Riksbron ( Swedish: "The National Bridge" or "The State Bridge") is an

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 (a ...

in central Stockholm, Sweden leading from

Drottninggatan Drottninggatan (''Queen Street'') in Stockholm, Sweden, is a major pedestrian street. It stretches north from the bridge Riksbron at Norrström, in the district of Norrmalm, to Observatorielunden in the district of Vasastaden. Composition Form ...

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

over to Riksgatan on Helgeandsholmen. The name is derived from the bridge's proximity to several buildings of national importance, including Riksdagen, the Parliament Building;

Rosenbad Rosenbad (, lit. "rosen bath") is a building in central Stockholm, precinct of Norrmalm. It is a building owned by the Swedish State and serves as the seat of the Government. The present government of Sweden is the right-leaning Kristersson Ca ...

, the Prime Minister's Office and the Government Chancellery; and the

Sager House The Sager House () or Sager Palace (''Sagerska palatset'') is the official residence of the Prime Minister of Sweden, located at Strömgatan 18 in central Stockholm. Location The Sager House is located in the Stockholm borough of ''Norrmalm' ...

, official residence of the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

. Nearby bridges include

Stallbron Stallbron (Swedish: "The Stable Bridge") is an arch bridge located in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching some 20 meters over Stallkanalen it connects Riksgatan passing through the Parliament Building on Helgeand ...

Norrbro Norrbro (Swedish for "North Bridge") is an arch bridge over Norrström in central Stockholm. It extends north from the northern front of the Royal Palace passing over Helgeandsholmen in front of the Riksdag building, and from there over to Gust ...

, and

Vasabron Vasabron (Swedish: "The Vasa Bridge") is a bridge over Norrström in central Stockholm, Sweden connecting Norrmalm to Gamla stan, the old city. The bridge is, unintelligibly, named after King Gustav Vasa (1496–1560), perhaps because of the vic ...

History

Writing from his camp at Bender in 1712, King

Charles XII Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII ( sv, Karl XII) or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 O.S.), was King of Sweden (including current Finland) from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line o ...

(1682–1718) was the first to suggest a bridge extending Drottninggatan over to Helgeandsholmen. In a drawing dated from 1713 the king's architect,

Nicodemus Tessin the Younger Count Nicodemus Tessin the Younger (May 23, 1654 – April 10, 1728) was a Swedish Baroque architect, city planner, and administrator. The son of Nicodemus Tessin the Elder and the father of Carl Gustaf Tessin, Tessin the Younger was the middl ...

(1654–1728), not only proposed a new bridge but also wanted to have the street extended much further south, across Helgeandsholmen and over to

Mynttorget Mynttorget (, "the Coin Square") is a public square in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Setting From the square the bridge Stallbron leads over to the Parliament island Helgeandsholmen; to the west the street Myntga ...

next to the

Royal Palace This is a list of royal palaces, sorted by continent. Africa * Abdin Palace, Cairo * Al-Gawhara Palace, Cairo * Koubbeh Palace, Cairo * Tahra Palace, Cairo * Menelik Palace * Jubilee Palace * Guenete Leul Palace * Imperial Palace- Mass ...

Stadsholmen Stadsholmen is the historical name of an island in the centre of Stockholm, Sweden. Stadsholmen is connected to the mainland via several bridges. Together with the small islands of Riddarholmen and Helgeandsholmen it forms Gamla stan, the old ...

. However, Sweden was at war with Russia at the time and, lacking both funding and manpower, the project had to be irrevocably postponed. In 1794 the architect

Erik Palmstedt Erik Palmstedt (16 December 1741, Stockholm — 12 June 1803) was a Swedish architect working for the court circle of Gustav III, where he was in the forefront of Neoclassical style and at the heart of a social and intellectual circle that forme ...

(1741–1803) made an unsuccessful attempt to have the bridge realized. Riksbron 1930

A permanent bridge with three arches was proposed in 1898, before a provisional

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 ...

with a wooden footway was built in 1907, four metres (13 ft) in width and height. Lacking in dignity, it soon became known as ''Råttfällan'', "The Mousetrap". In 1915 a proposal was passed for a bridge with three arches, inspired by the 18th-century bridge

just east of Riksbron. However, a smaller copy of the larger bridge was regarded as aesthetically unappealing, and the water loads from Lake Mälaren made the proposed bridge problematic. A permanent solution based on the three arch proposal was thereafter investigated but, for various reasons, never carried out, until a bridge with a single span was finally proposed in 1924 by engineer

Thorleif Aronsson The Germanic first name Thorleif (which means ''son of Thor'') with variants Torleif (Swedish), Thorleiv/Torleiv (Norwegian) and Þorleif (Icelandic) may refer to: Torleif *Torleif Torkildsen (1892–1944), Norwegian gymnast and Olympian Torlei ...

. This proposal resulted in the present construction designed by engineers

Axel Björkman Axel may refer to: People * Axel (name), all persons with the name Places * Axel, Netherlands, a town ** Capture of Axel, a battle at Axel in 1586 Arts, entertainment, media * ''Axel'', a 1988 short film by Nigel Wingrove * ''Axel'', a Cirque d ...

(1869–1957) and K A Wickert together with architect

Ragnar Östberg Ragnar Östberg (14 July 1866 – 5 February 1945) was a Swedish architect who is best known for designing Stockholm City Hall. Biography Östberg was born in Stockholm, Sweden. His parents were Carl Östberg and Erika Kindahl. Between 1884 a ...

(1866–1945). Inaugurated in 1931, it is a

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most ...

portal frame with a central hinge, in length and in width, with a wide carriageway flanked by two wide footways. A

sluice gate Sluice ( ) is a word for a channel controlled at its head by a movable gate which is called a sluice gate. A sluice gate is traditionally a wood or metal barrier sliding in grooves that are set in the sides of the waterway and can be considered ...

regulating the water level of

Lake Mälaren A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

was later added under the bridge.

References

* * * {{coord, 59, 19, 41.6, N, 18, 04, 01.4, E, display=title, region:SE_type:landmark Bridges in Stockholm Bridges completed in 1931 Bridges completed in 1907 Pedestrian bridges in Sweden

History

See also

References