This map shows the location of Glienicker Brücke which connects the eastern part of Potsdam (left side) with the western part of Berlin (right side).
On the Potsdam side the bridge is flanked by a colonnade
The bridge seen from the Potsdam side.
The famous exhange of spies took place on this bridge in 1962
This black-and-white picture, which shows the bridge from the Postdam side, was made long before Germany was divided into East Germany and West Germany and long before Berlin was divided into East Berlin and West Berlin, probably in the 1920s.
The bridge seen from the Potsdam side
The bridge was built 1904-1907. It was destroyed during World War Two. After the war it was rebuilt and opened to the public in 1949. The East German government named it the Bridge of Unity. The name became ironic when the East German government erected the Berlin Wall in 1961 and closed the bridge. When the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, the bridge was opened to the public again.
The bridge seen from the Berlin side
A black-and-white photo of the bridge taken on 7 July 1955. The bridge was used as a check point, because travellers were passing from East Germany into West Berlin or from West Berlin into East Germany.
A modern cruiser passes under the bridge
The bridge seen from the Berlin side
The bridge seen from the Berlin side
The bridge seen from the Berlin side
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For information about the famous spy exchange which took place on this bridge in 1962
please turn to Bridge of Spies: A True Story of the Cold War by Giles Whittell
(hardcover 2011, paperback 2012)
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