landmark
Mole tower in Bremerhaven threatens to collapse
Bremerhaven’s leaning pier tower. photo
© Sina Schuldt/dpa
The beacon on the north mole of Bremerhaven threatens to collapse. A shock for many residents, because the pier tower with the distinctive red head is a landmark of the port city.
One of Bremerhaven’s landmarks, the pier tower at the entrance to the fishing port, is in danger of falling over. During the night of Thursday, the north mole, at the top of which is the beacon with the red head, lowered – the approximately 20-meter-high tower then got into a dangerous lopsided position.
Whether the tower will tip over in the coming hours or days cannot be foreseen, said the managing director of the port operator Bremenports, Robert Howe, on site on Thursday. If that were to happen, all necessary safeguards had been taken. The structure is now to be removed with heavy equipment as soon as possible, probably as early as the weekend. The city of Bremerhaven criticized that the structure had not been secured earlier.
Landmark of Bremerhaven
The north mole with the beacon is one of the landmarks of Bremerhaven. According to the city, the navigation mark, which was put into operation in 1914, has been a listed building since 2001. The north mole is owned by the State of Bremen, the tower with its active beacon belongs to the Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration.
The subsidence of the mole was not foreseen, Howe said. “Nevertheless, we have known for a number of years that the stability of the pier and, of course, the stability of the tower is at risk.” According to Bremenports, the pier and the pier head on which the tower stands are founded on wooden piles. Investigations showed that these were lost under the pier. That’s why the pier was closed to visitors.
Bremerhaven’s Lord Mayor Melf Grantz (SPD) was appalled at the damage and sharply criticized it. “If you wanted to be cynical, you could say it was a disaster with an announcement. For years I have urgently pointed out to those responsible in the Senate and at Bremenports the need to renovate the north mole, but unfortunately nothing visible happened.”
On Thursday evening, the shipping traffic that had been blocked since the morning at the entrance to the Geeste River and the fishing port for commercial shipping and the Weser ferry from Bremerhaven to Nordenham (Blexen) was released again. The Geeste flows into the Weser at the tip of the pier. Ferry traffic on the Weser was not restricted.