The Stronghold - bridge of the fusion
The Oberbaum bridge is a double-deck bridge crossing Berlin’s River Spree, considered one of the city landmarks. It link Friendrichshain and Kreuzberg, former city districts that were divided by the Berlin Wall, and has become an important symbol of Berlin’s unity.
It was neglected for a long time when Germany was divided because the division of East and West went right through the middle of the bridge, which means that it wasn’t used and nobody really took care of it. Now it’s a very vital structure connecting Kreuzberg and Frierichshain. There’s even a U-Bahn train traveling over it.
The Oberbaum Bridge, connecting Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg over the Spree since 1896, is the most elaborately designed bridge. Not only street traffic, but also an above ground subway line crosses it. The supporting structure for the raised train tracks was architecturally clad and adorned with ornamental figures. The structure resembles a castle in Mark Brandenburg. After reunification the bridge was restored and re-opened to trains and road traffic in 1995. A yellow Berlin U-Bahn train is crossing on the upper bridge, while cars are using the lower level.
Like the walls of the East Side, which guide you along a distance of 1.3 kilometres, the Oberbaum Bridge is a well-known symbol of the division and reunification of the two sides of Berlin. The preserved, painted wall strips between Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain were finally able to be artistically beautified on the East side after 1989 – and the street and elevated train traffic was guided once again via the long shut-down Oberbaum Bridge.
This place marked the border between East and West Berlin, and there were guard towers all along either sides of the river. Only after the wall came down did the train server start running freely again. Where once barbed wire and the Wall stood, there’s now a sandy beach overlooking the Spree and the low throb of techno music. But only in the summer.
