This structure was created gradually over time. Initially they were wooden constructions on piles, situated at the city gates, that facilitated the loading and unloading of ships. The oldest bridges were located between the Koggentor and the eastern end of Heilige Geistgasse. In rent registers from the 15th century, the individual sections are named differently according to the gates leading to the water, such as Heilige Geistbrücke (Holy Spirit Bridge) or Frauenbrücke (Ladies' Bridge). In the course of the 14th century these structures extended to the fish market and were connected to one another. Only from the 17th century onward did the unified designation Lange Brücke (Long Bridge) come into use. The last individual name to survive was Weinbrücke (Wine Bridge) for the section between the Heilige Geisttor and the Krantor, still used by Duisburg in 1809.

History