Teerhofbrücke, Footbridge over the Weser in Bremen, Germany

The Teerhofbrücke is a pedestrian bridge over the Weser linking the Teerhof peninsula with the Schlachte and Bremen's old town. Its steel composite deck, a hollow box painted green with blue railings, is about 117.7 m long and widens from 5.0 m to 12.0 m toward the Schlachte, where a broad staircase with flanking blue panels and a glazed lift shaft descends.

The Teerhofbrücke was built in 1992/93 to a design by Bremen architect Dieter Quiram, the result of an architectural competition commissioned by the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. The 420-tonne steel box-girder superstructure was assembled by a consortium of Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft of Kiel and the Dortmund firm Dörner, then floated fully assembled on a floodable pontoon to the site. Construction took 14 months and cost 13 million DM against an estimate of 5.5 million, largely because the design changed considerably from Quiram's original proposal.

The bridge with its green structure and blue railings connects two important parts of the city where daily life unfolds. The wide stairway serves as an informal gathering spot during public events.

The bridge is reached only by stairs or lifts, because it was built higher than planned to give ships 9.5 m clearance. Since 2014 the lifts, previously reserved for Euro key holders, are open to all from 7:00 to 22:00. The wide stairway toward the Schlachte doubles as seating during events.

The bridge deck sits 9.5 metres above the Weser over a 65-metre span, a clearance the Wasser- und Schifffahrtsdirektion demanded so that future European ships could pass. Because of this the bridge can only be reached by stairs and lifts, not ramps. The neighbouring Weser bridges, older, do not meet the rule.