The name of the bridge was chosen by Hitler and is based on the myth of the "Nibelungen Way" which "Kriemhild" is supposed to have followed to the kingdom of the Huns -- crossing the Danube near Linz.

Bernhard Graf Plettenberg (Hitler's choice) was commissioned to design figures from the Nibelungen myth to decorate the bridge. His equestrian sculptures, over 6 meters high, represented "Kriemhild", "Siegfried", "Gunter" and "Brunhild". Two additional sculptures, "Hagen" and "Volker", were intended for the two staircases on the east side of the bridge.

The two full-scale plaster models of "Siegfried" and "Kriemhild" were installed at the south end of the bridge for Hitlers inspection in 1943 and stood on the site for several months.