Barnhusbron (

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 Orphanage Bridge") is a

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), 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, whi ...

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 ...

. Passing over Barnhusviken, it connects

Kungsholmen Kungsholmen is an island in Lake Mälaren in Sweden, part of central Stockholm, Sweden. It is situated north of Riddarfjärden and considered part of the historical province Uppland. Its area is with a perimeter of . The highest point is a ...

Norrmalm Norrmalm is a city district in Stockholm, Sweden. History Norrmalm is a part of the larger borough of Norrmalm (''Norrmalms stadsdelsområde''). The southern part of the district, Lower Norrmalm (''Nedre Norrmalm''), also known as the City, ...

. It is 23 metres wide and 290 metres long with a maximum span of 64.5 metres. The roadway is made of

prestressed concrete Prestressed concrete is a form of concrete used in construction. It is substantially prestressed (Compression (physics), compressed) during production, in a manner that strengthens it against tensile forces which will exist when in service. Post-t ...

except for two non-tensioned concrete section in its eastern end. Built in 1969 and of mostly local importance, Barnhusbron connects Scheelegatan on Kungsholmen to Tegnérgatan on Norrmalm, failing to fulfill its original purpose, to relieve the traffic load of its two older neighbouring bridges. Another misjudgment, now scrapped plans to relocate the Klarastrandsleden motorway to a

viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide ...

above the railway, both still passing under the bridge on the ground, caused to bridge to be made exceptionally tall to be a bridge in central Stockholm. Nearby bridges include

Kungsbron Kungsbron ( Swedish: "King's Bridge") is a double bridge in central Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching over Klara Sjö, it connects Norrmalm to Kungsholmen. History In 1881, an old wooden bridge spanning Klara sjö ("Lake Klara") was replaced by a ...

, Sankt Eriksbron, Stadshusbron,

Klarabergsviadukten Klarabergsviadukten ( Swedish: "The Viaduct of Hill of St Clare" ) is a reinforced concrete bridge and an overpass in central Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching over Klara Sjö, it connects Norrmalm to Kungsholmen. Where in English viaduct genera ...

, and Ekelundsbron.

About the name

In the 1630s, an

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abusi ...

(''barnhus'') and

penitentiary A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state, usually ...

(''tukthus'') on

Riddarholmen Riddarholmen (, "The Knights' Islet") is a small islet in central Stockholm, Sweden. The island forms part of Gamla Stan, the old town, and houses a number of private palaces dating back to the 17th century. The main landmark is the church Riddarh ...

were moved to two buildings on a street north of

Norra Latin Norra Latin is the familiar Swedish name of a historic Stockholm school more properly known as ''Högre allmänna läroverket för gossar å Norrmalm'' ("public senior secondary school for boys at Norrmalm"). Completed in 1880, for over a hun ...

today called ''Barnhusgatan''. The bridge, together with several other structures and areas, were named after the orphanage around 1860 when the area underwent an urbanization process.

References

{{coord, 59, 20, 6.5, N, 18, 2, 48.0, E, type:landmark, display=title Bridges in Stockholm Bridges completed in 1969 1960s establishments in Stockholm 1969 establishments in Sweden

About the name

See also

References