Kupfergraben (Spree)
Kupfergraben is the name given to the 400-metre-long northern part of the canal-like left arm of the Spree, the Spreekanal, along the Museum Island from the Eiserne Bridge to the Spree at kilometre 16.31 in Berlin's Mitte district. The Spreekanal with a length of two kilometres belongs to the federal waterway Spree-Oder-Wasserstraße, for which the Wasser- und Schifffahrtsamt Berlin is responsible.
Am Kupfergraben is the name of a street running parallel on the west bank of the Kupfergraben, which is opposite the Museum Island.
History of the Spreearm
The name Kupfergraben probably refers to a foundry that existed here from the 16th century to 1875 and where, among other things, copper was processed. From the middle of the 16th century, the Kupfergraben, then called the Cöllnischer Stadtgraben, formed part of the lower canal of the Berlin city lock. When this engineering structure was newly constructed in 1885, the Kupfergraben was widened. The lock has been unusable since 2000, next to it there is a weir.The Monbijou Bridge, a high-rise railway bridge, a nameless footbridge to the Museum Island and the Eiserne Bridge lead across the Kupfergraben.