Commemorative stamp series - Germany / German Democratic Republic 1988 - 35 Pfennig

Technical monuments - ship lifts, lifting and drawbridges The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications of the German Democratic Republic publishes five multi-colored special postage stamps depicting technical monuments - ship lifts, lifting and drawbridges. Special cancellations from October 18 to December 17, 1988 Ship lifts, lifting and drawbridges Waterways have always played a major role in the history of transport. The need for effective use on the one hand and the production of secure land connections on the other hand has led to imposing structures. Their most important ones are preserved as technical monuments. Special technical solutions, building construction and architecture as well as their landscape character characterize these monuments of the traffic history. 35-pfennig value: Niederfinow ship lift At the time of its commissioning in 1934, this lift was the most modern and largest in the world. It was built in the course of the Oder-Havel Canal from Berlin to Hohensaaten in just seven years of construction. The main reason for its construction was the achievement of the power limit, only a few hundred meters away sluice staircase. The ship lift is designed as a counterbalance hoist. The weight of the trough - 4 300 t including water filling - remains the same according to the water displacement principle, with or without a ship. Because only the inertia of the trough and counterweight and the rope stiffness can be overcome, four small drive motors with 55 kW each are sufficient. The height difference of 36 m will be overcome in five minutes. The entire system consists of Oberhafen, canal bridge, lift and subhaven. The canal bridge, a significant building in itself, has a length of 157 m and a width of 34 m. Even more colossal is the lifting frame. The huge carrier is 60 meters high, 94 meters long and 27 meters wide. 256 cables connect the trough with the counterweights.