# Brickegickel

> This file is a plain-text rendition of a page on mytuur.com, generated from the same data as the HTML version.

Canonical page: https://mytuur.com/en/city/frankfurt/spot/brickegickel/

Content updated: 2026-06-22

The Brickegickel stands on Frankfurt’s Alte Brücke as a bronze sculpture covered in gold. Its German name, Brückenhahn, means the bridge rooster in standard German. The figure has marked the bridge since 1401 and has been renewed after storms, wars, and theft. A crucifix once stood beneath the rooster on the middle arch, called the Kreuzbogen. That arch marked the deepest part of the river channel. The golden rooster represented vigilance and repentance for sailors facing strong currents beneath the narrow arch.

The same place also witnessed executions in Frankfurt’s history. Historical records describe people being drowned in the Main after leaving the bridge tower. The tower held prisoners, while the Brickegickel stood beside the river’s deepest channel. Frankfurt’s famous legend gives the sculpture another role in a pact between a builder and the devil. A rooster crosses the bridge first, satisfying the devil’s demand for the first soul. The tale resembles European bridge stories about river powers demanding sacrifices.

The sculpture erected in 1994 replaced its predecessor, which was stolen two years earlier. Edwin Hüller created the figure, and Helmut Gärtner funded it through a donation. A restoration returned the Brickegickel to its original bridge position between 2013 and 2017. The Alte Brücke itself dates from 1276 and once used wooden beams to block its middle arches during wars. Masonry finally replaced those wooden beams in 1840.

- City: [Frankfurt](https://mytuur.com/en/city/frankfurt/)

## Photos

- ![](https://mytuur-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/image_Brickegickel_6749fb978c3d1fed504f5122_0.jpg) — [Image: wikimedia](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Frankfurt_Am_Main-Alte_Bruecke-Brickegickel-Totale-20100417.jpg)
- ![](https://mytuur-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/image_Brickegickel_6749fb978c3d1fed504f5122_1.jpg) — [Image: wikimedia](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Alte-bruecke-21-06-2018-ffm-3292.jpg)
- ![](https://mytuur-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/image_Brickegickel_6749fb978c3d1fed504f5122_2.jpg) — [Image: wikimedia](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Frankfurt_Alte_Brücke_1405.jpg)
- ![](https://mytuur-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/image_Brickegickel_6749fb978c3d1fed504f5122_3.jpg) — [Image: wikimedia](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Brickegickel-2018-Ffm-0871.jpg)
- ![](https://mytuur-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/image_Brickegickel_6749fb978c3d1fed504f5122_4.jpg) — [Image: wikimedia](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Frankfurt_Am_Main-Alte_Bruecke-Brickegickel-Detail-20100419.jpg)

Spots like this one are the stops myTuur strings into tours through Frankfurt. In the app, each story begins where you stand: walk up to a spot and it starts, read it on screen or listen as you go, then follow the route to the next one.

## What is myTuur?

myTuur is a free city-guide app. Its tours are built from spots, and each spot carries a story that starts when you get there, to read or to listen to as you like.