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Glienicke Bridge
🏛️LandmarkOpen now · Closes 12:00 AMFree

Glienicke Bridge

4.6 ·

Walk across the legendary "Bridge of Spies" linking Wannsee to Potsdam. Stand where Cold War prisoner exchanges once played out, then continue on foot or bike into the green, waterside scenery along the Havel.

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Reasons to go

  • Site of the 1962 Cold War prisoner exchange swapping Soviet spy Rudolf Abel for U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers, later dramatized in 'Bridge of Spies'
  • Served as the East-West Germany border crossing, restricted to diplomats and Allied personnel during the Cold War
  • A faint color change in the roadway paint at the bridge's midpoint still marks the old border line
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Full description

Glienicke Bridge connects Berlin's Wannsee district to Potsdam across the Havel River, and its elegant steel-arch design belies its fame as the site of several dramatic Cold War prisoner exchanges, including the 1962 swap of Soviet spy Rudolf Abel for downed American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers — the episode later dramatized in the film 'Bridge of Spies.' During the division of Germany it also marked the border between East and West, accessible only to diplomats and Allied personnel. Today it's simply a scenic bridge connecting two green, waterside districts, popular with cyclists and walkers exploring the Wannsee area, and its combination of striking architecture and Cold War intrigue earns it a 4.6 rating.

It's a quick stop best combined with the wider Wannsee/Potsdam day out.

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Address

Königstraße 36, 14109 Berlin, Germany · Bezirk Steglitz-Zehlendorf
Website
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Hours

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Booking

Walk-in

Duration

20 min

Intensity

Easy pace

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Good to know

  • Combine it with a visit to Potsdam's palaces or Wannsee, since it sits right on the route between the two
  • look for the faint color change in the roadway paint marking the old East-West border line at the bridge's midpoint
  • it's a scenic spot for photos, especially from the Wannsee side looking toward Potsdam.
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Reviews

This historic waypoint was infamous for its prisoner exchange between the amerivans and the soviets during the cold war. If you want to experience the actualities around the prisoner exchanges, go and watch the movie "Bridge of Spies"

S

Sebastiaan Kramer

3/5

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City

Berlin

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