Designs projected on the Oberbaum Bridge during the yearly Festival of Lights in Berlin, Germany

© John MacDougall/AFP via Getty Image

An old bridge in a new light. Berlin Festival of Lights

The double-decker Oberbaum Bridge is one of Berlin's most beloved and iconic landmarks. This centuries-old span once connected two boroughs separated by the Berlin Wall, the barrier that physically and ideologically divided East and West Berlin from 1961 to 1989. The first bridge in this spot was built in the 1700s, although the current road-and-rail Oberbaum was constructed at the end of the 19th century.

It remains an important symbol of unified Berlin, and a prominently featured landmark in the city's annual, weeklong Festival of Lights, which begin…..