The Gdansk Port Crane

Thanks to a little news item that I will get to in a moment, I discovered the existence of the Gdansk port crane.This is quite extraordinary, a bit of surviving port technology from the 1400s. Some sources say that this was for centuries the largest crane in the world.

But as soon as I saw these pictures I thought, "What about World War II?"

And, yes, of course, the thing was very badly damaged:

All elements constituting the crane wooden structure were destroyed: roof truss of towers, ceilings, the central part – the lift, part of the tower walls were also significantly damaged. After World War II, the facility was reconstructed, retaining its original dimensions, while the tower inside was equipped with reinforced concrete inter-floor ceiling slabs and staircases as well as steel roof trusses. The wooden central part with the crane mechanism was also reconstructed.

On the other hand, I've seen things damaged worse than this that have been rebuilt and are still enjoyed as historic monuments, so I'm willing to post about this one. It was mainly used, not for loading or unloading ships, but for outfitting and repairing them: lifting masts into position, lifting ships up for quick work on their undersides, etc; later on it was used for lifting engines in and out of hulls.

Views of the reconstructed interior. As built (and reconstructed), it was treadmill-powered. I wondered if it was ever converted to steam power, but I can't find a source that says. 

Anyway, this was in the news because it is being extensively renovated, and during work around the foundations this medieval love token was found, a turtledove bearing the classic inscription AMOR VINCIT OMNIA.