The Crown Prince Bridge (german: Kronprinzenbrücke) is a

road bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

over the

River Spree Spree may refer to: Geography * Spree (river), river in Germany Film and television * '' The Spree'', a 1998 American television film directed by Tommy Lee Wallace * ''Spree'' (film), a 2020 American film starring Joe Keery * "Spree" (''Numbe ...

in the city of

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

. It links the

quarters of

Mitte Mitte () is the first and most central borough of Berlin. The borough consists of six sub-entities: Mitte proper, Gesundbrunnen, Hansaviertel, Moabit, Tiergarten and Wedding. It is one of the two boroughs (the other being Friedrichshain-Kreu ...

and Tiergarten with the parliamentary quarter within the borough of Bezirk Mitte. The structure carries ''Konrad-Adenauer-Straße'' – the continuation of ''Reinhardtstraße'' – which has two vehicle lanes as well as cycleways and footpaths on both carriageways. Immediately on the western end of the bridge is the children's nursery of the

German Bundestag German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

and the

Spreebogenpark Spreebogenpark is a park in Tiergarten, Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the ...

History

Its predecessor was a wooden

bascule bridge A bascule bridge (also referred to as a drawbridge or a lifting bridge) is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances a span, or leaf, throughout its upward swing to provide clearance for boat traffic. It may be single- or ...

built in 1709 below the Schönhauser Graben stream and known as the Unterbaum Bridge. In 1828 it was moved upstream and modified. From 1877 to 1879 a new bridge was built on the western Kronprinzenufer bank, and was named after the then German crown prince,

Frederick William The name Frederick William usually refers to several monarchs and princes of the Hohenzollern dynasty: * Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg (1620–1688) * Frederick William, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1675–1713) * Frederick William I of ...

. The structure was a cast iron, timber framed, arch bridge with three arches and a width of 22 metres. The centre arch had an opening of 18.68 metres wide, the two outer arches were each 15.48 metres wide. The piers and

abutment An abutment is the substructure at the ends of a bridge span or dam supporting its superstructure. Single-span bridges have abutments at each end which provide vertical and lateral support for the span, as well as acting as retaining wall ...

s were made of

clinker brick Clinker bricks are partially- vitrified bricks used in the construction of buildings. Clinker bricks are produced when wet clay bricks are exposed to excessive heat during the firing process, sintering the surface of the brick and forming a sh ...

s, clad with

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies und ...

in places, the foundations were of

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most ...

At the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

the Crown Prince Bridge was badly damaged and, after 1945, was provisionally maintained. With the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961 the bridge was closed and lost its importance as a transport route because the

was a sector boundary here. In 1972, it was torn down by East German officials to avoid refugees travelling from East Germany to the West. The piers and abutments were left in place.

Present bridge

More than 20 years later, the bridge was rebuilt as a symbol of peace and the reunification of Germany. Its design was based on a submission by the winner of a contest, and then was developed into a full project. Its main engineer, Gerhard Sedlacek, is the designer of the revolutionary support system holding it up on either side of the river (the elbows are visible nearest to the water). This was necessary to avoid having piers which would have hampered navigation.

References

External links

Senate administration for city development
{{Bridges of Berlin Bridges completed in 1996 Bridges in Berlin Steel bridges in Germany Neo-futurism architecture