Dronning Louises Bro (
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
: Queen Louise's Bridge) is a
bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
across
The Lakes in central
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
,
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
. It joins Frederiksborggade in
Indre By
Indre By (lit. English, "Inner City"), also known as Copenhagen Center or K or Downtown Copenhagen, is an administrative district (''by'') in central Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. It covers an area of , has a population of 26,223, and a po ...
(city centre) with
Nørrebrogade
Nørrebrogade is the principal shopping street of the Nørrebro district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It runs from The Lakes in the southeast to Nørrebro station in the northwest, linking Frederiksborggade and Queen Louise's Bridge with Frederikssun ...
in
Nørrebro
Nørrebro (, ) is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is northwest of the city centre, beyond the location of the old Northern Gate (''Nørreport''), which, until dismantled in 1856, was near the current Nørreport station ...
and separates Sortedam Lake (Sortedam Sø) to the northeast from Peblinge Lake (Peblinge Sø) to the south west.
The bridge was designed by
Vilhelm Dahlerup
Jens Vilhelm Dahlerup (4 August 1836 – 24 January 1907) was a Danish architect who specialized in the Historicist style. One of the most productive and noted Danish architects of the 19th century, he is behind many of the most known buildings ...
, and constructed between 1885 and 1887. The bridge is named after
Queen Louise,
King Christian IX
Christian IX (8 April 181829 January 1906) was King of Denmark from 1863 until his death in 1906. From 1863 to 1864, he was concurrently Duke of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg.
A younger son of Frederick William, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein- ...
's wife. It was listed in 1997.
History
The first bridges
A bridge (fjællebroen)) located close to the site of the current bridge is mentioned in 1562. It provided a link between Copenhagen's North Gate and the Nørrebro Road (Nørrebro Landevej)
In 1618-20,
Christian IV
Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years, 330 days is the longest of Danish monarchs and Scandinavian monar ...
built a combined embankment and a wooden bridge as part of his new Frederiksborg Road.
The crossing was improved in the 1720s. The embankments in each end was reinforced with large stones and the central bridge section was replaced by a
drawbridge
A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable ...
.
The new bridges
In the second half of the 19th century the bridge was unable to cope with the booming traffic that was a result of the redevelopment of the area outside Copenhagen's fortifications as well as the growing population in general. The crossing was notorious or being windy even on quiet days and the architect
Emil Blichfeldt
Emil Blichfeldt (5 November 1849 – 20 October 1908) was a Danish architect who worked in the Historicist style.
Biography
Frederik Thorvald Emil Blichfeldt was born in Copenhagen. He studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts from 1864 to ...
therefore proposed a bridge lined with shop with inspiration from the Medieval bridges of
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
and
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
. Blichfeld pointed out that the extension of Frederiksborggade had developed into a thriving shopping street with no vacant shops and that the solution would therefore make sense. His proposal was featured in the magazine Ude og Hjemme in 1883 where it was described as "both practical and artistically well-designed.
[ The proposal was discussed on a meeting in the City Council on 18 April 1884 where it was supported by 13 votes against 12 but the magistrate instead chose a simpler and more traditional proposal by Vilhelm Dahlerup. Construction began in 1885 and the bridge opened on 7 September 1887.][ The bridge became known as the Peblinge Bridge (Peblingebroen).
]
Design
Queen Louise's Bridge is built of granite and has three arches. The cast iron railings are decorated by four identical bronze cartouche
In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a cartouche is an oval with a line at one end tangent to it, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name. The first examples of the cartouche are associated with pharaohs at the end of the Third Dynasty, but the fea ...
s featuring Copenhagen's coat of arms surrounded by weapons, helmets and lions. The railing integrates eight lampposts and four flagpoles. It was listed in 1997.
Cultural references
The bridge is mentioned in the song ''Hjerterdame'' on Gasolin'
Gasolin' were a Danish rock band from Christianshavn, Copenhagen, formed by Kim Larsen, Franz Beckerlee, and Wili Jønsson in 1969. Their first drummer was the late Bjørn Uglebjerg. He was replaced by Søren Berlev in 1971. At their formatio ...
s 1986 album '' Forklædt som voksen''. fra 1986. The bridge was located close to Kim Larsen
Kim Mellius Flyvholm Larsen (23 October 1945 – 30 September 2018) was a Danish rock and pop musician. He was a major selling Scandinavian act with over 5 million albums sold.
Career
Kim Larsen was born in Copenhagen. Inspired by The Bea ...
's home on Rørholmsgade.
See also
* List of bridges in Copenhagen
References
External links
{{coord, 55, 41, 12.01, N, 12, 33, 49.67, E, type:landmark_region:DK, display=title
Bridges in Copenhagen
Listed transport buildings and structures in Copenhagen
Listed bridges in Denmark
Bridges completed in 1887