Meandering along the western part of Berlin river Havel several times changes its appearance. Sometimes it is captured into the narrow canals, sometimes spreads its waters into the lakes, like Glienicker See, which got its name from the residence of Prussian king called Kleine Glienicke. The present metal bridge from 1907 replaced the former wooden one on the old route connecting Potsdam with Berlin. Today this picturesque bridge is better known as ‘the spies bridge’.
Glienicke bridge
The quiet suburbs of Berlin were often chosen for official state meetings, including infamous Wansee conference from the time of WWII.
Here,after the end of WWII, in a small palace Cecilienhof the heads of Allied countries shaped the Europe’s future during the meeting known as the Potsdam Conference.
Potsdam remained in the Allied hands, while Soviets controlled the other side of the river, thus the bridge became the checkpoint on the border between East and West.
The crossing has been barely used and uknown until 1962, when it became the place of a famous spy exchange. The bridge was crossed by the American pilot Garry Powers captured by Russians in the U-2 accident. Since then the bridge witnessed several other spectacular exchanges, two more real ones, and several other made for action movies, as the location became favourite among the film directors from various countries. The ‘spy bridge’ offers indeed picturesque view on the river Havel and its sides.
The part of the road once inside the Eastern Berlin is called Berlinerstrasse, and the road leading to Potsdam – the Koenigstrasse
as it goes into the park Klein Glienicke which surrounds the former residence of the Prussian king Karl Friedrich today in the private hands.
The park is opened for visitors from sunrise to dusk, and is easy accessible by local bus lines 116 and 93.
[ photo courtesy of 96dpi]
