The still existing Plauer Bridge was built in 1904 as a steel truss bridge and replaced the wooden bridge that had served 67 years of traffic.
Fontane has changed on this predecessor bridge from the castle to Wiesike-Gut. It had been built by the Plauer master carpenter Parey and had a pulling mechanism in the western third, which allowed the higher ships the passage. Over this bridge the royal post office drove on their journeys from Berlin to Magdeburg and back.
At that time, the bank between the castle and the bridge was still unpaved. The so-called Bornufer was not attached until 1904 with the new bridge, which was led by the Potsdam Baurat Born. The new building was undercurrent immediately adjacent to the wooden bridge and was put into service on 15.10.04.
Fontane paid a visit to his friend Carl Ferdinand Wiesike for the last time in April 1880. He may have had his ballad "The Brück' am Tay" in his head while crossing the Plauer Bridge, which he wrote on January 10:
"Last week I got into No. 2 the 'present' publishes a poem: 'The Bridge' on the Tay ', in which I treated the terrible railway accident at Dundee Balladesk. [...] There has been some kind of sensation here, maybe more than anything I've written. On Sunday, over 14 days, Kahle will perform in a Singakademie Concert ".