Jungfernbrücke

The Jungfernbrücke in Berlin-Mitte is the oldest surviving bridge in the city. It spans the Kupfergraben, an arm of the Spree, and connects Friedrichsgracht with Oberwasserstraße. Pedestrians cross it now, as they have for centuries.

The first version, raised around 1689, was a wooden drawbridge. A major reconstruction in 1798 produced the form you see now. The design follows Dutch drawbridge models, and its engineering counted as advanced for its day. When the Spree Canal still served trade and transport, the deck could be lifted to let ships pass.

More than one legend competes to explain how the bridge got its name. In one, the daughters of a Huguenot family sold lace and silk here and became known for their gossip. In another, a young maiden was murdered and the crossing took her name in her memory. Either way, this little span has long been a place where Berliners met and swapped the local stories. Two masonry arches carry the deck, with wooden pillars, wheels and chains left from the mechanism that once raised it.