Berlin is the 4th European city with the most bridges! Surprisingly, it even overtakes Venice, which is known for its winding waterways. On closer inspection, this is not really surprising, because Berlin’s foundation rests on a former marshland whose colossal size can only be guessed at today.
To this day, the many green spaces and the many waterways that permeate the city’s topography like fine veins in marble bear witness to this. The land areas in between are connected by no less than 960 bridges of all possible sizes, which often disappear from our consciousness due to the blinkers of everyday life. We would therefore like to erect a monument to the city’s crossings today and pay homage to the 10 most beautiful bridges in the city!
Oberbaum Bridge
The connection between Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg is by far one of the most iconic bridges in Berlin. So iconic that it also finds a place on the coat of arms of the united district. Originally there was a wooden bridge in its place, which was replaced by the red brick building in 1893. The expansion meant that railroads could also cross the Spree. Before the fall of the Berlin Wall, it connected the Soviet zone with the American zone and has remained a central traffic hub for cars, pedestrians and subway lines to this day.
Castle bridge
A wooden bridge also once stood in place of today’s Schlossbrücke in Mitte. This was mainly used to transport building materials to the construction site of the city palace. After the pompous building was completed, the secular wooden bridge right next door became a thorn in the side of King Friedrich Wilhelm III. His house architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel was then commissioned to build an appropriate bridge. The sculptures on the bridge show eight stages from the life of a hero and were designed by Schinkel himself. However, he was never able to see it himself as he died before it was completed.
Friedrichsbrücke
Friedrichsbrücke, which connects Hackescher Markt with Museum Island, is just a few minutes’ walk from Schlossbrücke. She experienced a lot of transformation in her life : It was built around 1703 and connected Berlin with the then independent neighboring town of Cölln. By the end of the 19th century, a number of changes had been made to make the bridge more imposing. A completely new building was finally constructed in cast iron by 1893. During the Second World War, it was blown up like many other bridges and was not completely rebuilt until 1981 – only to be rebuilt again in the 2010s. This time its width was doubled and its style adapted to the cast iron construction of 1893.
Glienicke Bridge
Berlin’s longest bridge connects Berlin with Potsdam, with the border lying right in the middle of the green steel structure. The current version of the bridge was opened in 1907. Previously, the bridge was much lower and was used as a drawbridge. Due to the increased volume of traffic on land and water, the Glienicke Bridge was eventually raised and has beenusablesimultaneously ever since. It is also known as the Agents’ Bridge, as this is where the exchange of spies between the Soviet Union and the USA took place during the GDR era. in 2015, the story of the bridge was made into a film by Steven Spielberg, “Bridge of Spies”, which made it world-famous.
Marie-Elisabeth Lüders footbridge
A total of nine crossings connect the sides of the Spree in the government district. The most interesting of these is the Marie-Elisabeth-Lüders-Steg, mainly because of its striking architecture on two levels. This is a postmodernist building, as are the two parliament buildings it connects: the Paul Löbe House and the Marie Elisabeth House. The lower level of the footbridge is freely accessible to pedestrians, while the upper level is used for an uncomplicated transition by members of parliament and employees of the government district. Among Members of Parliament, it is therefore jokingly referred to as the “higher civil service career” .
Carl-Zuckmayer-Bridge
The Carl-Zuckmayer Bridge towers directly above the “Rathaus Schöneberg” subway station and divides the adjacent park into two areas. Due to its additional function as a stop, it is equipped with striking windows that allow waiting passengers a little daylight. At the same time, they allow park visitors a view of the trains arriving and departing inside. Incidentally, the bridge is named after a German writer who worked at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin until the Nazis seized power and lived right next to the bridge.
Monbijou Bridge
This bridge connects the park of the same name with the Museum Island right next to the Bode Museum. It is particularly scenic when viewed from the adjacent riverside promenades in the evening, when the sun first passes through the bridge and then sinks into the Spree. During the golden hour , the beautiful building of the Bode Museum is also illuminated and bathed in a unique light, making the entire area one of the most beautiful in the world best places to relax like many bridges, this one was destroyed for tactical reasons during the Battle of Berlin and then extensively reconstructed after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Evil bridge
This bridge was the scene of an emotional highlight in Berlin’s history, as the first border to West Berlin opened here on November 9, 1989. The steel bridge was completed in September 1916 under the name Hindenburg Bridge. It survived the Second World War without major damage and was named in 1948 after the communist resistance fighter Wilhelm Böse, who was executed in Brandenburg on August 14, 1944. He is also commemorated by a stumbling stone, which can be found not far from the bridge in the Wedding district at Grüntaler Straße 32.
Admiral’s Bridge
This bridge in Kreuzberg deserves a place of honor on our list. From a purely aesthetic perspective, the bridge itself is not overly impressive. Nevertheless, it is the oldest surviving wrought-iron bridge on the Landwehr Canal and thus a cornerstone of Berlin’s city history. What’s more, the cozy atmosphere is particularly beautiful here: Especially in summer, it becomes a popular meeting place for many people who make themselves comfortable on the cobblestone bridge with little traffic. It also replaced a former wooden bridge and was built between 1880 and 1882.