Rügenbrücke is a pre-stressed concrete cable-stayed bridge that spans the Strelasund between the German City of Stralsund and Rügen Island,Germany. The bridge was built to replace the aging Rügendamm, which will remain in service to provide a rail link and serve local traffic to Dänholm island.
Rügendamm is the name of the original road connecting Rügen Island with the City of Stralsund on the mainland of the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The road was built in the 1930s and opened in October 1936. The Rügendamm consists of two parts:
The Rügendamm provides the only road and rail access to Dänholm island.
In 2004, construction of a new bridge commenced, called the 2. Strelasundquerung. German Chancellor Angela Merkel opened the new bridge on October 20, 2007. The name of this new bridge is Rügenbrücke (Rügen bridge). The connection has a length of 4.1 kilometres (2.5 mi), the new bridge is 2,831 metres (9,290 ft) long and the center pylon is 128 metres (420 ft) tall. The new bridge crosses but does not provide access to Dänholm island.