Langebro

Langebro (lit. 'Long Bridge') is a bascule bridge across the Inner Harbour of Copenhagen, Denmark, connecting Zealandside H. C. Andersens Boulevard to Amagerside Amager Boulevard. It is one of only two bridges to carry motor vehicles across the harbour in central Copenhagen, the other being Knippelsbro.

History

1690: The first Langebro

Completed in 1690, the first bridge located roughly where Langebro is today was known as Kalvebodbro (Kalvebod Bridge) and connected the Western Rampart's Rysensteen Bastion on Zealand with Christianshavn Rampart's Christianshavns Vold#Kalvebod Bastion on Christianshavn. It was a wooden structure with a drawbridge in the middle that allowed ships to pass. The bridge was built for the military but was also open to civilian pedestrians.

The bridge was refurbished several times. It was widened in 1875–76.

1903: The Swing Bridge

Plans for a new Langebro were first presented in 1885 but not realized until 1903. The new bridge was located 400 ft to the south of the old one, Vestre Boulevard (now H. C. Andersens Boulevard) and connected to the Amager Boulevard on the other side of the harbor. It was a swing bridge resting on nine stone pillars.

The swing bridge was both used for both trams and the Amagerbanen railroad.

1939: The temporary bridge

With growing automobile traffic, the new bridge soon became outdated and a new temporary bridge was constructed in 1930. The bridge was subject to sabotage on 23 March 1945.

1954

The temporary bridge was replaced by the current Langebro in 1954.

Text imported from Wikipedia article "Langebro" and modified on September 10, 2024 according to the CC-BY-SA 4.0 International license.