The bridge in Maurzyce may soon gain worldwide fame again. The Association of Bridge Builders of the Republic of Poland has proposed to the General Directorate of National Roads and Motorways that this unique structure be inscribed on the national List of Monuments of History, supervised by the President of the Republic of Poland. This is an important first step towards placing the structure on the prestigious UNESCO World Heritage List of the most valuable and unique cultural and technical monuments.
Bridge in Maurzyce – gorge over the River Słudwia
The small bridge in Maurzyce, measuring just 27 metres long and less than seven metres wide, is of great significance in the history of world engineering. It is located on the River Słudwia near Łowicz, on national road No. 92. The inconspicuous uniqueness of the structure is hidden in its construction – it is the world’s first welded road bridge. The structure was built in 1928 to the design of Professor Stefan Bryla, an outstanding engineer and welding pioneer. Instead of traditional riveting, Bryla used the then innovative method of welding steel elements here. This procedure made it possible to significantly reduce the weight of the structure, from 70 to 56 tonnes. This translated into real savings in materials and time. The bridge quickly gained international renown, attracting the attention of specialists from all over the world and becoming a kind of phenomenon. The structure suffered damage during the Second World War, but was quickly rebuilt and served motorists for decades to come. It has been closed to the public since the late 1970s, but is still open to the public as a historic monument. You can park your car nearby and take a close look at the world-famous structure.
An engineer who was ahead of his time
Prof. Stefan Bryla is one of the leading figures in Polish science of the inter-war period. He is the author of more than 250 scientific publications, a designer and an academic lecturer. He also worked for some time in the United States, participating in the construction of New York skyscrapers, including the Woolworth Building. In Poland, he co-designed, among other things, Warsaw’s Prudential, the tallest building of the Second Republic. The mighty structure, despite being shelled during the Warsaw Uprising, survived the war and is still standing today. Bryla’s oeuvre also includes the buildings of the Main Post Office and the National Museum, well known to Varsovians, the Navy building and the halls of the Steam Engine Factory.
In 1929, the designer became a member of the International Commission for Bridges and Engineering Structures, which only confirmed his reputation and exceptional skills. After the outbreak of war, he became involved in underground activities within the structures of the Home Army. At that time, he drafted, among other things, an instruction on the destruction of steel bridges, and at the same time prepared a plan for the post-war reconstruction of the country. He also served as dean of the clandestine Faculty of Architecture at the Warsaw University of Technology. He was arrested by the Gestapo on 16 November 1943 in Warsaw and executed less than a month later. Stefan Bryla’s eternal resting place remains unknown today, but his symbolic grave is in the Powązki Cemetery. The engineer’s life motto was the words: “One must think and one must work”.
The bridge in Maurzyce – a heritage appreciated
In 1964, the Stefan Bryla Prize was established, awarded by the Polish Union of Construction Engineers and Technicians for outstanding scientific and research achievements. In 1995 the American Welding Society honoured the bridge in Maurzyce with its Historic Welded Structure Award, and in 2010 the structure was awarded the “Monument of Care” prize by the Minister of Culture. The inclusion of the bridge on the List of Historical Monuments is only the beginning of a larger procedure. The application must be approved by the General Conservator of Monuments and then reviewed by the National Heritage Institute and the Council for the Protection of Monuments. Only then can it go to the President of the Republic of Poland. If it is accepted, it will be possible to begin efforts to inscribe it on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It is worth noting that so far only one bridge has been included on the list of Historical Monuments – the one in Ozimek over the Mała Panew River. The bridge in Maurzyce has a chance to join this elite group and become the first Polish welded bridge to be honoured with an entry on the UNESCO list.
Source: gov.pl
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