Englische Brücke, Stone footbridge in Bad Muskau and Łęknica, Germany and Poland.
The Englische Brücke is a stone footbridge that crosses the Lusatian Neisse River between the German town of Bad Muskau and the Polish town of Łęknica. The structure links two sections of Muskau Park with steel railings and serves as a direct pedestrian route between the park areas on both sides of the border.
The structure was first built in 1822 as a wooden bridge with diagonal lattice railings and has defined the park's landscape since then. After flood damage in the mid and late 1800s, the bridge underwent several repairs, eventually being converted into a stone structure for greater durability.
The bridge takes its name from the diagonal lattice railing of the 1822 wooden structure, which was first called Gitter-Brücke (Grid Bridge). The crossing links the German and Polish halves of Fürst-Pückler-Park Bad Muskau, and since 2011 walkers pass between the two countries on a larch-wood deck with a steel railing modelled on the original.
The bridge is easy to access on foot from both sides of the park, though visitors should watch their step when the stone surface is wet. The crossing is straightforward for pedestrians of all abilities and connects the two park areas without requiring any special permits or formalities.
The bridge owes its name to the English House, the villa whose site it once led to in the park's northeastern section; that building no longer stands. The 2011 rebuild used a larch-wood deck and a steel railing with ornaments copied from the original. A temporary crossing for construction vehicles was set up just upstream during the works.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 94,246 contributors worldwide.