I love the fairy effect of Lomochrome Purple film - it gives the Devil’s Bridge a truly magical feeling. The surreal colors make the old stone arches look like something out of a fantasy story. Maybe I’ll visit the bridge again in winter, when the swampy ground is more walkable thanks to the cold, and try to get some shots from below.

The bridge itself has an interesting history. It arches over the “Teufelsgraben” and isn’t far from the old firing ranges in Katharinenholz. The surrounding area was once swampy, and when it rained heavily, Lake Bornstedt would often overflow. The drain, or “Teufelsgraben,” was built in 1786 to direct the excess water into the Golmer Luch.

I finally managed to wander through Potsdam’s Katharinenholz to visit the still impressive old firing range. It’s a fascinating place—one of the last visible remnants of the now mostly vanished military history of Potsdam’s north, around Bornstedt. The ramparts and massive bullet trap walls are silent witnesses to the changes in military technology: from flintlock rifles to the Luger pistol to modern machine guns.

The first firing ranges were laid out as early as 1810 for the recently formed Garde-Regiment. As the military base in Bornstedt expanded over the years, more and more recruits received their shooting training there. By around 1900, there were eight firing ranges, each 300 or 600 meters in length.¹