Raven Bridge

The history of the bridge of ravens

The Bridge of Raven is also called the Bridge of Shind or Pont du Corbeau. The bridge was the scene of many executions of captured criminals in the Middle Ages. The crimes that were punished by death on the Bridge of Raven are numerous. Murderers as well as adulteresses were often put in a sack and thrown from the bridge into the river, the Ill. There they drowned miserably. Child murderers and dishonest merchants were often locked in a cage, which was then also plunged into the river from the bridge. At that time, the waste water from the nearby slaughterhouse was discharged into the Ill, which made the whole thing even more unpleasant. So how did the Rabenbrücke get its name? Ravens were plentiful in Strasbourg. The birds were just waiting for the corpses to be pulled out of the river so they could feast on their remains.

The Ravens of Strasbourg

The pitch-black birds were sometimes interpreted as a bad omen in the Middle Ages, or it was believed that they could predict the future. In Strasbourg, ravens could be found in abundance and so not only the Raven Bridge owes its name to the black birds. Also the Rabenplatz, the place du corbeau, and the Rabenbrunnen were named after them.