The Älvsborg Bridge ( sv, Älvsborgsbron) is a

suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...

over Göta älv in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, connecting the island of

Hisingen Hisingen () is the fifth-largest island of Sweden (after Gotland, Öland, Södertörn and Orust), with an area of . It is a river island, formed by the split of the Göta Älv at Bohus, and is defined to the east and south by the main arm of tha ...

with the mainland. It was designed by Sven Olof Asplund, and inaugurated on 8 November 1966 by Swedish communication minister

Olof Palme Sven Olof Joachim Palme (; ; 30 January 1927 – 28 February 1986) was a Swedish politician and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1969 to 1976 and 1982 to 1986. Palme led the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1969 until h ...

. The total length of the bridge is 933 metres and the distance between the pylons ("main span") is 417 metres, while the clearance below the deck is 45 metres. Said pylons are 107 metres tall, making the bridge one of Gothenburg's most prominent landmarks. It takes its name from the mediaeval

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

of Old Älvsborg, the ruins of which are located just a couple of hundred metres along the riverbank from the southern pylon. The bridge was painted green for the

1995 World Championships in Athletics The 5th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Ullevi Stadium, Gothenburg, Sweden on 5–13 August 1995. This edition featured 1804 athletes from 191 nat ...

, which Gothenburg hosted. Work started in 1993 and used about 36,000 litres of paint. The bridge acted as the finish line for the 2005–06 Volvo Ocean Race.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Alvsborg Bridge Buildings and structures in Gothenburg Suspension bridges in Sweden Hisingen Bridges completed in 1967 Transport in Gothenburg