Norrbro (

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 ...

for "North Bridge") is an

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 ...

over

Norrström Norrström is one of the shortest rivers in Europe in central Stockholm. It connects Lake Mälaren with the Baltic Sea. It runs from Riddarfjärden, north of Gamla stan, to Stockholms ström (the western part of Saltsjön). Two islands lie within i ...

in central

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

. It extends north from the northern front of the Royal Palace passing over

Helgeandsholmen Helgeandsholmen () is a small island in central Stockholm, Sweden. It is located north of Stadsholmen, and east of Strömsborg, with which, together with Riddarholmen, it forms Gamla stan, the old town of Stockholm. Helgeandsholmen contains the ...

in front of the

Riksdag The Riksdag (, ; also sv, riksdagen or ''Sveriges riksdag'' ) is the legislature and the supreme decision-making body of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral legislature with 349 members (), elected proportionally and se ...

building A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and fun ...

, and from there over to Gustav Adolfs torg. Norrbro was designed by the city architect

Erik Palmstedt Erik Palmstedt (16 December 1741, Stockholm — 12 June 1803) was a Swedish architect working for the court circle of Gustav III, where he was in the forefront of Neoclassical style and at the heart of a social and intellectual circle that formed ...

(1741–1803) in a neoclassical style.

History

Norrbro was one of the first bridges of Stockholm to be built in stone. It was completed in ten years, with the northern portion, supported by three

arch An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vaul ...

es, finished in 1797, and the southern, supported by a single arch, in 1806. Norrbro replaced two old wooden bridges, ''Slaktarehusbron'' and ''Vedgårdsbron'', both demolished on its completion. In many aspects Norrbro remained an unparalleled bridge in Stockholm for a long period, exceeding all other not only by its width (19 m) and span, but also by being the first street to be paved and furnished with separate pavements. For the foundation work of the bridge Erik Palmstedt introduced a new method. The base of a pillar was bricked on a barge with tall walls, which was then filled with enough water to sink to the piling on the bottom. There the walls of the barge were detached from its floor, which consequently became the bed of the pillar while the walls were being reused.

Gallery

Image:Norrbro December 8 2006.jpg, Night view of water flowing under Norrbro in December 2006. File:Norrbro 1761.jpg, One of the former bridges in 1761 Image:Stallkanalen Norrbro March 2007.jpg, Southern part of the bridge in March 2007. In the background are the

Riksdag building The Parliament House ( sv, Riksdagshuset ) is the seat of the parliament of Sweden, the Riksdag. It is located on nearly half of Helgeandsholmen (island), in the (old town) district of central Stockholm. Architecture The building complex ...

Mynttorget Mynttorget (, "the Coin Square") is a public square in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Setting From the square the bridge Stallbron leads over to the Parliament island Helgeandsholmen; to the west the street Myntgata ...

, and

Riddarholmskyrkan Riddarholmen Church ( sv, Riddarholmskyrkan) is the church of the former medieval Greyfriars Monastery in Stockholm, Sweden. The church serves as the final resting place of most Swedish monarchs. Riddarholmen Church is located on the island o ...

. Image:Norrbro, Stockholm.jpg, Northern part of Norrbro in front of the

viewed from Gustaf Adolfs torg, below

Lake Mälaren A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

is gushing into the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

References

External links

Stockholm City Museum – ''Norrbro och Strömparterren''
a

PDF Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. ...

containing a detailed section on the creation of Norrbro. {{Coord, 59, 19, 41.9, N, 18, 04, 11.6, E, type:landmark, display=title Bridges in Stockholm Bridges completed in 1797 Bridges completed in 1806

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links