Sankt Eriksbron (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

: "The St Eric 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, ...

. The present construction was inaugurated in 1937. Neighbouring bridges are:

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 ...

, Barnhusbron, 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

The name refers to the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

of Stockholm,

Eric IX of Sweden Saint Erik ( 1125 - 18 May 1160), also called Eric IX or Erik Jedvardsson was King of Sweden from 1156 until his death in 1160. The ''Roman Martyrology'' of the Catholic Church names him as a saint memorialized on 18 May. He was the founder of ...

(1120–1160), often called "St Eric". It was given to the street passing over the bridge, Sankt Eriksgatan, in 1885 when patriotic and historical names were regarded as appropriate for most structures.

History

In the 1880s Stockholm was expanding rapidly and the two small bridges connecting Kungsholmen and Norrmalm, 2.5 km apart, were considered insufficient. The influential

city planner An urban planner (also known as town planner) is a professional who practices in the field of town planning, urban planning or city planning. An urban planner may focus on a specific area of practice and have a title such as city planner, tow ...

Albert Lindhagen (1823–1887) did propose a bridge south of the present one in 1866, but its current location was established in a city plan approved in 1880. Different solutions were considered before 1900, including a 15-m wide steel bridge, considered too expensive; a 12-m wide wooden bridge; and a ferry combined with a

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 ...

during winters. The capsizing of a rowing boat in the waters at the site of the present bridge in 1898, killing 5 of the 22 aboard, intensified efforts to have the bridge project completed. In 1900, the city council decided upon an 18-m wide and 227-m long steel bridge with a navigable clearance of 15.2 m, and the foundation work was started in 1903. When finished in 1906, the bridge had three central spans with 40-m long arched main

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 ...

s, a roadway made of blocks of wood paving, and two footways made of

mastic asphalt Asphalt concrete (commonly called asphalt, blacktop, or pavement in North America, and tarmac or bitumen macadam in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland) is a composite material commonly used to surface roads, parking lots, airports, ...

. As the area on both side of the bridge underwent a rapid development paired by the simultaneous exploitation of the western suburbs, the importance of the bridge grew, and by the mid-1930s the traffic load motivated a reconstruction and widening of the bridge. The old foundations were reinforced while the old steel construction was replaced by plate girders carrying a 24-m wide concrete floor. Under the roadway space was reserved for a future metro, later installed after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

References

Bridges in Stockholm Bridges completed in 1937 Rail infrastructure in Stockholm County 1937 establishments in Sweden 1930s establishments in Stockholm {{Sweden-bridge-struct-stub

About the name

History

See also

References