History
The building of the boat lift was a major engineering achievement. To build the lift 225,000 cubic metres of earth were moved and 55,000 cubic metres of concrete were needed. In order to dig the pits for the two 60m deep float chambers the ground was frozen to a temperature of -40 degrees celsius in order to prevent a possible collapse of the excavation. It took 4 months for the temperature to be lowered by the correct amount. In the neighbourhood of the boat lift a company owned housing estate, the Schiffshebewerk Estate was built.
In the first 50 years of its existence 730,000 lifts were completed. In the years 1980 and 1981 an 18 month long general overhaul was completed. It was at this time that it received its green coat of paint.
Read more about this topic: Rothensee Boat Lift
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Regarding History as the slaughter-bench at which the happiness of peoples, the wisdom of States, and the virtue of individuals have been victimized—the question involuntarily arises—to what principle, to what final aim these enormous sacrifices have been offered.”
—Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831)
“The whole history of civilisation is strewn with creeds and institutions which were invaluable at first, and deadly afterwards.”
—Walter Bagehot (1826–1877)
“America is the only nation in history which, miraculously, has gone directly from barbarism to degeneration without the usual interval of civilization.”
—Attributed to Georges Clemenceau (1841–1929)