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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 structural load, loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either si ...
in central
Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
,
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
. With a total length exceeding 600 m, 340 m of which stretches over water, it is one of the major bridges in Stockholm, offering one of the most panoramic views of the central part of the city centering on
Gamla stan Gamla Stan (, "The Old Town"), until 1980 officially Staden mellan broarna ("The Town between the Bridges"), is the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Gamla Stan consists primarily of the island Stadsholmen. Gamla Stan includes the surrounding islets ...
, the old town. Its inauguration on 20 November 1935 made it the second stationary connection between the southern and northern parts of the city, saving the citizens the effort of a ferry ride, which had previously been required, or the congested detour through Gamla stan.


Sections

Västerbron can be said to consist of three sections: * ''Västerbron over Riddarfjärden'' – with two spans stretching over
Riddarfjärden Riddarfjärden (, "The Knight Firth") is the easternmost bay of Lake Mälaren in central Stockholm. Stockholm was founded in 1252 on an island in the stream where Lake Mälaren (from the west) drains into the Baltic Sea (to the east); today the i ...
. * ''Västerbron over Pålsundet'' – a simple arch bridge stretching over Pålsundet. * ''Västerbron over Rålambshovsparken'' – a girderless floor construction stretching from Västerbroplan over
Rålambshovsparken Rålambshovsparken (English: Rålambshov Park) is a park in the Marieberg district on the island of Kungsholmen in Stockholm, Sweden. Location This park passes under a section of Västerbron. In the west, the park borders the Konradsberg cam ...
to Drottningsholmsvägen near Fridhemsplan.


Västerbron over Riddarfjärden

This is the section most Stockholmers would call "Västerbron proper". It consists of two arches together encompassing slightly more than 600 m, including the viaducts in either side. The southern arch next to Långholmen has a span of 204 m and, stretching over the navigable passage underneath, a vertical clearance of 26 m. The northern arch is smaller, with a span of 168 m. This section is 24 m wide with a roadway flanked by pavements, dimensions applying to the other sections as well.


Västerbron over Pålsundet

Previously known as Pålsundsbron, this section stretches over 276 m, including viaducts, forming the southern arch leading over Pålsundet from
Södermalm Södermalm, often shortened to just Söder, is the southern district of Stockholm City Centre. Overview The Södermalm district covers the island of the same name (formerly called ''Åsön''), which, however, is not fully separated from th ...
to Långholmen. It was built at the same time as Västerbron over Riddarfjärden and forms a continuous structure with it, both bridges having the same width and being made entirely in steel. It was the first major bridge in Sweden with a welded steel superstructure. Two much smaller bridges allow cars and pedestrians to reach Långholmen, where the former Långholmen prison area have been transformed into a popular recreational area. The space under the bridge is being used for parked trailers in summer, while acting as winter quarters for boats during the dark season.


Västerbron over Rålambshovsparken

With its west-eastern direction, this section stretches some 243 m over the parc
Rålambshovsparken Rålambshovsparken (English: Rålambshov Park) is a park in the Marieberg district on the island of Kungsholmen in Stockholm, Sweden. Location This park passes under a section of Västerbron. In the west, the park borders the Konradsberg cam ...
from the roundabout at Västerbroplan to Drottningholmsvägen, the major traffic route leading to the western suburbs. Originally this section was suggested as an embankment cutting the park in two with only a small bridge leading over Rålambshovsleden below. Because of the poor carrying capacity of the soil, the embankment plans were substituted by the present concrete structure, a
girder A girder () is a Beam (structure), beam used in construction. It is the main horizontal support of a structure which supports smaller beams. Girders often have an I-beam cross section composed of two load-bearing ''flanges'' separated by a sta ...
less slab carried by pillars.


