Pålsundsbron (

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 ...

: "The Pole Sound/Strait 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 ...

in central Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching over the small water course Pålsundet, the bridge connects the major island

Södermalm Södermalm, often shortened to just Söder, is a district and island in central Stockholm. Overview The district covers the large island of the same name (formerly called ''Åsön''). Although Södermalm usually is considered an island, wa ...

to the minor island

Långholmen Långholmen is an island between two other islands, Södermalm and Kungsholmen, in central Stockholm, Sweden. This island can be reached via two bridges; Pålsundsbron in the east and Långholmsbron in the west. Långholmen is a popular sp ...

. The name ''Pålsundet'', on old maps called ''Påhl Sundet'', or ''Pålsund'', refers to the poles blocking the canal from ships trying to reach central Stockholm without paying the required duty. Also, an iron chain served the same purpose of forcing the ships pay a visit to the custom house (''Winter Tullen'') demolished during the 1930s. The bridge was known as Mälarvarvsbron ("The Mälaren Shipyard Bridge") or more locally ''Varvsbron'' until 1948 when it received its present name. The original bridge on this location, after

Långholmsbron Långholmsbron (Swedish: "The Long Islet Bridge") is a bridge in central Stockholm, Sweden. Connecting the major island Södermalm to the minor island Långholmen, it forms an extension to the street Bergsundsgatan. The bridge was formerly cal ...

the second bridge stretching over Pålsundet, was built in 1907 as a wooden

truss bridge A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...

. It was 3.8 metres in width, with a total length of 56 metres stretching over eight 7 metres long spans, of which the central span was a hand-driven flip bascule extending the horizontal clearance of 3.7 metres. In 1947, the wooden bridge was replaced by a steel

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 ...

stretching 52.5 metres in a single span over the sound, with a width of 4.5 metres. Its steel arches were used five years earlier for the casting of the concrete arch of Kungsbron.

References

See also