Veresk Bridge
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox Bridge
| bridge_name= Veresk Bridge
| image= VERESK Bridge - panoramio.jpg
| caption=
| official_name=
| also_known_as= Veresk
| carries= Tehran Railway to Mazandaran (North) Railway
| crosses= Savadkuh Mountains
| locale= Savadkuh County, Mazandaran Province, Iran
| maint=
| id=
| design= Arch bridge
| engineering=Kampsax Company
| mainspan= 66 meters
| length= 112.40 meters
| below= 110 meters
| traffic=
| open= December 1935
| mapframe-zoom = 11
}}
The Veresk bridge ({{langx|fa|پل ورسک}}, Pol-e Veresk) is a masonry arch bridge in northern Iran. It was constructed by Impresa G. R. Pizzagalli & C. from Italy from 1934 to 1935 by leadership of the Italian engineer Cesare Delleani, during the reign of Reza Shah.
Dall'Africa Equatoriale al Medio Oriente, Biella, 1995, p. 79
[https://www.tasteiran.net/stories/20/veresk-bridge Veresk Bridge, the Born of the World War] TasteIran.net It is located in the Veresk district of Savadkuh County, in Mazandaran province.[http://seeiran.ir/en/veresk-bridge/ Veresk Bridge] SeeIran.ir/en[https://en.mehrnews.com/photo/115907/Veresk-bridge-in-Mazandaran Veresk bridge in Mazandaran] Mehr News Agency
History
In 1933 the Danish Consortium Kampsax, which had been chosen by the government of Iran as general contractor for the Trans-Iranian Railway, assigned Lot number 8 on the Northern section of the project to the Italian Engineer Guido Romeo Pizzagalli from Milan. In November 1933 he founded the company Impresa G.R. Pizzagalli & C. together with several Italian engineers, among them the three brothers Battista, Guido and Cesare Delleani from Biella.Dall'Africa Equatoriale al Medio Oriente, Biella, 1995, p. 46
The lot had a total length of 7,600 m with a height difference of 186 m and was composed of 10 tunnels, and two major bridges, one with a length of 52 m and an arch of 25 m and the second with a length of 112 m and an arch of 60 m,Dall'Africa Equatoriale al Medio Oriente, Biella, 1995, p. 48 which is now considered the masterpiece of the Trans-Iranian Railway and which has been among the world’s tallest bridges at the time of construction.Dall'Africa Equatoriale al Medio Oriente, Biella, 1995, p. 74 Cesare Delleani was in charge of the construction of the bridge.Dall'Africa Equatoriale al Medio Oriente, Biella, 1995, p. 51 The project had been elaborated by a group of engineers of KAMPSAX.Dall'Africa Equatoriale al Medio Oriente, Biella, 1995, p. 60
Works on the bridge started in August 1934. The bridge and whole lot was finished by December 1935 and handed over to the contractor by January 1936. Work on the lot has been carried out by 260 specialized workers from Europe, mostly from Italy and about 2700 unspecialised workers from Asia.Dall'Africa Equatoriale al Medio Oriente, Biella, 1995, p. 50 Two cable-ways had been installed fort the transport of workers and building material to the bridge construction.
By July 1934 a flood in the Versek valley at the bottom of the construction site killed many workers.Dall'Africa Equatoriale al Medio Oriente, Biella, 1995, p. 62 On March 5, 1935, a strong earthquake claimed many casualties among workers and substantially damaged the construction site.
In summer 1935 Shah Reza Khan paid a visit to the bridge under construction and personally congratulated the chief engineer, Cesare Delleani.Dall'Africa Equatoriale al Medio Oriente, Biella, 1995, p. 64
During World War II, it was known as the Pol-e Piroozi ("The bridge of victory").[https://www.itto.org/iran/attraction/2103-Veresk-Bridge/ Veresk Bridge / itto]
Description
File:RAI 60-878 Veresk (cropped) 1.jpg
The bridge stands {{Convert|110|m|ft}} above the valley bottom, its arch measures {{Convert|66|m|ft}} and the overall length of the bridge is {{Convert|112.40|m|ft}}. The bridge serves the Trans-Iranian Railway network in Northern Iran.
