The border is visible by the presence of both a Dutch and a German signal, left of the bridge keeper's house

This border crossing connects the railway network in the North of Germany to that in the North of the Netherlands, mainly to connect to the cites of Harlingen and Groningen to Hamburg and Bremen. The crossing was opened in 1876, when the railway line Harlingen-Nieuwe Schans was extended to Bunde and Ihrhove.

In 1855, plans were made to connect Harlingen, a coastal town with ferries to several islands and England, to Germany. A railway via Zwolle and Oldenzaal was suggested, but final plans saw the railroad connect Harlingen to Leeuwarden, Groningen and the German city of Leer. Construction began in 1863 in Harlingen, and in 1876 the line had reached the Dutch-German border.

In World War II, the crossing was used as one of the main train routes from the Netherlands to several concentration camps in Germany and Poland. In 1944 the Friesenbrücke, the bridge over the Ems river, was destroyed by explosives, stopping rail traffic over the Nieuweschans-Bunde line. A new bridge was built in 1951.

In 2015, the bridge over the Ems river was again destroyed, this time when it was hit by a ship. It took nine years to replace it with a new one and train traffic is expected to resume in the fall of 2026, under the moniker "Wunderline" (Wonder Line).

The Friesenbrücke after it was hit by a ship in 2015

Location

Foto's

Nearby border crossings

• Coevorden - Laarwald (NLD - DEU) (69 km)
• Oldenzaal - Bad Bentheim (NLD - DEU) (98 km)