You are here: Home > Things to do > Sights > De Hef Rotterdam
De Hef Rotterdam
‘De Hef’ (‘hef’ means lever) is a steel railroad bridge that connects the Noordereiland (Northern Island) in the Meuse river with the Southern part of Rotterdam.. The bridge was built in 1877 as a swing bridge to connect railroad traffic in the North of the Netherlands with the South of the Netherlands. ‘De Hef’ was part of a very long railroad bridge of a few kilometres length that went straight through the city of Rotterdam. In 1918 a German steamship ran into the swing bridge and the swing bridge was destroyed. It was decided that a lift bridge should replace the swing bridge and in 1927 the current lift bridge was completed. It was the first one if its kind in Western Europe. De Hef uses two towers of 60 meters with counterweights of concrete to lift the span parallel with the deck. This allows big ships to pass under the bridge.
In 1993 a 2800 meter railroad tunnel was opened to replace De Hef and other railroad bridges. The Willems railroad tunnel connects the Southern part of Rotterdam with the Northern part and today trains pass the Meuse river and a big part of the city underground. Today De Hef is not used anymore, although you can still see the railroad tracks at the bridge. The bridge is always open today and is an official monument.
DIRECTIONS De Hef Rotterdam
You can reach De Hef by taking the metro to station Blaak and walk over the Willemsbrug to the Noordereiland, which is an island in the river Meuse. Alternatively you can take bus 48 to De Koninginnebrug (Queens bridge). From the Koninginnebrug you will have the best view at De Hef.
If you come by car you can park your car in the streets (Prins Hendrikkade, Nassaukade, Orenjeboomstraat).
REVIEWS De Hef Rotterdam
Reviews to date: 1. Page 1 of 1.
Eelco van der Brug Rotterdam
7:27am on Saturday, July 17th, 2010
Geweldig!!
Add a review
