Rotterdam is worth a visit for the daring modern architecture alone. The city does not offer any magnificent town houses, the Germans bombed them flat during the war. That’s why the inhabitants cling to the few relics of the past that remain. One of them is the railway lifting bridge over the Maas, in the middle of the city. Trains have long been running through a tunnel, but when the bridge was about to be demolished in 1993, there was a great deal of protest, so it was turned into a memorial.
The people of Rotterdam are all the more irritated that this bridge will soon be temporarily dismantled. To make room for Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ new sailing yacht. At 127 meters, it is not only exceptionally long, but also so high with its masts that it cannot fit under the lifting bridge, the middle section of which can only be hoisted 38 meters high. Oceanco, a shipyard in Alblasserdam upriver, asked the city for the favor. Otherwise your product will not reach the customer, the richest man in the world will pay for the costs. There are already pictures of the yacht currently still Y721 means: lots of wood and white paint, dark hull, Bezos likes it simple. At least in terms of colors and material.
The city allowed itself to be persuaded. You have to be pragmatic, says Marcel Walravens, who manages the conversion as project manager for the city. You have to think about the jobs, the money and the great shipbuilding past of the Netherlands. However, in 2017, after a major renovation of the bridge, the administration promised that it would “never be dismantled again”. “Jobs are important” therefore scolds Ton Wesselink by the Roterodamum Historical Society. “But there are limits to what we can and may do with our historical heritage.”
The $500 million yacht has an extra boat because the large sails interfere with landing helicopters
“De Hef” (The Hub), as the “Koningshavenbrug” is popularly known, was first built in 1878 as a swing bridge. Because the ships had problems with it, the green steel construction was converted into a lifting bridge in 1927. Daring jumped records from this bridge, one died. Like everything else, De Hef was badly damaged in the war, but was quickly rebuilt to keep the trains rolling.
And this monument is now to make way for Jeff Bezos’ $500 million toy? Who even needs an additional boat for the ship because the big sails would otherwise get in the way of his helicopter landing? This prospect has also awakened the critics of capitalism in some politicians. “This man made his money structurally exploiting staff, evading taxes and circumventing regulations,” says Green City Councilor Stephan Leewis. He wants to see the arrangement with Oceanco, and woe betide a single penny of tax money being spent on dismantling and rebuilding. TV presenter Tim Hofman also reported: “How wonderful it would be if the city of Rotterdam simply said: Sorry, can’t do it, like Bezos does when his employees in the warehouse want a break.”
Others are less strict with the city. He understands the uproar, says the Social Democrat Dennis Tak. But large ships are almost exclusively built in Asia, and it would be great if you could pull a little money out of Bezos’ pocket and distribute it in the region. still has Y721 no masts and is at the shipyard. At some point in the summer, however, the ship will sail towards Rotterdam and through the Koningshavenbrug. It’s quite possible that a few tomatoes will fly as well.