Rut and Klaus Bahlsen Bridge (Snail Bridge)

The Schneckenbrücke over the Messeschnellweg is a gift of the company Balsen.

It was not until December 1989 that Klaus Bahlsen officially inaugurated the bridge - it took him 13 years to design and build the simple 49-meter-long bridge that crosses the four lanes of the inner-city expressway. As an amusing sign of his annoyance at the sluggishness of the city administration, Klaus Bahlsen had the bronze sculpture of a large snail installed at the foot of the eastern bridgehead.

From north to south, the busy Messeschnellweg as part of the A37 runs directly through Hanover's 640-hectare Eilenriede urban forest. So that pedestrians and cyclists can safely get to the other side there, the Hanoverian biscuit manufacturer Klaus Bahlsen donated a bridge to the city of Hannover in the late 1970s.