Saint Roch Bridge and secrets of copper box from over a century ago

In 1913 Poznań had only one bridge which connected the city with the right bank of Warta. Chwaliszewski Bridge linked the city centre with Chwaliszewo, which was an island at the time. From there, one could go further towards Ostrów Tumski, crossing Cybina on another bridge, or through Tama Berdychowska towards Brama Kaliska.

On June, 1913, Saint Roch Bridge was opened. The structure, once reconstructed, has served the residents ever since.

The location of the bridge was not random. One bridge was built there already in the Middle Ages, mentioned for the first time in documents from 1460. During the centuries, the bridge was destroyed by floods and later burned down by the Swedes. Finally, during battles with the Russians in 1771, it was ravaged by fire set by the Bar Confederation members. From that point on, only ferries were used in that place, and Poznań residents had to wait 140 long years for a new bridge.

In early 20th century, a decision to build a new bridge in that place was made. It was designed by a city construction officer Hugo Schulz. The construction, which took two years, was launched in the summer of 1911, the cornerstone was officially laid on September 8. During the works, a copper box was hidden in a bridge pier.

In 2002, Saint Roch Bridge was gone again. "The central span of Saint Roch Bridge is no longer in its original place. It was lifted up and moved a dozen metres on ferries," - "Głos Wielkopolski" wrote on October 30. A month later, on December 4, in one of the deconstructed bridge piers - closer to Grobla street - a copper box, size 30x20x15cm, was discovered. Items and documents found inside the box were damp, so they were sent for preservation. It took six months to be able to look inside again.

Inside the following items were found: foundation act, five coins in five denominations - 1, 2, 10 and 25 pfennig - and a 2-mark showing a likeness of German Emperor Wilhelm II, a card of chief engineer Schlüsselburg, bridge and river regulation blueprints, two photographs showing Warta valley seen before the bridge construction, and newspapers from September 7, 1911.

In 1911, Poland was nowhere to found on the map of Europe. The country was partitioned between Russia, Austria-Hungary and Prussia.

Poznań was annexed by Prussia. Only one year prior, the Imperial Castle was opened, and around it - in the place of removed fortifications of Poznań Fortress - the Imperial District emerged along with its notable buildings including: Municipal Theatre (today's Grand Theatre), Royal Academy buildings (today's Collegium Minus at Adam Mickiewicz University), Prussian Settlement Commission (today's Collegium Maius at Adam Mickiewicz University), Raiffeisen Bank (today's Collegium Iuridicum at Adam Mickiewicz University).

The building had a typically German character and were meant to underscore the German character of the city, which - according to the invaders - Poznań always had.

When the foundation act was being laid at the Saint Roch Bridge construction site, the East-German Exhibition was taking place in the city. That very same infrastructure was used 10 years later - during Poznań International Fair organised in independent Poland.

The exhibition was held at a 35-hectare area. 85 pavilions were built, including the most spectacular one - the Upper Silesian tower. The structure designed by Hans Pölzig was meant to serve as a water tower and an exhibition space. During the event, products of Silesian heavy industry were at display at the bottom of the tower, while at the top was a restaurant and a cafe. In their place, after the fair, a huge 4.000m3 water tank was installed. People could get to restaurant either in an elevator located in the middle, or via one of the staircases. While eating, the guests could admire the view of Poznań and the exhibition grounds, as well as works by Silesian painters located above the windows - Rossmann, Busch, Friese and Niemann - depicting the region's factories and landscapes.

Next to the Upper Silesian Tower was a 6.000m2 miniature model called "Old Poznań". Visitors could go inside through an imitation of Brama Wroniecka - a no longer existing city gate which had been located at Wroniecka street, next to today's Wolnica street, right next to the synagogue.

The model consisted of miniatures of all key buildings in Poznań: Town Hall, Guardhouse, Działyński Palace, or St. Catherine's Church.

Right next to the model was the most exotic section of the exhibition - a "negro village" - which was meant to propagate Germany's colonial policy. Visitors could look go inside African huts and learn about local customs. "It's interesting to watch Negroes going about their things. Here we see a weaver, there a tailor or a goldsmith at work, women sorting vegetables in the kitchen, boiling rice for a beef and lamb dish" - "Posener Zeitung" wrote on September 7, 1911. A copy of this edition was placed in the time capsule.

But Polish titles were being published in Poznań. Most popular ones were "Dziennik Poznański" and "Kurier Poznański". What were they writing about?

"Dziennik Poznański" reported on a German cities representatives convention, organised as part of the East-German Exhibition. "So far, 383 people have confirmed their participation, supreme mayors, mayors, town officers, trustees, construction advisors, city council chairmen, deputies and councillors, as well as other officials. In total, 169 cities will be represented. From the Grand Duchy of Posen the following cities have registered: Bydgoszcz, Gniezno, Inowrocław, Kościan, Koźmin, Landsberg (today's Gorzów Wielkopolski - edit.), Nakło, Strzelno and Wągrówiec. We couldn't, however, find a single Polish name on the list of city representatives," the authors of the article wrote at the time.

They also mentioned details of important improvements, that were to be introduced on October 1, for train passengers travelling in fourth-class: "All cars will be fitted with better lighting, linoleum, there will be 44 seats instead of 22, water-flushing toilets will be introduced, and finally, there will be compartments for smokers and non-smokers".

The paper also provided results of "police dog games" in Dębina: "Dog named 'Pfeil', owned by criminal police officer Wiesenhütter, turned out to be the most excellent. Its owner received the highest award from the throne successor Prince Eitel Friedrich; moreover, he received the city of Poznań award, of Poznań counties and other".