History

The first proposal for a bridge connecting Kungsholmen with Långholmen was made in 1903 when plans to relocate the main northern railway passing through Stockholm to the west of the central city were discussed. The proposal mainly focused on a
railway bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somet ...
however and, as the traffic in Stockholm at the time hardly could motivate a bridge of such dimensions, proposing a road-rail bridge was probably meant to emphasize the technical feasibility of such a bridge. The project was included in a proposal in 1905 but was not mentioned again before the 1920s. The relocation of the railway was finally brought up again and in 1925 three alternative designs for a road-rail bridge were produced, with a street bridge passing alternatively to the east, to the west, or above the railway. While most agreed the southern part of the bridge should connect with Långholmsgatan on Södermalm passing over Långholmen, the connection to Kungsholmen gave several possibilities. Before finally settling the present location with the northern end of the bridge landing on Rålambshov, two other alternatives were considered; One further west, between Långholmen and Smedsudden, the shortest distance over Riddarfjärden, and one to the east, connecting the bridge directly to Sankt Eriksgatan much further north. A sunken rock north of the navigable course in Riddarfjärden, appropriate for a bridge foundation, finally convinced the city council to commission the port authorities to launch an international competition for a bridge passing over the rock. The competition produced no less than 72 different designs, including
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 structural load, loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either si ...
s,
girder bridge A girder bridge is a bridge that uses girders as the means of supporting its deck. The two most common types of modern steel girder bridges are plate and box. The term "girder" is often used interchangeably with "beam" in reference to bridge d ...
s, and
cable bridge The Cable Bridge, officially called the Ed Hendler Bridge and sometimes called the Intercity Bridge, spans the Columbia River between Pasco, Washington, Pasco and Kennewick, Washington, Kennewick in southeastern Washington (state), Washington as ...
s. The winner of the competition in 1930 was the German team of the architects Otto Rudolf Salvisberg, Wilhelm Büning and Wilhelm Maelzer. The final design was approved by the city in 1931. Västerbron was built simultaneously to the then modern traffic centre at
Slussen Slussen (') is an area in Stockholm, Sweden, located at the northern edge of Södermalm, adjacent to Gamla stan. It is known for its locks system between Lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea, as well as its historic role as a major transport int ...
and while the bridge was being built many people were wondering who was supposed to use it, believing its peripheral situation would prevent it from attracting any users. However, after only a year more than 12,000 cars used the bridge daily and before 1955 that number had increased fourfold, effectively using up all the capacity the bridge could offer. In 1955–56 the bridge was broadened 2 m, giving space for new bicycle lanes. The increasing traffic following WWII continued to strain the capacity of Västerbron. Much of the north-southern traffic flow through the old city centre remained confined to the bridge until the inauguration in 1966 of
Essingeleden Essingeleden is a motorway that goes from Solna to Stockholm, Sweden, crossing the westmost parts of central Stockholm, by going over Kungsholmen, Lilla Essingen, and Stora Essingen. Essingeleden has three bridges – Fredhällsbron (270 m), ...
, the motorway running parallel to Västerbron about 1.5 km to the west. Today, Västerbron is occasionally still acting as a reserve when Essingeleden is being closed off for repair and other reasons. From its opening Västerbron was an important passageway of Stockholm’s tram network until the last four lines of the network, one of them line 4 crossed over Västerbron, was closed in September 1967 simultaneously with the switch to right-hand side traffic. In August 1993 a
JAS 39 Gripen The Saab JAS 39 Gripen ( ; English: ''Griffin'') is a light single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft manufactured by the Swedish aerospace and defence company Saab AB. The Gripen has a delta wing and canard configuration with rela ...
fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft (early on also ''pursuit aircraft'') are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air supremacy, air superiority of the battlespace. Domina ...
crashed on Långholmen only a few meters from the bridge after a low altitude, low speed manoeuvre during an air show. The pilot ejected safely and only one person on the ground was injured,A woman was hospitalized for three weeks for burns
"Coping with a Credibility Crisis: The Stockholm JAS Fighter Crash of 1993"
, p. 27. Swedish National Defence College. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
despite tens of thousands of people standing by watching. Today a small, sculpture on the site of the crash, a paper plane with its nose drilled into the soil, is commemorating the event. As a result of the accident, today air shows are forbidden over Riddarfjärden and no aircraft are allowed to pass under the bridge. As of 2006 a dozen workers have been working for several years to treat the bridge against corrosive attacks.


Västerbron in Swedish culture

Published simultaneously to the inauguration, the novel ''Människor kring en bro'' ("People round a bridge") by the proletarian author Josef Kjellgren (1907–1948) gave a detailed account of the life of the workers who took part in the construction of the bridge. The singer and actress
Monica Zetterlund Monica Zetterlund (born Eva Monica Nilsson; 20 September 1937 – 12 May 2005) was a Swedish jazz singer and actress. She represented Sweden in the 1963 Eurovision Song Contest with the jazz ballad " En gång i Stockholm" ("Once Upon a T ...
(1937–2005) mentions the bridge in one of her major hits ''Sakta vi gå genom stan'' (Swedish cover of '' Walking My Baby Back Home'') in the now famous lyrics written by Beppe Wolgers: ''På Västerbron, i den himmelska ron, en spårvagn går ensam och tom.'' ("On Västerbron, in the heavenly peace, a
tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...
passes lonely and vacant."). Johan Dufour composed the piano piece ''Västerbron'

in 1989 while living at Kungsholmen. Stockholm-based indie-band Laakso lament a lost love on the bridge in their 2007 song bearing its name. During the annual Stockholm Marathon, the passage over Västerbron is known as one of the most exciting during the two laps around Stockholm. It is also the place where many choose to encourage friends and relatives participating in the run. The view over Riddarfjärden makes the bridge a very popular spot for watching the New Year's Eve fireworks. In March 2008, Anders Göthberg, guitarist in the Swedish cult indie band Broder Daniel committed suicide by jumping off the bridge. The Swedish
Alternative Rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
band
Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
filmed parts of the music video for their breakthrough single Kräm (så nära får ingen gå) on Västerbron in 1996. In 2007, Västerbron was pictured on the cover of their album Tillbaka till samtiden


Gallery

File:Västerbron spårvagn 1940-tal.jpg, A tram on the bridge, 1940 File:Lilla Västerbron Stockholm.jpg, Northern section of the bridge passing over the park Rålambhovsparken. File:Vaesterbron 2.jpg, Västerbron's bridge span on Långholmen File:Västerbron in Stockholm, 2005.jpg, Västerbron viewed from the Old town with Långholmen to the left and Kungsholmen to the right. File:Västerbron-Northern end.jpg, View from Långholmen facing north File:Rålambshovsparken Lilla Västerbron 2011.jpg, A skate park under the Little Västerbron


See also

*
List of bridges in Stockholm This is a list of some of the most notable bridges and viaducts in Stockholm, starting with those located closest to the city centre. Many more bridges and viaducts could, of course, be added, including those on the rail transport, rail and motorwa ...
* Långholmsbron * Pålsundsbron * Hornstull * Reimersholme


References


External links


Stockholmskällan
- historical images of Västerbron. {{DEFAULTSORT:Vasterbron Arch bridges Bridges in Stockholm Bridges completed in 1935 1935 establishments in Sweden 1930s establishments in Stockholm