Vasabron
Encyclopedia
Norrström
Norrström in central Stockholm connects Lake Mälaren with the Baltic Sea. It runs from Riddarfjärden, north of Gamla stan, to Saltsjön. Two islands lie within it, Strömsborg and Helgeandsholmen. It is one of two natural waterways between Mälaren and the Baltic sea, the other being Söderström south...
in central Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
connecting Norrmalm to Gamla stan
Gamla stan
Gamla stan , until 1980 officially Staden mellan broarna , is the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Gamla stan consists primarily of the island Stadsholmen. The surrounding islets Riddarholmen, Helgeandsholmen, and Strömsborg are officially part of, but not colloquially included in, Gamla stan...
, the old city.
The bridge is, unintelligibly, named after King Gustav Vasa
Gustav I of Sweden
Gustav I of Sweden, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known simply as Gustav Vasa , was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death....
(1496–1560), perhaps because of the vicinity to the statue of the king in front of the House of Knights
Swedish House of Knights
The Swedish House of Nobility maintains records and acts as an interest group on behalf of the Swedish nobility.-Name:The name means either the corporation of the Swedish nobility or the palace of the nobility....
. From Vasabron a much smaller bridge, Strömsborgsbron
Strömsborgsbron
Strömsborgsbron is a bridge in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. It connects the islet Strömsborg to the bridge Vasabron.The present bridge is from 1992-1993.- See also :* List of bridges in Stockholm...
, connects to the islet Strömsborg
Strömsborg
Strömsborg is a small islet in central Stockholm, Sweden, located north of Stadsholmen, and west of Helgeandsholmen, between the bridges Centralbron, a motorway passing through central Stockholm, and Vasabron...
.
Nearby bridges include Riksbron
Riksbron
Riksbron is an arch bridge in central Stockholm, Sweden leading from Drottninggatan on Norrmalm 44 metres over to Riksgatan on Helgeandsholmen....
, Stallbron
Stallbron
Stallbron 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 Helgeandsholmen to the square Mynttorget on Stadsholmen from where Västerlånggatan extends it...
, Norrbro
Norrbro
Norrbro is an arch bridge over Norrström in central Stockholm. It extends north from the northern front of the Stockholm Palace passing over Helgeandsholmen in front of the parliament building, Riksdagen, and from there over to Gustaf Adolfs torg...
, Centralbron
Centralbron
Centralbron is one of the major traffic routes in central Stockholm, Sweden, connecting the northern district Norrmalm to the southern Södermalm....
, and Strömbron
Strömbron
Strömbron is a 140 metres long viaduct in central Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching over Norrström, it is connecting the old city Gamla stan to the northern-central district Norrmalm, or, more specifically, to Blasieholmen near the park Kungsträdgården.- History :Though initially put forward by the...
.
History
By the mid 19th century Stockholm was expanding quickly and the single permanent northern connection at the time, NorrbroNorrbro
Norrbro is an arch bridge over Norrström in central Stockholm. It extends north from the northern front of the Stockholm Palace passing over Helgeandsholmen in front of the parliament building, Riksdagen, and from there over to Gustaf Adolfs torg...
, was becoming insufficient, why a new bridge to the west of it was proposed. A first attempt to build the bridge was made by the British-Swedish engineer and industrialist Samuel Owen
Samuel Owen
Samuel Owen, born 12 May 1774 in Norton in Hales, Shropshire, England, died 15 February 1854 in Stockholm, was a British-Swedish engineer, inventor and industrialist...
(1774–1854). He begun to work on a suspension
Suspension bridge
A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders. Outside Tibet and Bhutan, where the first examples of this type of bridge were built in the 15th century, this type of bridge dates from the early 19th century...
footbridge
Footbridge
A footbridge or pedestrian bridge is a bridge designed for pedestrians and in some cases cyclists, animal traffic and horse riders, rather than vehicular traffic. Footbridges complement the landscape and can be used decoratively to visually link two distinct areas or to signal a transaction...
soon after an agreement with the city was settled, but the work had to be cancelled since Owen was declared bankrupt in 1843.
Owens attempt was followed by various proposals and in 1868 a competition for a 18 metres wide cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
bridge connecting Riddarhusgränd
Riddarhusgränd
Riddarhusgränd is an alley in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching north from the square Riddarhustorget to the bridge Vasabron, it passes between the Swedish House of Knights and the Bonde Palace forming a parallel street to Rådhusgränd...
to Tegelbacken was finally commissioned, requiring all proposals to be "neat and lasting". The city approved two of the incoming proposals and the bridge was begun in 1872 to be completed six years later. It stretched 208 metres over seven arches with a maximum span of 32 metres. End grain wood blocks on a concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
foundation formed the roadway while the pavements were made of asphalt
Asphalt
Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...
. For the construction cast steel was used for the first time and the bridge was innovative for its time using underwater cast concrete.
Swedish House of Knights
The Swedish House of Nobility maintains records and acts as an interest group on behalf of the Swedish nobility.-Name:The name means either the corporation of the Swedish nobility or the palace of the nobility....
and the Bonde Palace
Bonde Palace
The Bonde Palace is a palace in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Located between the House of Knights and the Chancellery House , it is, arguably, the most prominent monument of the era of the Swedish Empire , originally design by Nicodemus Tessin the Elder and Jean De la...
, and, consequently, one of the roadways have to make a detour around the still intact palace.
When the light, horse-driven tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
s were replaced by modern, electrical cars by the turn of the century, the end spans of the bridge had to be reinforced, which was done in 1906. Further analysis and reinforcements where done 1921-23 and by the mid 1970s rust and cracks were discovered, which led to the bridge being shut off 1977-79.
See also
- List of bridges in Stockholm
- List of streets and squares in Gamla stan
- VasagatanVasagatanVasagatan named after King Vasa is a common name for major streets in Swedish cities, the two most well-known being:*Vasagatan *Vasagatan *Vasagatan...
External links
- Stockholmskällan - historical images of Vasabron.