Dronning Louises Bro ( English: Queen Louise's 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 ...

across The Lakes in central

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. It joins Frederiksborggade in

Indre By Indre By (English language, English: ), also known as Copenhagen Center or K or Downtown Copenhagen, is an districts of Copenhagen, administrative district (''bydel'') in central Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. It covers an area of , has a p ...

(city centre) with

Nørrebrogade Nørrebrogade is the principal shopping street of the Nørrebro district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It runs from The Lakes, Copenhagen, The Lakes in the southeast to Nørrebro station in the northwest, linking Frederiksborggade and Dronning Louises B ...

Nørrebro Nørrebro (, ) is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen Municipality, Denmark. It is northwest of the city centre, beyond the location of the old Northern Gate (''Nørreport''), which, until dismantled in 1856, was near the current N ...

and separates Sortedam Lake (Sortedam Sø) to the northeast from Peblinge Lake (Peblinge Sø) to the south west. The bridge was designed by Vilhelm Dahlerup, and constructed between 1885 and 1887. The bridge is named after Queen Louise, King Christian IX's wife. It was listed in 1997.

History

The first bridges

A bridge (fjællebroen)) located close to the site of the current bridge is mentioned in 1562. It provided a link between Copenhagen's North Gate and the Nørrebro Road (Nørrebro Landevej) In 1618-20, Christian IV built a combined embankment and a wooden bridge as part of his new Frederiksborg Road. The crossing was improved in the 1720s. The embankments in each end was reinforced with large stones and the central bridge section was replaced by a

drawbridge A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable b ...

The new bridges

In the second half of the 19th century the bridge was unable to cope with the booming traffic that was a result of the redevelopment of the area outside Copenhagen's fortifications as well as the growing population in general. The crossing was notorious for being windy even on quiet days and the architect Emil Blichfeldt therefore proposed a bridge lined with shop with inspiration from the Medieval bridges of

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

and

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

. Blichfeld pointed out that the extension of Frederiksborggade had developed into a thriving shopping street with no vacant shops and that the solution would therefore make sense. His proposal was featured in the magazine Ude og Hjemme in 1883 where it was described as "both practical and artistically well-designed. The proposal was discussed on a meeting in the City Council on 18 April 1884 where it was supported by 13 votes against 12 but the magistrate instead chose a simpler and more traditional proposal by Vilhelm Dahlerup. Construction began in 1885 and the bridge opened on Queen Louise's 70th birthday 7 September 1887. The bridge became known as the Peblinge Bridge (Peblingebroen).

Design

Queen Louise's Bridge is built of granite and has three arches. The cast iron railings are decorated by four identical bronze

cartouche upalt=A stone face carved with coloured hieroglyphics. Two cartouches - ovoid shapes with hieroglyphics inside - are visible at the bottom., Birth and throne cartouches of Pharaoh KV17.html" ;"title="Seti I, from KV17">Seti I, from KV17 at the ...

s featuring Copenhagen's coat of arms surrounded by weapons, helmets and lions. The railing integrates eight lampposts and four flagpoles. It was listed in 1997.

Cultural references

The bridge is mentioned in the song ''Hjerterdame'' on Kim Larsen og Bellami's 1986 album '' Forklædt som voksen''. The bridge was located close to Kim Larsen's home on Rørholmsgade.

References

External links

{{Coord, 55, 41, 12.01, N, 12, 33, 49.67, E, type:landmark_region:DK, display=title Bridges completed in 1887 Listed bridges in Copenhagen Louise of Hesse-Kassel