Abstract: There is described a control device particularly suitable for use in the construction of buildings such as continuous girder or truss bridges, elevated highways and the like, for the purpose of controlling vertically imposed loads, more particularly, for the purpose of attenuating mechanical vibrations or impacts as will be caused by braking or starting land vehicles or earthquakes, dispersing horizontally an acting forces at the joint of an upper structure of a bridge such as a girder and a lower structure such as a pier, particularly at a fixed shoe (bridge bearing) on the pier.