Riddarholmsbron
Riddarholmsbron is a bridge in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden, leading from the square Riddarhustorget on Stadsholmen to the smaller neighbouring island Riddarholmen.
History
Wooden bridges
The first bridge to connect Riddarholmen to Stadsholmen, was a simple wooden bridge leading from Gråmunketornet. At the time Riddarholmen was still called Gråmunkeholmen, referring to the franciscan abbey on the island, and the bridge was accordingly called Munkbron. Once the name of islet had been changed, Munkbron instead referred to the quay which then faced Riddarholmen.In 1630 the Councillor Åke Tott was granted permission to build a drawbridge over to his estate on Riddarholmen from the north-western corner of the House of Knights, a construction that would survive him by only 15 years.
Following the fire of the Royal Palace in 1697, the members of the royal family were accommodated in the Wrangel Palace on Riddarholmen, which therefore needed face-lift. Both bridges leading to the island were subsequently widened, the southernmost in 1738 and the northern in 1751.
Stone bridge
These wooden bridges were both replaced by a more impressive stone arch bridge designed by the architect Erik Palmstedt in 1784 and given his name upon its inauguration in 1789. The bridge was furnished with a memorial slate carrying an inscription in Latin:The stone bridge was, however, demolished in 1867 to give room to the junction track of the new rail road, but in 1958 intentions was to reuse the slate on the present bridge, plans accomplished 22 years later. The architect Ragnar Östberg found use for the bridge's vault for what is today called Palmstedts grotta in the gardens of the Stockholm City Hall.