Without the Rhine, there would be no Cologne. The river serves as an important shipping route, a romantic backdrop and as the boundary between the self-assured left bank of the river and the underestimated right bank. We take a look at the seven bridges that hold the city together, four of which are painted in “Adenauer green” – the patina shade requested by post-war chancellor and former Cologne mayor, Konrad Adenauer.
1. Dressed to impress the chancellor: Mülheimer Brücke
Despite some dispute, Mülheimer Brücke was given a double blessing by the first chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. And it was Adenauer who decided on its colour too. In fact, the gorgeous patina green (“Cologne bridge green”) that was mixed to his precise specifications, making its debut when the bridge was officially opened in 1929, is referred to as “Adenauer green”.
Whether the colour does actually evoke the copper green of Cologne churches, as intended by Adenauer, is open to debate. But what is undebatable is that the paint has lasted longer than memories of other ideas he presented to the city’s citizens – like a soya sausage (“Cologne sausage”) he patented in 1916 or his illuminated darning egg.
2. View-tastic: Zoobrücke
Opened in 1966, the Zoobrücke is a six-lane affair with quite a bit to see to the left and the right: the zoo, the sculpture park, thermal baths and a skatepark. With more traffic than any other Cologne bridge, this isn’t really a place to linger though but it does have a span longer than any other single-pier box-girder bridge in the world.
There was a brief commotion here in the 1970s when two oil tanks that had been found in the Rhine were temporarily stored in the bridge’s girders. When they drilled into the tanks they discovered they were actually live British bombs from the Second World War. Thankfully, nothing happened. Today, you can cross above the bridge in comfort in a cable car.
3. A symbol of patriotism: Hohenzollernbrücke
There’s a collective sigh in the carriage when natives of Cologne cross Hohenzollernbrücke bridge and are finally reunited with their cathedral as they roll into the city’s central station. With approximately 1,220 trains passing per day, the arch bridge could well be Germany’s busiest railway bridge and it’s definitely the one with the most glorious view of the Rhine.
If you’ve ever chugged across the river at a walking pace, en route from the Ruhr District, you’ll know that feeling as the panorama of Cologne’s old town comes into view and you know it’s just a few more metres until you’re there. In fact though, you can cross the bridge by foot or bike too. Those in the know get off at Deutz station to take in the vistas across the Rhine as they stroll towards the cathedral, with the around 450,000 love locks attached to the bridge posts accompanying them on their way.
It’s estimated these riverside symbols of ironclad love weigh approximately 40 tonnes. Occasionally, there’s some discussion about whether that might turn out to be too heavy for this venerable structure dating back to 1911. So far, however, the worries have always been allayed since German high-speed trains weight at least ten times as much and they don’t bring the bridge to its knees either.
4. A bridge with a history: Deutzer Brücke
Deutzer Brücke is the successor to Cologne’s only Roman bridge across the Rhine. And in good Greek tradition, the marathon passes over it too. This is a bridge that’s seen some changes over the course of time.
Originally a wooden structure built by the Romans around 310 AD, the bridge took the form of a reaction ferry link between the centre of the city and the district of Deutz from 1647. From 1822 to 1915, it was a pontoon bridge, opening three times per day for boats to pass. Then a suspension bridge spanned the Rhine in the same place between 1913 and 1945. However, it collapsed in broad daylight in February 1945, claiming the lives of numerous people.
The current bridge, the world’s first steel box-girder bridge, was completed in 1948 and later expanded between 1976 and 1980.
Today, no other space in Cologne has a longer reverberation time than the two hollow concrete structures beneath the bridge – the monumental, 130-metre-long echo chambers. The Brückenmusik (literally “bridge music”) concerts, which started in 1995 and rank among the oldest and best-known series of sound art concerts, enable visitors to hear the bridge – and go inside the hollow structures.
5. Towering above the rest: Severinsbrücke
Severinsbrücke bridge is the tallest of Cologne’s bridges. More importantly though, it’s only a few metres away from the chocolate fountain at the chocolate museum!
Constructed to a design by architects Gerd Lohmer and Fritz Leonhardt in 1959, this is a great-looking bridge. It was the first new one to be built in Cologne after the Second World War and Chancellor Konrad Adenauer attended the opening ceremony. Today, Severinsbrücke is considered the most handsome of the city’s seven bridges.
6. Bringing people together in more ways than one: Südbrücke
On top of this steel structure, you’ll only find trains crossing the river. But beneath you’ll bump into the occasional herd of sheep and people visiting festivals. That’s the good thing about Südbrücke bridge: it has its own club. Well, at least a club that’s also called Südbrücke and is handily located right next to it.
A beer garden, art and a shipping-container stage, dancing in the warm sand on the banks of the Rhine or enjoying the refinement of the 2024 wine festival on 21 June. It doesn’t even matter that Cologne’s Poll neighbourhood doesn’t get too many visitors. If there are any guests, they’re welcome and if there aren’t any, the natives will just party on their own in this special venue.
7. A controversial crossing: Rodenkirchener Brücke
Rodenkirchener Brücke is pencilled in for demolition but there are those who are opposed. It’s the subject of some dispute in Cologne. The 567-metre-long bridge currently has four lanes and the plan is to expand it to eight. Originally approved back in 1954, it’s no secret that this steel giant can’t cope with today’s levels of traffic.
But the debate surrounding the bridge detracts from the fact that the serene neighbourhood of Rodenkirchen has plenty to offer visitors. It’s extremely popular with fans of water sports and city dwellers looking for somewhere nice to relax on the waterfront on the “Rhine Riviera“.
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