Severinsbrücke
Cable-stayed bridge with a single A-shaped pylon over the Rhine to Deutz — Cologne's first entirely new bridge built after World War II.
since 1959
The Severinsbrücke spans the Rhine between the Severinsviertel neighbourhood with its Rheinauhafen harbour district and right-bank Deutz. Completed in 1959, it was the first entirely new bridge built in Cologne after the Second World War — on a site that had never carried a crossing before.
At a Glance
- Type
- Cable-stayed bridge (cable-supported girder bridge) over the Rhine
- Location
- Connects the Rheinauhafen with the district of Deutz, inner city borough
- Opened
- 7 November 1959
- Architects
- Gerd Lohmer; Fritz Leonhardt also contributed to the design
- Dimensions
- approx. 691 m long, 29.50 m wide, main span 302 m
- Pylon
- Single A-shaped pylon, 77.2 m above the bridge foundation
- Listed
- Protected monument since 1989
- Use
- Road, light rail, cycling and pedestrian traffic
When it opened in 1959, the Severinsbrücke was the cable-stayed bridge with the longest main span in the world – and the first cable-stayed bridge ever with an A-shaped pylon, deliberately positioned close to the right bank of the Rhine so that the view of Cologne Cathedral remained unobstructed.
Length comparison
Length compared with other Cologne bridges.
Age comparison
Age compared with other places in Cologne.
The Design
The structure is supported by a single, asymmetrically positioned A-shaped pylon that holds the deck via steel cables. With only one mast required, the Deutz harbour remained navigable for coastal motor vessels; and thanks to its position close to the right bank, the pylon barely obscures the view of the Cathedral and Old Town on the left. At the time of its opening, no other cable-stayed bridge in the world had a longer main span, and an A-shaped pylon was used here for the very first time. The bridge required 8,300 tonnes of steel and cost 25.3 million Deutschmarks.
Planning and Construction
Two additional Rhine crossings had been written into the 1956 general traffic plan; the city council had already resolved to build the Severinsbrücke in 1954. During preparatory work in September 1956, a caisson for the pier foundations tilted out of position, killing at least five workers. Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer attended the inauguration in person in 1959, and the bridge received the Cologne Architecture Prize in 1967.
Today
Like Cologne's other municipal bridges, the Severinsbrücke is painted in the characteristic bridge green. Tram lines 3 and 4 run across it on a separate track bed, installed during the 1979/80 renovation. Reinforcement added in 2014 — steel profiles fitted inside the girders and pylon — left the bridge's outward appearance unchanged.
Timeline
- 6. Mai 1954City council resolves to build the Severinsbrücke
- Mai 1956Construction begins; general traffic plan calls for two new Rhine bridges
- 21. September 1956Construction accident: caisson tilts, at least 5 workers fatally injured
- 7. November 1959Consecrated by Cardinal Frings, opened by Mayor Burauen in the presence of Chancellor Adenauer
- 1967Cologne Architecture Prize for the innovative design
- 1979–1981Reconstruction: dedicated track for light rail, two lanes each for individual traffic
- 19. Mai 1989Listed as a protected monument
- 2014Main girder boxes and pylon reinforced with hot-dip galvanized U-profiles
Gallery
Map
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Address
Severinsbrücke
50679 Köln
Hours
So: 00:00–24:00
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Sources & links
- Official website
- Official website (retrieved 2026-06-25)
- Wikidata (retrieved 2026-06-23)
- Wikipedia (retrieved 2026-06-23, rev 267896461)
Auto-generated, last verified: 2026-06-27
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