The Saints Bridge () is a

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

for cyclists and pedestrians in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

. It crosses the

Elstermühlgraben The Elstermühlgraben (litt.: ''Elster mill race'' or ''Elster mill ditch'') is an approximately long, now partially underground mill race, mill canal in the city of Leipzig, Germany, which has existed as an artificial tributary of the White Elst ...

, which utilises the old course of the

White Elster The White Elster (, ) is a river in central Europe. It is a right tributary of the Saale. The source of the White Elster is in the westernmost part of the Czech Republic, in the territory of Hazlov. After a few kilometres, it flows into easte ...

Location and Design

Saints Bridge connects Moschelesstraße with Am Elsterwehr street in

Bachviertel The Bachviertel (in English language, English: ''Bach Quarter''), initially called "Viertel am Johannapark", is a Gründerzeit, Wilhelminian-style residential area in the west of Leipzig's borough Mitte in Saxony, Germany. According the Boroughs ...

neighbourhood in the Zentrum-West district. The bridge before it on the Elstermühlgraben is the Peterssteg, the bridge after it is the Marschnerbrücke. Saints Bridge is a

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

arch bridge An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its structural load, loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either si ...

metres The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...

(82.0

feet The foot (: feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is an organ at the terminal part of the leg made up of ...

) long and 4.5 metres (14.8 feet ) wide. In addition to the bank supports, it has two supports. The flooring is plastic, which is illuminated by floor spotlights integrated into the railings. Supply lines run along the underside of the bridge. The railings consist of a

latticework __NOTOC__ Latticework is an openwork framework consisting of a criss-crossed pattern of strips of building material, typically wood or metal. The design is created by crossing the strips to form a grid or weave. Latticework may be functional &nd ...

with an upper safety tube and a

handrail A handrail is a rail that is designed to be grasped by the hand so as to provide safety or support. In Great Britain, Britain, handrails are referred to as banisters. Handrails are commonly used while ascending or descending stairways and escala ...

History

The site of the modern bridge is over an older

wooden bridge A timber bridge or wooden bridge is a bridge that uses timber or wood as its principal structural material. One of the first forms of bridge, those of timber have been used since ancient times. History The most ancient form of timber bridge is ...

over the

Elster Elster may refer to: Places * Black Elster (''Schwarze Elster''), a river in Germany * White Elster (''Weiße Elster''), a river in Germany and the Czech Republic ** Elster Viaduct, a railway bridge over the White Elster ** Elster Viaduct (Pirk ...

to the

meadows A meadow ( ) is an open habitat or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as they maintain an open character. Meadows can occur naturally under favourable condition ...

to the west of Leipzig. On a map from 1806, the bridge already bore its current name. Still a wooden footbridge at the time, it has since been renovated several times, the last time at the beginning of the 2000s. The steel arch bridge described above was completed in 2003 according to the plans of the architect Bernd Sikora.

Local Legend

The name of the bridge is linked to a Leipzig legend of Ferdinand Backhaus and was probably first written down in 1844 in his book ''Sagen der Stadt Leipzig'' (). Other versions come from

Johann Georg Theodor Grässe Johann Georg Theodor Grässe (also Graesse; 31 January 1814 – 27 August 1885) was a German bibliographer and literary historian. He worked in Dresden at the Münzkabinett The Münzkabinett (English: Numismatic Cabinet) is part of the Staatlich ...

(1855) and Jürgen Friedel in ''Leipzig-Lese''. The story is as follows: After praying to

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

for children a merchant couple had twins which they named Maria and Katharina with the mother dying soon after in child birth. To fulfill a promise his late wife had made, the father chose to send a child to the ''Leipzig

Cistercian convent Cistercian nuns are female members of the Cistercian Order, a religious order of the Catholic Church. History The Cistercian Order was initially a male order. Cistercian female monasteries began to appear by 1125. The first Cistercian monastery ...

St George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the R ...

'' that child would be Maria while Katharina was sent to live with relatives. Five years later, the sisters would meet again and upon hearing of Maria's brutal conditions in the convent Katharina decided to help her escape which succeeded. Soon after Katharina would refuse to an

arranged marriage Arranged marriage is a type of Marriage, marital union where the bride and groom are primarily selected by individuals other than the couple themselves, particularly by family members such as the parents. In some cultures, a professional matchmaki ...

and would flee to live with her lover this caused the enraged

fiancé An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''f ...

, made

cuckold A cuckold is the husband of an adulterous wife (or partner for unmarried companions); the wife of an adulterous husband is a cuckquean. In biology, a cuckold is a male who unwittingly invests parental effort in juveniles who are not geneti ...

, to search for Katharina and he found her seeking refuge at Thomas Monastery. He proceed to mislead the monastery into believing Katharina was not who she claimed and was actually the escaped

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

Maria. Thus, Katharina was put on trial in her twin sister's place but rather than reveal the truth ,out of love, she took upon herself the sentence for a crime she hadn't committed and was given the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

. The sentence was carried out by tying her feet to a large stone and

drowning Drowning is a type of Asphyxia, suffocation induced by the submersion of the mouth and nose in a liquid. Submersion injury refers to both drowning and near-miss incidents. Most instances of fatal drowning occur alone or in situations where othe ...

her at the site of the bridge. When Maria who was hiding in the cow tower learnt of her sister's

sacrifice Sacrifice is an act or offering made to a deity. A sacrifice can serve as propitiation, or a sacrifice can be an offering of praise and thanksgiving. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Gree ...

, she visited the bridge every evening to pray and slowly she loses her

will to live The will to live ( German: ''der Wille zum Leben'') is a concept developed by the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, representing an irrational "blind incessant ''impulse'' without knowledge" that drives instinctive behaviors, causing an end ...

and was one day found dead near the bridge. Soon the story of sisterly love was praised across the city forcing the monastery to award them an honorable burial and the two were spoken of as

saints In Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Anglican, Oriental Orth ...

, hence the name of the bridge.

References

External links

* * {{cite web , author=Bernd Sikora , url=https://www.miriquidimedia.de/architektur-kunst-im-%C3%B6ffentlichen-raum/gebaut/heiligenbr%C3%BCcke-leipzig/ , title=Heiligenbrücke über die Weiße Elster in Leipzig (2003) , website=miriquidimedia.de, access-date=2023-12-27 , language=de 2000s architecture Geography of Leipzig Pedestrian bridges in Germany Cyclist bridges