Building Site of the Flood Drainage Tunnel of the River Pegnitz with View to Lorenzkirche

inventory number: 10233
Drawings

One of the biggest and most interesting building sites in Nuremberg was the construction of a Flood Drainage Tunnel which could if it was necessary take up and drain large amounts of water as the second branch of the river Pegnitz, which was covered by buildings. This measure was indispensable because huge amounts of water streamed towards Nuremberg from “Hersbrucker Schweiz” (“Hersbrucker Switzerland”) situated north of Nuremberg in spring and after heavy rainfall. If snowmelt and continuous rain came together, the level of the otherwise tranquil river Pegnitz could rise dramatically and flood the lower parts of the Old City. This expensive as well as laborious project was completed already as early as 1956.