The Oberbaumbrücke (Oberbaum Bridge) in Berlin was built from 1894 until 1896 and connects the districts Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg spanning across the River Spree. It is a double decker bridge; on the bottom you have cars, bikes, and pedestrians cross while the subway U1 runs on the top.
It used to serve as a toll bridge, during the Cold War it was a border crossing between East and West Berlin, and after its renovation in the 1990s it is now called Berlin’s most beautiful bridge.
Early History
When Berlin was fortifying its city borders in the second half of the 13th century it also put into place a structure in the river with only a small opening between the turrets for ships and boats. At night this passage way was closed with a wooden beam with iron nails, the so-called Baum (German for tree) to hinder ships passing through without paying tolls and to prevent smugglers from entering the city.
Where the River Spree entered Berlin, the barrier was called Oberbaum (upper), and the Unterbaum (lower) was the barrier where the river flowed out of the city.
In 1723, the city borders were expanded and a new city wall (Berliner Zoll- und Akzisemauer) was built. The Oberbaum had to be moved, to the location where the Oberbaumbrücke is now.
In the photo below you can see well where the ships would have passed through between the bridge towers. The map shows Berlin in 1855 with the city wall, its gates (Thore), and the Oberbaum in the East, and the Unterbaum in the West.
While the bridge is not the original construction, it kept the turrets as a reminder of the time when it was a toll bridge. The new bridge is made of concrete with a brickstone facade and replaced the timbered structure from 1724. The company Siemens & Halske had received permission to build a railway bridge at the same time when the old wooden structure was due for an overhaul. These two building projects were combined and a pedestrian/railway bridge was built. It was finished in 1896, and the first train rolled across the Spree in 1902.
During the Cold War
In 1945, during World War II, the bridge was severely damaged when German troops detonated parts of it, a day before the Red Army occupied the eastern side of the Spree’s banks on April 24th.
The bridge was made functional again after the war ended, and connected the Soviet sector in the East and the American sector in the West. Later, the government in East Berlin closed the bridge for cars and the streetcars. In 1955, a Bauzaun (site fence) followed, limiting the traffic across the bridge to pedestrians. Until the wall was built in 1961, many people went from East to West and vice versa.
After the erection of the wall contact between people from East and West Berlin were limited or non-existent. The so-called Passierscheinabkommen (pass to enter accord) from 1963 allowed people from West Berlin to travel to the East, at first limited to Christmas and New Year’s. Several accords followed over the years but when the last one expired in the spring of 1966, West Berliners could only travel to the East in hardship cases.
This situation changed in 1971 when the four Allied forces met for talks about the status of Berlin. Among the results of the Viermächteabkommen über Berlin (Four Power Agreement on Berlin) was the permission for people from West Berlin to travel to East Berlin and the GDR not only to visit family members but also friends and acquaintances. The new agreement became effective in 1972.
After the reunification
After the reunification of East and West Germany in 1990, the bridge was renovated and overhauled for 70 million DM. Especially the middle part and the towers needed to be renewed. In 2015, subway and cars were able to drive across the Oberbaumbrücke once again.
Battle on the bridge
The Oberbaumbrücke connects the Eastern borough of Friedrichshain with Kreuzberg in the West, and since 1998 it has been the location of a battle between the two districts. Armed with water and food, factions from East and West come together annually to fight.
So far, Friedrichshain claims it has won every year while Kreuzberg insists they have always been the winners. The following documentary “Die Wasserschlacht” from 2007, which was nominated for the “Berlin Today Award” at the Berlin International Film Festival, explores the rivalry of Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain. The two districts were merged into one borough in 2001, and the Oberbaumbrücke is part of their crest.
Lola rennt
The 1998 movie “Lola rennt” (Run, Lola, run) by Tom Tykwer, starring Franka Potente and Moritz Bleibtreu, was filmed in Berlin. One of the running scenes takes place on the Oberbaumbrücke. Take a look at the photo and watch the little clip from the movie.
(Start at 1:30 to see the bridge)
Festival of Lights
Since 2005, the city of Berlin hosts the Festival of Lights, an event that draws light artists and visitors from around the world. It is one of the largest light art festivals in the world. The event is free and takes place annually in the fall for 10 days. Every year stands under a different motto, in 2021 it was “Creating tomorrow”.
The Oberbaumbrücke is one of the approximately 70 monuments and landmarks in Berlin which are illuminated. The video below shows the illumination of the Oberbaum Bridge in 2021.