The Veresk bridge connects the railway between Tehran and the Caspian Sea region. It is located in Mazandaran Veresk district of Savadkuh County, 85 kilometers south of Ghaemshahr and connects two of the mountains in the Abbas Abad region. The bridge is one of the masterpieces of the Danish engineering firm Kampsax, (consisting of Danish, German and Austrian engineers like Ladislaus von Rabcewicz) as well as Italian civil construction art serving the Trans-Iranian Railway network in Northern Iran.Fritz Leonhardt: Brücken. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1982, {{ISBN|3-421-02590-8}}; Marcel Prade: Les grands ponts du monde. Deuxième partie, Hors d'Europe. Brissaud à Poitiers, {{ISBN|2-902170-68-8}}
The Master Carpenter for the construction of the lumber concrete forms was Giacomo Di Marco, from the Friuli region of Italy, and detailed in the book he authored.{{Citation needed|date=December 2020}} It has been said after finishing the bridge, people feared that the train would not be able to pass the narrow bridge and that it would break. As a result, according to an anecdote the engineer and his family stood under it when the first train passed the bridge (local accounts claim that Reza Shah had asked them to do so).[http://financialtribune.com/articles/people/2936/veresk-bridge-safe Veresk Bridge Safe] auf FinancialTribune.com
Further details
Near the bridge is a memorial structure built in memory of all the construction workers who lost their lives in the course of building the bridge and its nearby tunnels. The Austrian engineer Walter Aigner, following his wishes, is buried in the cemetery of Veresk. Under the bridge is a tunnel through which trains pass after crossing the bridge and gradually dropping altitude and before pulling into the train station. During World War II, Reza Shah was asked by Adolf Hitler to blow up all tunnels and bridges, including the Veresk Bridge, on Iran's railway lines in order to delay the transfer of goods and reinforcement troops to the north for the Russians. He furthermore promised to replace and reconstruct all of such demolished structures following the Germans’ victory in the war. Reza Shah rejected the request. Trains connecting Tehran to Gorgan or Sari pass over the bridge an average of four times a day.[https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/444635/Sister-arch-bridges-one-in-Iran-the-other-in-Switzerland Sister arch bridges: one in Iran, the other in Switzerland / Tehran Times]
Gallery
File:Veresk Bridge (16).jpg
File:Veresk Bridge (8).jpg
File:Veresk Bridge (10).jpg
File:Veresk Bridge (7).jpg
File:Veresk Bridge (9).jpg
File:Veresk Bridge (4).jpg
File:CH-NB - Persien, Firuskuh (Firuzkuh) im Elburs-Gebirge (Elburz)- Siedlung - Annemarie Schwarzenbach - SLA-Schwarzenbach-A-5-06-285.jpg
References
{{Reflist}}
- {{cite book |first=Cesare |last=Delleani |title=Dall'Africa Equatoriale al Medio Oriente |year=1995 |publisher=Maula |location=Biella }}
- {{cite book |first=Jonas |last=Kauffeldt |title=Danes, Orientalism and Modern Middle East: Perspectives from the Nordic Periphery |year=2006 |isbn=0-542-85135-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2xaY15qubgQC }}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070311232457/http://etd.lib.fsu.edu/theses/available/etd-07062006-120724/unrestricted/JK_Dissertation.pdf Perspectives from the Nordic Periphery]
{{Commons category|Veresk Bridge}}
{{coord|35.9033|N|52.9904|E|source:wikidata|display=title}}
{{Bridges in Iran}}
Category:Bridges completed in 1937
Category:Railway bridges in Iran
Category:Buildings and structures in Mazandaran province