Warschauer Brücke, Road bridge in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, Germany.
The Warschauer Brücke is a road bridge carrying Warschauer Straße almost at right angles over the Ostbahn and Schlesische Bahn tracks in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg. The present structure dates from the replacement built from 1938 onward west of the old bridge, with a 142 m tower, the Edge East Side Tower, standing to its south.
The bridge was completed by 1875 where about 30 railway tracks of the Ostbahn and Schlesische Bahn crossed Warschauer Straße; the 1842 Frankfurt (Oder) line was the only railway to pass through the customs wall into the city. Steam locomotives corroded the iron structure, so a replacement was begun in 1938 west of the old bridge. In 1945 a bomb hit collapsed the partly rebuilt section, and the bridge reopened only in 1948. Repairs followed in 1952/53, 1955 and 1966/67, and a 1994–1997 overhaul with European Regional Development Fund support let trams cross again.
The bridge stands near the East Side Gallery, where artists have created murals on remaining sections of the Berlin Wall. This location serves as a symbol of artistic engagement with the city's divided past.
The bridge carries the Warschauer Straße across the Ostbahn and Schlesische Bahn tracks. At the Warschauer Straße interchange, U-Bahn, S-Bahn and tram meet; more than 85,000 people change there daily. A direct footbridge between the U-Bahn station and the S-Bahn entrance building opened in 2019.
The bridge crosses roughly 30 railway tracks that by 1872 had made a level crossing impossible, which is why the overpass was built. Below it, the U-Bahnhof Warschauer Brücke opened on 17 August 1902 as the terminus of Berlin's first underground and elevated line, today's U1, built by Paul Wittig for Siemens & Halske.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,772 contributors worldwide.