Hohe Brücke

The Hohe Brücke is a stone arch crossing that links Kajen street with Bei dem Neuen Kran, spanning the Nikolaifleet waterway in the heart of the city. It allows pedestrians and vehicles to move directly between the two banks of the canal without taking a longer route.

The Engineering Department of Hamburg built this crossing between 1887 and 1888 to address rising traffic demands in the medieval district. The stone construction reflected late 19th-century methods for creating stable passages over waterways.

The name reflects its elevated design, typical of how Hamburgers identified their waterway crossings in the late 1800s. It remains part of the daily rhythm for those moving through the old town's streets.

The crossing is easy to reach on foot and provides a direct route through the old district's narrow streets. In wet weather, the stone surface becomes slippery, so walking carefully is wise.

Small boats navigate beneath it daily through the canal, and its arch height was precisely calculated for water traffic. This reveals how Hamburg's traffic planners had to balance both waterway and land routes.