Charting the Spree: From Legendary Springs to Berlin’s Lifeline

Spree River is one of the most popular attractions in Berlin. With a length of almost 400 kilometers, the river meanders for 44 kilometers like a lifeline through the heart of the German capital. The Spree River is crossed by exactly 50 bridges in Berlin, 14 of which you can see during the one-hour boat trip.

The following legend is told in Upper Lusatia about the origin of the three Spree springs: In ancient times, the giant Sprejnik lived in the area between Bautzen and the Upper Lusatian Mountains. In order to better protect his kingdom, he carved a large and strong bow. To find out how far the arrows could fly, he shot some in the direction of the southeast.

His subjects searched for them and found them far up in the mountain country in a valley. With their bare hands, they could not pull the projectiles out of the ground and had to dig them up. As a result, fresh water began to gush out of the holes. This was the birth of the three Spree springs at Kottmar, Neugersdorf and Ebersbach. Through them a river was formed, which was called Sprejnik in honor of the giant, from which the present name Spree developed in the course of time.