Since 1897, a revolving bridge has connected the castle island with Schwerin's castle garden. It enabled transport ships to sail into the castle lake. The rotating mechanism is shown in action on special occasions, such as the Schwerin Castle Festival in June or the "Days of Industrial Culture on the Waterfront" in September.
Today, the bridge can usually be seen in its closed state. Pedestrians and cyclists use it to get from the castle island to the castle park. It is fitted with an ornate iron railing. The initials of Grand Duke Friedrich Franz FF can be found on the posts.
The bridge's ingenious mechanism means that the bridge girder, which weighs several tons and is 22 meters long, can only be opened and closed by a guard using a hand crank. The bridge girder lies in a resting bearing. To turn it, it is lifted onto the actual pivot bearing (the so-called "Königsstuhl") and then turned on this bearing. As the castle lake is closed to boat traffic, the bridge is usually closed. On special occasions, such as the castle festival or the days of industrial culture on the water, the rotating mechanism is shown in action.
The bridge was manufactured by the machine factory F. Crull & Co, a company owned by Wismar entrepreneur Heinrich Podeus.
