Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
''Tullbron'', literally ''"The Toll Bridge"'') is a stone
arch bridge
An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side. A viaduct ...
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 ...
, built between 1756 and 1761. The bridge spans the Ätran river and is a
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
since 1984. It underwent major repair and restoration works in 1927 and 1994. The bridge is still in use and is used by an average of 3,800 vehicles a day.Falkenbergs kommun: Trafikstatistik It was a toll bridge until 1914. The ruin of the fort Falkenberg is located close to the bridge, at the southern strand. The bridge has given its name to the nearby Tullbroskolan high school.
Predecessors
The bridge had an upstream predecessor, close to ''Nybyhemmet''. It was part of the medieval town of Ny-Falkenberg. Remains of the bridge can still be observed at the stream bed. Following the destruction of Ny-Falkenberg, a new bridge was built, located close to the current clinic. Boulders from its holdings are still visible. The last predecessor was built in 1725. On that bridge toll was taken from 1739 and onwards. The bridges were previously maintained by the people in Årstad och Faurås Hundred. One of these bridges was destroyed during the war year 1565. That forced the Danish Army to use the ford at Axtorna, upstreams, where the Swedish Army waited, and the Battle of Axtorna took place.
The construction process
County governor Hans Hummelheim was responsible for the infrastructure in the county and found a need for a stone bridge over the Ätran river. The bridge was drawn by architect
Carl HÃ¥rleman
Baron Carl Hårleman (27 August 1700 – 9 February 1753) was a Swedish architect.
Biography
HÃ¥rleman was born in Stockholm, son of the garden architect and head of the royal parks and gardens Johan HÃ¥rleman, who had been ennobled in 1698. ...
, and passed all necessary authorities by 1752. When HÃ¥rleman died in 1753 and his job was taken over by Carl Cronstedt. He changed the construction, increasing the number of arches from four to five. The construction work was led by
Fridrich August Rex
Jessica Fridrich is a professor at Binghamton University, who specializes in data hiding applications in digital imagery. She is also known for documenting and popularizing the CFOP method (sometimes referred to as the "Fridrich method"), one of t ...
and performed by the soldiers of Älvsborg and Västgöta-Dal regiment.
A meeting with those involved took place in 1753. The original plans were to build the bridge at the same position as the previous one. August Rex considered that place unsuitable and suggested the place at which it later was built. The new location had a better bedrock, although the river was wider. They wrote a contract in 1755 and construction started in July 1756.
The total cost for the construction of the bridge was 34,258
Swedish riksdaler
The svenska riksdaler () was the name of a Swedish coin first minted in 1604. Between 1777 and 1873, it was the currency of Sweden. The daler, like the dollar,''National Geographic''. June 2002. p. 1. ''Ask Us''. was named after the German Thaler. ...
. ''Källstorp'' in
Slöinge
Slöinge is a locality situated in Falkenberg Municipality, Halland County, Sweden, with 950 inhabitants in 2010.
Archeological excavations has revealed a chieftain
A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom ...
supplied the stones, while the wood came from Fagered. Fridrich August Rex wrote a personal journal during the construction work, which was published as part of the book ''"Tullbron i Falkenberg - Dess byggnad och historia från 1753 till vår tid"''.
Later history
A toll house was built next to the bridge. It was rented out six years at a time. The owner paid a fee to the state and maintained the bridge, while getting the money from the toll. The house included a pub. It stayed within one family from the mid 19th century and onwards. It was later used for a wide range of purposes, such as hosting the press of Falkenbergs Tidning, during its first years. The house was demolished in 1933. The toll was only paid by travelers going north; the people living in Årstad and Faurås paid half price.
The bridge was repaired in 1783 and 1787, as well as, to a minor degree, in 1876. Falkenberg Town was allowed to take over the ownership of the bridge in 1912, on condition that they repaired it. It took until 1920 before they formally gained ownership. The town scrapped the toll, first for the townspeople and later for all travelers. Thorough repair works took place between May and September 1927 by Skånska Cement. During the work a temporary bridge was constructed to the north of the bridge. The total cost for the repairs was 97,400
Swedish kronor
The krona (; plural: ''kronor''; sign: kr; code: SEK) is the official currency of the Kingdom of Sweden. Both the ISO code "SEK" and currency sign "kr" are in common use; the former precedes or follows the value, the latter usually follows it b ...
, of which the town paid 34,000, while the rest was paid by state subsidies and money taken from the car tax.
The traffic over the bridge grew, as the town grew south of the river, and
Skrea strand
Skrea strand is a beach in Falkenberg, Sweden. It is approximately two kilometres long, and has a 250 metre long pier and about 1,600 cabins.Garvareforeforsen as an alternative to widen the bridge. The matter was discussed locally and at the national level as well. Among those who wanted to leave the bridge unchanged were
Ernst Wigforss
Ernst Johannes Wigforss (24 January 1881–2 January 1977) was a Swedish politician and linguist (dialectologist), mostly known as a prominent member of the Social Democratic Workers' Party and Swedish Minister of Finance. Wigforss became on ...
Gustav V
Gustaf V (Oscar Gustaf Adolf; 16 June 1858 – 29 October 1950) was King of Sweden from 8 December 1907 until his death in 1950. He was the eldest son of King Oscar II of Sweden and Sophia of Nassau, a half-sister of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxe ...
, who was quoted saying ''"It would be a pity to broaden that bridge"''.
The matter went through the authorities. The city council decided three times that the bridge should be broadened. The final decision was to build a temporary footbridge next to the bridge in 1955. Since vehicles had shared the bridge with the pedestrians, the actual width available to the vehicles increased. The decision followed a ruling by the government in December 1954 to outlaw any major changes to the bridge due to its cultural value.
One of the most important transport routes in Sweden, National Road 2, used the bridge until 1962. That year the road was renamed E6 and got a new route just outside the town, as a new bridge was built over the Ätran river. Later, another bridge has been built over Ätran, Söderbron. The temporary footbridge has been demolished.