List of bridges in Hamburg

Bridges in the Alster river system

For centuries, the only bridges in Hamburg were across the Lower Alster and its canals in the Altstadt (old town). Repeated redirecting of the Alster canals resulted in ever new bridges to go with them. Ultimately, most of the pre-17th century bridges were destroyed in the Great Fire of 1842; the oldest remaining bridges in Hamburg are Zollenbrücke (1633) and Ellerntorsbrücke (1668).

Most of today's bridges in the inner city date from the 1840s reconstruction, during which over two dozen, mainly Renaissance Revival stone arch bridges were erected under then building director Johann Hermann Maack (1809–1868). Maack's bridges tied into a general urban redevelopment of the inner city which was similarly seen in a number of European cities of the mid 19th century, and still characterizes many of the Neustadt's canals.

Most of the bridges across the Upper Alster and adjoing canals were first built in conjunction of the area's extensive residential developments from the 1860s onwards. Some of them were gradually replaced during the 1920s, with Fritz Schumacher in particular establishing a brick-arch-prototype for many bridges.

Alster

Bridges across the Alster (Alsterbrücken) in Hamburg; some 31 km (19 mi) of the Alster's total of 56 km (35 mi) lie within Hamburg.

Upper Alster

A great number of the city's Alster bridges are located in the residential districts along the Upper Alster and its tributaries and accompanying side canals.

The Alster is joined by the Tarpenbek at Eppendorfer Mühlenteich on its right side; a little further downstream, the Leinpfadkanal branches off the Alster's left side and creates a water link with a number of canals, including the Goldbekkanal, which in turn feeds into the Alster's system at Außenalster. Again on the right ride, the Isebekkanal joins the Alster's water shortly before reaching the Außenalster.

Lower Alster

Bridges across the Lower Alster (from the Außenalster downstream); this section lists most bridges in the inner city districts Altstadt and Neustadt.

Osterbek

Bridges across Osterbek and Osterbekkanal

Uhlenhorster Kanal

Bridges across Hofwegkanal and Uhlenhorster Kanal

Wandse

Bridges across Wandse, Eilbek, Eilbekkanal and Mundsburger Kanal

Bille

Bridges across the Bille in Hamburg; 23 km (14 mi) of the Bille's total of 65 km (40 mi) lie within Hamburg.

Hammerbrook canals

Bridges across Hammerbrook and Rothenburgsort canals

Bridges in the Elbe river system

Up until the 19th century, the Unterelbe had no fixed crossing. Travel time between Hamburg and Harburg took over two hours, and included two ferry trips across the Norder- and Süderelbe and a weary trip across the dikes of Wilhelmsburg. During Napoleon's brief annexion of Hamburg, a 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) long pile bridge was built across the islands of Wilhelmsburg, however it also required cable ferries across the Elbe's two anabranches. In 1817 the poorly maintained structure was washed away.

By the 1840s, with industrialization rapidly growing and trade through the Port of Hamburg skyrocketing, the need for a fixed crossing became apparent. At the time, the German states were a loose confederation of sovereign states, with the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg only controlling the northern Elbe shore, while the town of Harburg and the southern Elbe shore were part of the Kingdom of Hanover. Both sides built their railway lines: Hamburg–Bergedorf railway in 1842 (extended to Berlin in 1846), and Celle–Harburg railway in 1847 (connected to Hanover since 1845) – but no link across the Elbe. One of the biggest obstacles was Hanover's rivalry to Hamburg and her attempts to promote overseas trade through the Port of Harburg.

Twenty years on, the missing link became a void in the European rail network. Progress was finally possible after Prussia's annexion of Hanover in 1866; within a few years the Cologne-Minden Railway Company (CME) completed the Venlo–Hamburg railway as North German section of a Paris–Hamburg railway line, and thereby linking Hamburg with the industrial centers of the Rhineland and the Low Countries. The first railway bridges across Norder- and Süderelbe were built between 1869 and 1872. Also starting in 1866, the port's infrastructure was substantially re-organized, in order to cope with the increased quantity of processed goods and to meet requirements of then commonly employed steam-powered vessels. This included an expansion of the port onto the islands of Steinwerder, Veddel and Wilhelmsburg, and set-up of an extensive rail network for the newly established Hamburg port railway (Hafenbahn). In 1887, the Neue Elbbrücke with its three lenticular trusses (each 102 meters long) became a Hamburg landmark and the first road bridge to cross the Norderelbe, serving many of the port's businesses. By 1899, the Alte Harburger Elbbrücke provided a road link across the Süderelbe.

New bridges across the Elbe anabranches and the Elbe islands' canals were and are continued to be built to this day. Over the years, some of them have set new standards or records in engineering. Currently under development, a 2013 design competition for the new Bundesautobahn 26 bridge across Süderelbe was won by Copenhagen-based architects Dissing+Weitling and Stuttgart-based structural engineers Schlaich Bergermann & Partner. With the Elbe bridges being perceived as a symbol of the many changes associated with the Industrial Age, they were continuously subject to artistic and intellectual reception, among others by artists of the Hamburg Secession (Sezession) during the interwar period, or latest by the Internationale Bauausstellung during the 2000s. In 2015, the Speicherstadt was acknowledged as a World Heritage Site.

Elbe

Bridges across the Elbe (Elbbrücken) in Hamburg; some 40 km (25 mi) of the Elbe's total of 1,094 km (680 mi) lie within Hamburg. Up-stream, the next bridge (outside the Hamburg state borders) is located at Geesthacht; down-stream there are no more bridges.

Norderelbe

Bridges across the Norderelbe

Süderelbe

Bridges across the Süderelbe

Este

Bridges across the Este in Hamburg; only 2 km (1.2 mi) of the Este's total of 62 km (39 mi) lie within the state borders of Hamburg.

Harburg canals

Bridges across harbor basins and canals in Harburg; the port of Harburg is indirectly fed through the Seeve.

Wilhelmsburg canals

Bridges across Elbe anabranches and canals on the island of Wilhelmsburg (including the islands of Steinwerder, Kleiner Grasbrook and Veddel)

Bridges elsewhere

Please note, this section only lists bridges and viaducts in Hamburg, not listed above (i.e. only bridges and viaducts not crossing a body of water).

Road bridges and viaducts

Foot bridges

Literature