About this place
The Hörnbrücke spans the Hörn, the shallow inner basin where the Kiel Fjord finally meets the city, linking the centre and main railway station to the Norway ferry terminal and the Gaarden district on the eastern shore. Designed by the Hamburg architects Gerkan, Marg and Partners and opened in 1997, it is a three segment bascule bridge that does not swing or lift but buckles and folds until its deck rises into a crisp letter N above the water. Its early years were plagued by jamming machinery and cost overruns, which earned it the mocking local nickname Klappt nix Brücke, but the bridge eventually settled into a reliable rhythm and is now celebrated as an engineering landmark and one of the most photographed spots on the fjord.
Key facts
- 25.5 m — Length of the main span that folds upward into the shape of the letter N
- 1997 year — The bridge finally opened after delays, miscalculations and costly malfunctions
- 3 segments — The only three part folding bridge of its kind ever built anywhere in the world
📍 Am Germaniahafen, 24143, Kiel