Peenebrücke Loitz

Peenebrücke Loitz is a two-lane bascule bridge over the Peene in Loitz, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, opened to traffic in September 2012. It replaced a hand-operated two-leaf swing bridge and carries a cycle path on one side, with no tonnage limit. The movable section is raised several times a day so ships can pass on the river.

A fixed crossing over the Peene existed at Loitz before 1610. The hand-operated two-leaf swing bridge still standing in 2010 was built in 1886/87 for industrial traffic; it was then the oldest manually operated swing bridge in Europe. It was dismantled in January 2011 and replaced in September 2012 by a two-lane bascule bridge with a one-sided cycle path and no weight limit.

The bridge takes its name from the Peene River that it crosses and forms part of daily life in Loitz. It connects neighborhoods and allows people to travel to work or visit friends, which is why it sees steady use from cars, cyclists, and pedestrians throughout the day.

The current two-lane bascule bridge has a one-sided cycle lane and no weight limit, and it still opens several times a day for shipping on the Peene. The earlier turning bridge, about 2.2 m wide with no footpaths, could be passed underneath by canoe or folding boat when closed. The bridge carries the road through Loitz; the Slavic plank road found in October 2011 lay at the new approach ramp.

In October 2011, while the approach ramp for the new bridge was being built, workers uncovered a Slavic plank road (Bohlenweg) beneath the site. The find places a timber crossing at Loitz in the Slavic period, long before the crossing recorded before 1610.