Teufelsbrück, Jetty and marina in Altona, Germany

Teufelsbrück is the mouth of the Flottbek stream where it meets the Elbe, in Hamburg's Othmarschen and Nienstedten quarters. It comprises a small ferry pier and a marina used by pleasure boats. A single-storey white building with a flat roof runs along the water, its long facade facing a narrow concrete walkway; a tall flagpole flies an orange-red flag, and a dark blue banner printed "061 94 94 RG" covers a low barrier at its base.

Around 1867 the Prussian state planned to sell the Elbe foreshore for industry; villa owners protested, and after long negotiations the harbour of Nienstedten and Klein Flottbek was built with their financing. It opened in 1889. In 1933 the Altona harbour office licensed boat storage and rental for half the basin, and the quay walls were demolished in 1962 because of undercutting.

The name comes from a legend: a carpenter who built the Flottbek bridge promised the devil the first soul to cross it, but a hare ran over first. A stone statue of the devil holding the animal stands here; earlier wooden figures were stolen several times. The spot is also served by three harbour ferry lines within the HVV network.

Teufelsbrück is served by six bus lines and three harbour ferry lines within the HVV network, so arriving by public transport is straightforward. The whole area lies within the Elbe's storm-surge flood zone; the concrete walkway along the water is narrow and shared by ferry passengers and marina users.

The stone statue near the bridge shows the devil holding a rabbit, recalling the legend in which a hare crossed the new bridge first and cheated him of a soul. Earlier wooden figures were stolen several times, so the present one is stone.