Magdeburg vertical-lift bridge, Vertical-lift footbridge over the Elbe in Magdeburg, Germany

The Magdeburg vertical-lift bridge is a pedestrian and railway bridge that spans 220 meters across the Elbe and features a mechanical lifting system. This system allows the movable section to raise so ships can pass underneath.

The Berlin-Potsdam-Magdeburg Railway Company built the line in 1846/47, but through trains only crossed from 19 August 1848. A swing bridge was replaced in 1895 by a lift span raised 1.7 m; the present 90 m span, lifting 2.87 m, was completed on 1 May 1934 at a cost of 450,000 Reichsmark. German troops blew up the bridge on 16 April 1945; it was usable again in 1946.

The bridge is known locally as Buckauer Eisenbahnbrücke, after the Buckau district. In 2008 the Italian light artist Maurizio Nannucci mounted red and blue illuminated lettering on it reading "Von soweit her bis hierhin" and "Von hier aus noch viel weiter"; after vandalism in 2012, donations of about 10,000 euros allowed the work to be restored. Donors also funded repairs by buying wooden planks with individual engravings.

You can enter the bridge from both sides of the Elbe and find signs pointing toward viewing areas. The best way to understand the structure is to walk across it and observe the mechanics from different angles.

The 1933/34 lifting span weighs 450 tonnes, yet only half is balanced by four concrete counterweights hung on jointed toothed racks. Electric spindles raise it 2.87 m in five minutes; a hand drive exists for emergencies. The steel truss has half-parabola main girders 5.2 m apart, 11 m deep at midspan over a 90 m span.