Krämerbrücke
About This Site
The Krämerbrücke has carried houses across the Breitstrom since 1325, when the city finished rebuilding it in stone after a series of fires — thirty-two of them still stand today, and it remains the only bridge north of the Alps built up with houses on both sides along its whole length.[1]
From a burned wooden bridge to a stone one, 1117–1486
A bridge here is first documented in 1117, after fire destroyed an earlier wooden crossing, and by 1156 it carried a Latin name for a market bridge, pons rerum venalium. After the city bought the bridge rights in 1293, it built the crossing in stone, finished in 1325 with unbuilt timber stalls along it; those stalls became houses after another fire, in 1472, and the bridge reached its present form by 1486.[2]
Six vaults, seventy-nine metres, thirty-two houses
Six barrel vaults carry the Krämerbrücke across the Breitstrom over a length of 79 metres, joining the Benediktsplatz in the old town centre to the Wenigemarkt in its eastern extension. Sixty-two timber houses once stood on it; thirty-two remain today, and most now hold craft workshops and antique shops — a market bridge still doing something close to its original job.[1]
Questions visitors ask
- When was the Krämerbrücke built in stone?
- The city finished rebuilding it in stone in 1325, after a wooden crossing here had already burned once, first recorded in 1117.[2]
- How many houses are on the Krämerbrücke today?
- Thirty-two, most now craft workshops and antique shops; sixty-two once stood on it before a fire in 1472.[1]
- What makes the Krämerbrücke unique?
- It is the only bridge north of the Alps still built up with houses on both sides along its whole length.[1]
- How long is the Krämerbrücke?
- 79 metres, carried on six stone barrel vaults across the Breitstrom.[1]
Sources
- Krämerbrücke — Stadt Erfurt, retrieved 30 August 2026
- Krämerbrücke — Wikipedia, retrieved 30 August 2026
Visit Information
Krämerbrücke, between Benediktsplatz and Wenigemarkt, 99084 Erfurt
In Weimar's history
Around Weimar
20 km West
The bridge a day trip to Erfurt is built around: the only one north of the Alps still lined with houses on both sides.