As early as 1900, the first road bridge in Düsseldorf was located there. After its demolition in the Second World War and the erection of a makeshift pontoon bridge, today's cable-stayed bridge was built between 1969 and 1976, initially almost 50 metres downstream from its current location. In a globally acclaimed, spectacular movement, the more than 600 metre long bridge structure of the architect Friedrich Tamms was displaced by within two days to today's position. The 12,500-tonne bridge colossus was pulled by hydraulic presses at a speed of one millimetre per second to the final location - and up until then a unique technical masterpiece.