Concept
Alte Brücke (German: "old bridge") is a bridge in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. It is the oldest bridge over the lower course of the river Main, and until 1886 was the only stone bridge crossing the river. From the Middle Ages until the year 1914, it connected the "Fahrgasse" in Frankfurt Altstadt with the "Brückenstraße" in Sachsenhausen. Since its first mention in official documents in 1222, the development of Frankfurt has been strongly influenced by the bridge. Over the centuries, Alte Brücke has been destroyed and reconstructed at least 18 times. With its 13 brick-built circular arches, the Sachsenhausen Bridge was one of the most prominent buildings of the city, but failing to meet the increasing demands of the modern road and ship traffic, it was demolished in 1914. The current Alte Brücke, sometimes called "Neue Alte Brücke" (German: "new old bridge"), was inaugurated on 15 August 1926 by then-Lord-Mayor Ludwig Landmann. Two of its originally eight red sandstone-lined vaults were blown up by German soldiers on 26 March 1945. After an initial provisional reconstruction, the middle part of the bridge was replaced by a steel through truss bridge and placed in operation again on 15 September 1965. In 2006, the Alte Brücke received a new porticus, which resembles a watermill that had historically been present at the bridge. Today, the view of the bridge is characterized by four portal walls at both sides of the bridge's middle part. These have been built in the course of a complete renovation in 2014. Landmarks of the Alte Brücke are the "Brickegickel" and a statue of Charlemagne, mythical founder of the city. Originally there was a ford (German: Furt) near the Alte Brücke, possibly slightly downstream near the de:Frankfurt Fahrtor, giving the city its name. It is unclear exactly when the first bridge between Frankfurt and Sachsenhausen was built. Sachsenhausen's first mention in historic records was in 1193. The first known mention of the bridge was in 1222 in the records of Frankfurt Cathedral, referring to a "burgage plot at the bridge" ("Hofstätte an der Brücke") belonging to a magistrate named Nikolaus.
