Djurgårdsbron ( Swedish: "The Djurgården 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 ...

. Designed by Carl Fraenell and built for the Stockholm World's Fair 1897, the present bridge forms a southern extension to the boulevard Narvavägen, thus connecting mainland Östermalm to the island

Djurgården Djurgården ( or ) or, more officially, , is an island in central Stockholm, Sweden. Djurgården is home to historical buildings and monuments, museums, galleries, the amusement park Gröna Lund, the open-air museum Skansen, the small resident ...

. It is one of four bridges stretching from Djurgården, the others being Djurgårdsbrunnsbron, Beckholmsbron, and Lilla Sjötullsbron. Featured on the bridge standing on tall

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

s are four

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

gods, sculpted by Rold Adlersparre:

Heimdall In Norse mythology, Heimdall (from Old Norse Heimdallr; modern Icelandic language, Icelandic Heimdallur) is a Æsir, god. He is the son of Odin and nine mothers. Heimdall keeps watch for invaders and the onset of Ragnarök from his dwelling Himi ...

blowing in his Gjallarhorn;

Odin Odin (; from ) is a widely revered god in Norse mythology and Germanic paganism. Most surviving information on Odin comes from Norse mythology, but he figures prominently in the recorded history of Northern Europe. This includes the Roman Em ...

's wife

Frigg Frigg (; Old Norse: ) is a goddess, one of the Æsir, in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about her, she is associated with marriage, prophecy, clairvoyance and motherhood, and dwells in the wetl ...

holding a rod;

Freyja In Norse mythology, Freyja (Old Norse "(the) Lady") is a goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, and seiðr (magic for seeing and influencing the future). Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a char ...

with a

falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Some small species of falcons with long, narrow wings are called hobbies, and some that hover while hunting are called kestrels. Falcons are widely distrib ...

(one of her guises) in her hand; and

Thor Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...

with his hammer Mjolnir resting on his shoulder. Flanking the pathways are

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

railings displaying stylized plants and the

abutment An abutment is the substructure at the ends of a bridge span or dam supporting its superstructure. Single-span bridges have abutments at each end that provide vertical and lateral support for the span, as well as acting as retaining walls ...

s and candelabras designed by the architect Erik Josephson (1864–1929).

History

Preceded by a bridge much further east and thus simply referred to as "the new bridge", the original bridge at this location first appears on a map dated 1696. However, duties covering the costs for material and carpenters required for its construction are brought up in the Royal accounts as early as 1661. Appearing together with the original bridge on a map dated 1733, a new bridge built in 1730 by King Frederick I (1676–1751) requiring a roadworthy passage to the Royal hunting grounds, was referred to as ''Fredrikshovsbron'' ("The Court of Frederick Bridge") due to its vicinity to the palace Fredrikshov. Concerned for the state of the bridge, the king six years later had the bridge leased out to the island's surveyor, who, made responsible for its maintenance, was authorized to take up bridge tolls fixed by the king. The bridge gave way, non the less, under the king's coach in 1745. The bridge is mentioned again in 1801, then referred to as ''Djurgårdsflottbro'' ("The Djurgården

Pontoon Bridge A pontoon bridge (or ponton bridge), also known as a floating bridge, is a bridge that uses float (nautical), floats or shallow-draft (hull), draft boats to support a continuous deck for pedestrian and vehicle travel. The buoyancy of the support ...

"), said to allow the passing of ships, and having a ramp crossing a marshy terrain and therefore partly resting on logs. This bridge, in 1820 described as decayed, rotten, and grass-grown, was replaced by another wooden bridge in 1825 on the order of King Charles XIV John (1763–1844). A stone bridge discussed at this time was never carried out, and by 1849 the new bridge was in such a state it had to be replaced by a three-span iron bridge resting on wooden poles. To ensure the loading ratio before its inauguration, 200 men from the guard regiment nearby were order to march back and forth across the bridge in different formations, an odd practice considering the insignificant number of people being able to swim at the time. Reinforced in 1886, the iron bridge was demolished in 1895 to be replaced by the current three-span steel bridge, 18 metres wide, about 58 metres long, and able to carry the new

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 ...

s. The provisional bridge used during the construction was pulled down following the

World's Fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...

in 1897. Because of post-WW2 traffic loads, the bridge had to be reconstructed in 1977, a job done in three months - the three spans wielded on the quay and lifted in place using a pontoon crane.

References

External links

Stockholmskällan
- historical images of Djurgårdsbron. {{DEFAULTSORT:Djurgardsbron Bridges in Stockholm Bridges completed in 1897 World's fair architecture in Stockholm Former toll bridges in Sweden 1897 establishments in Sweden Rail infrastructure in Stockholm County 1890s establishments in Stockholm

History

See also

References

External links