Danube-Networkers
The bridge towards wild freedom – the "Reichsbrücke"
Text: Birgit Meinhard-Schiebel
Picture: Maria Dürr
Paradise in between bomb craters
At that time I was not interested why there were huge craters in the infinite expanse of the Danube meadows. They were overgrown with scrub; wild grass had formed cushions that were ideal for sliding in and climbing out again. Childhood on the other side of the Reichsbrücke was almost like paradise. But the meadows by the Danube had much more in store. Sandy traces, down trodden by people who passed through from one side of Vienna to the other.
Along the way there were small rest stops. Typical inns. For the hungry and thirsty residents of the Danube island.
At the shore of the Danube were the fishermen's huts, unique with the nets hung up, which were sunk into the water at some point in order to catch the Danube fish. It was a childhood dream to be able to come and go into one of those fishermen's huts - over the narrow footbridge between the shore and the hut.
When we went to school we had to cross the Danube island, from the Mexico-church towards Kaisermühlen. Sometimes, no rather often, it would have been nice to disappear in one of those craters instead of arriving on the other side.
We had no idea that these craters were caused by bomb impacts during the 2nd World War which had just come to an end. Nobody had told us or warned us that some relics from the war might still be hidden in them.
We were not aware how near the flight to paradise actually was.
The Danube floods
The start of the Danube regulation dates back to imperial times. But even in the 1950's or later there occurred occasional floods. In the cellars of the apartment building not far from the river there was occasionally 'water', much to the enjoyment of the children and it seems that we navigated through the mud floods in a washing trough.
The Reichsbrücke
I don't remember how many times I have crossed the second Reichsbrücke with its wide steel beams, either on foot, by car or running, it was always there, as a matter of course. The wide green steel beams were a constant temptation. Running toward them, getting up a bit and then sliding down fast could replace any toboggan run.
Between two worlds
The Reichsbrücke has always been a link between two worlds. The old "Leopoldstadt", Vienna's 2nd district and "Kaisermühlen", today's 22nd district.
In the old days the Viennese walked over the bridge in order to do things that needed to be done at the other end of town, in the country - collecting wood, buying cheap food, eating and drinking, enjoying fresh air and sunlight; today offices and new event venues are growing high into the sky. So called leisure parks still bring happiness to some. But they have become quite a bit more expensive and every new building is taking away space from the green area at the other side of town.
The new Vienna is spreading its tentacles across the Reichsbrücke and penetrates the green belt which once belonged to the Danube flood plain and was home to wild fauna and flora.
The last remnants of an ecological idyll have lost the fight against the needs of the city.
