the manhole covers are different: the left one is slightly convex, the right one is flat. November 2023

windschild and langelott kaliningrad — A manhole cover from Windschild & Langelott, cast in Königsberg. (Source: http://www.deckelschau.de )

windschild and langelott malbork — Hatch in Malbork. (Source: http://www.deckelschau.de