Alte Brücke, Frankfurt

The Alte Brücke, or Old Bridge, is the historic crossing of the Main river in Frankfurt and for centuries the only fixed bridge linking the two banks. A stone bridge has stood here since the medieval period, rebuilt many times after floods, ice, and wartime demolition. It once carried the main trade route through the city and was long marked by a small statue of the emperor Charlemagne. The present bridge, reconstructed after the war, offers views back toward the cathedral tower and the old-town rooftops of Sachsenhausen.