Brücke

Brücke is a German noun meaning bridge, a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a river or road. In everyday language it appears in many compound terms and phrases, such as Brückenkopf (bridgehead) or Straßenbrücke (road bridge). The word is also used in place names and as a surname in German-speaking regions. The plural is Brücken, and the singular form carries the same linguistic function as the English word “bridge” in place names and technical terms.

In culture and history, Brücke is notable as the name of a major early 20th-century German Expressionist art movement. Die Brücke (The Bridge) was formed in Dresden in 1905 by four artists—Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Erich Heckel, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, and Fritz Bleyl. The group sought to create a bridge between traditional academic art and contemporary, spontaneous expression, emphasizing bold color, simplified forms, and a new sense of social engagement. Die Brücke played a key role in the development of Expressionism and influenced many artists and movements in the years that followed.

As a surname, Brücke is found in German-speaking areas and is sometimes written with the umlaut over the u. It also appears in various place names, where Brücke or Brücken is part of the designation of towns, districts, or geographical features. The term remains common across language and culture as both a concrete object and a broader symbolic concept of connection.