Minden Glacis Bridge

The bridge was built in 1995 after a long discussion and connects the southern part of the right bank of the Weser and the Kanzlers Weide car park with the city centre of Minden at the level of the Weserglacis.

In particular, the change in the view of Porta Westfalica from Minden, located in the North German lowlands, was discussed.

The Stuttgart-based civil engineer Jörg Schlaich won the competition. He designed a lightweight suspension bridge that is 177 metres long, spans the Weser at 103 metres with a 3.50 metre wide concrete ramp and is suspended from two 22 metre high tubular steel masts. This means that the view of the panorama of Porta Westfalica is only slightly impaired.

The southern side of the bridge, facing Porta Westfalica, is illuminated in blue at night. This illumination is part of a blue band of light that continues from the city across the bridge to the east and includes the Minden ship mill.

In April 2016, the bridge was closed to cyclists because the railings were too low for cycling. An additional cable was installed in November 2016 to raise the railings to the legally required height of 1.30 m, enabling the bridge to be used by cyclists.