The daily also mentioned the raging typhus epidemic in Piła and number of infection cases. "In the month of August, further 27 people went down with typhus. Since the outbreak of the plague, that is June 18, until yesterday a total of 319 people fell ill, and 25 died," the reporters informed.

The readers could also learn about a huge forest fire between Landsberg and Skwierzyna: "Over 20,000 morgen burned down, mainly fir trees. The losses are estimated at a few million marks". The fire killed one soldier involved in the extinguishing mission.

In the international news section we read, among other things, about the launching of King George V battleship scheduled for October 9, 1911, in Portsmouth, Great Britain. "'King George' will be the most powerful battleship displacing 25,000 tonnes, 570 feet-long, 89-feet-wide, and power of 27,000 shp able to reach the speed of 21 knots. 'King George' is said to be armed with 13.5-inch guns," the paper said.

On September 7, both "Dziennik Poznański" and "Kurier Poznański covered a high-profile court case of count Bogdan Ronikier, accused of murdering his brother-in-law Stanisław Chrzanowski. International news included a foiled attempt to assassinate King of Spain Alfonso XIII in Paris, and resumed negotiations between France and Germany regarding a crisis in Morocco.

"Kurier Poznański" brought important news from Russia. The first was the wedding of Prince John Konstantinovich and daughter of King of Serbia Peter I - Princess Helen. The second news was the country's famine disaster. "The most harrowing news come from Orenburg Governorate. Local exchange committee already on August 14 announced an absolute crop failure in the area, that in some places harvest had failed to even cover the cost of sowing," we read. There was also a short information about two parishes in Finland, Kivennapa and Uusikirkko, being annexed by Saint Petersburg Governorate.

On the next pages, one could read about, among other things, a United States tour of certain French singer and actress. "Paris actress Polaire is on an artistic tour across America. Her impresario has masterfully exploited shortcoming of her appearance, by announcing her as the ugliest woman in the world. It has worked excellent in the world of advertising," we read.

There was no shortage of local news. A 46-year-old worker from Żnin was mentioned, who had died after accepting a bet he would drink "60 pfennigs of vodka". He won the bet, but lost consciousness after drinking the alcohol. He died two hours later.

Another vodka lover broke the windows of a distillery at Łazarska street in Poznań. The reason? They had refused to sell him alcohol.

There was no mention of French poet Guillaume Apollinaire who was detained in Paris in late August under suspicion of stealing the Mona Lisa from the Louvre. The poet was later released.

The copper box and its contents were taken to the City Preservation Office. All the items were photographed, and documents scanned.

All of the aforementioned items can be seen at the website of Digital Local Repository in Poznań.

Opened in 1913, the bridge served the residents of Poznań for 89 years, although, during the WWII, the middle span had been destroyed and rebuilt on a number of occasions.

The river was regulated only in the 1960s.

By the end of the 20th century it became certain the bridge needed to be replaced. Apart from its age alone, also huge road traffic was among the factors. September 30 was the last day to walk across the old bridge. The next day, the old span was taken ashore.

Foundation act was walled into the the abutment of the new bridge. "Copies of documents found in the pier of the previous bridge have been placed in a casing made of stainless metal, while the originals were deposited at the City Preservation Office in Poznań," Digital Local Repository informed.

The new bridge was opened on June 29, 2004.

It was decided that the old span would be used again. "We had considered selling the span, there also had been plans to develop it and change it into a riverside cafe. The sentimental element, however, prevailed. We decided to keep the bridge, which had served Poznań residents, where it belongs," Poznań mayor recalled.

There were two options regarding the bridge's location: next to Berdychowo street, where it would have connected Poznań University of Technology with Ostrów Tumski, or where Cybiński Bridge had once stood, connecting the cathedral with Śródka.

The second, more difficult option won. "The planned Berdychowski Bridge is meant to have a slightly different function, and it also has appeared in the plans way too late. There were two key facts in favour of the Cybiński Bridge: restoration of a historic bridge over Cybina river, and the span's parameters. It turned out to fit almost perfectly in that place," Grobelny explained.

But there was another obstacle in the way - the Mieszko I Bridge.

"The span had to lifted approximately three to four storeys up and then move it across the river. Never before had our team faced such mission," Kazimierz Skałecki of City Road Management in Poznań told TVN24.

First, the bridge was moved along the river bank. The structure was then laid on special trolleys, which were pulled by winches 30 to 100 metres a day, along rails set up on both sides of the canal.

Next, the 400-tonne structure was moved across Mieszko I Bridge, which had to be closed for days, during which tram tracks, overhead lines, barriers and street lamps had to be removed and replaced by special rails.

The operation was watched by thousands of curious residents.

The old Saint Roch Bridge was laid on three-meter-high supports at the altitude of Mieszko I Bridge. On September 29, 2007, the span was pulled onto Mieszko I Bridge with the use of special hydraulic motors. On October 1, it was already on the other side of the bridge, and a few days later it was right next to its new location.

On October 25, 2007, the bridge was set in the place of its destination.

"This operation was a phenomenon on a European scale," the then mayor Grobelny said. "Some say that lifting spans at the Municipal Stadium was a more difficult operation, but certainly not as spectacular," he stressed.

The new bridge between Śródka and Ostrów Tumski was opened on December 7, 2007. It was named after Bishop Jordan - the first bishop of Poznań diocese and Poland. It was set in the exact same place where an overpass had once stood in the Middle Ages. After the WWII, a provisional wooden bridge stood in that place, but was removed once the aforementioned Mieszko I Bridge replaced it.