For a long time this magical place was on my list of places to visit in Germany.The devil`s bridge, also called Rakotzbrücke, is located in Kromlau in the state of Saxony in Germany. The knight estate owner Hermann Friedrich Roetschke built the 19.80m bridge between 1866 and 1875. The Rakotz bridge can be seen in the 2017 movie “Der Zauberlehrling” as well as the 2021 movie Matrix Resurrections (Matrix 4).

How do you get to the bridge?

There are many different ways to reach The Devil’s Bridge. By car, by train, by bus from Berlin, Cottbus, Dresden and other cities. I went by train from Berlin, which took about 2 hrs 30 min in total and after the train I took the bus. I took the RB due to the 49Euro Ticket, the IC might be faster. 

Check the connections on the Deutsche Bahn website. On the day I visited the bridge, I could take the train from Berlin to Cottbus every hour, there you have to change to Weißwasser (O.L.) .After that, you can’t find any option on Google Maps to go from Weißwasser to Devil’s Bridge. What is not correct, you can go on the website “Fahrplan Guru” and see the bus connection. You need to take bus 78 “Mühle” from Weißwasser bus stop, which is right next to the train station and get off at the bus stop “Kromlau”. Plan your trip well, because the buses come only every hour and remember the stop. From the bus stop it is about 10 minutes walk. You have to cross a street and walk a bit through a forest. Everything is super signposted and you can’t get lost. Plan in any case a buffer time, because trains can also be delayed and your plan can shift backwards, because, for example, the trains and buses comes only once an hour and you can quickly miss the connection.

If you arrive by car, there is a large paid parking lot across the street. There are also toilets there and a small café is nearby. From Berlin the journey by car takes about 2 hours, from Dresden about 1 hr. 42 min. and from Cottbus about 45 minutes.

Arrived at the bridge you can walk around the lake to admire the Devils Bridge from all sides and take photos. The bridge is not accessible. I can only recommend you not to come during the vacation periods, because many vacationers travel and it gets crowded quickly. The best time to visit is during the week in the morning. So you have the opportunity to have a few viewpoints for a few minutes to yourself or with fewer people.

Not only the bridge is worth seeing in the area. Be sure to visit the Cave of Heaven and Hell, the Judge’s Chair in the Rhododendron Park and the Kromlau Castle. Kromlau Castle is currently closed but you can admire it from the outside. Also a walk through the about 200 ha rhododendron park is highly recommended, even if you do not visit the park in the blooming season.

The judge’s chair is a structure made of field and basalt stone and symbolizes the seating arrangement of a place where in earlier times court was held.

The whole “grotto house” was built of light natural stone and dark basalt. Matching the color scheme, the two grottoes symbolize heaven and hell.

If you still have some time:

Not far from the Rakotzbrücke is the castle Bad Muskau. By bus you need about half an hour, depending on the connection, and by car only about 8 minutes. The town is located close to the border with Poland and is known for its beautiful castle.

You can reach Bad Muskau by bus 80 to “Köbeln, Papierfabrik, Bad Muskau” from the bus stop Weißwasser and you have to get off at the bus stop “Bad Muskau, Kirchplatz”. From there it is only a short walk to the castle. Even if you don’t want to take a castle tour, you can admire the castle from the park, which is free of charge. The park has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since July 2, 2004.

Best,

Saskia ❤