Schwimmtor

It was built by Wilhelm von Engerth, entered service on 13 December 1873, and was scrapped following World War II.

The site was chosen because the canal was thin enough at this point that the floating barrier could withstand the pressure which would be caused by an accumulation of floodwater or ice.

Just downstream of this indentation, the quay wall jutted out into the middle of the canal, thereby forming a support against which the barrier could be placed when it was needed.

In order to open the Schwimmtor, the moveable steel barriers were wound back into the niche in the wall using the capstan.

However, in order to prevent it from blocking the bottom of the canal, four struts made of cast iron and filled with concrete were produced.

The Schwimmtor was produced in the John Cockerill’s steel factory in Seraing (Belgium) under the Austrian chief engineer J. Ritter von Kraft.

When the Danube flooded, ballast was loaded onto the barrier to make it sit deeper in the water, although it was essential that it never completely blocked the flow of the canal.

In order to guard against ice being driven downstream in winter, it was sufficient to place the barrier across the surface of the canal.