Falkenberg Bridge
Encyclopedia
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...
in Falkenberg
Falkenberg
Falkenberg is a locality and the seat of Falkenberg Municipality, Halland County, Sweden, with 18,972 inhabitants in 2005.The town has a population of 19,000 and is located at the mouth of the river Ätran. The name consists of the Swedish words for falcon and mountain...
, 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....
, built between 1756 and 1761. The bridge span river Ätran and is a listed building since 1984. It has gone through major repair and restoration works in 1927 and 1994. The bridge is still in use and is used by an average of 3,800 vehicles a day. It was a toll bridge
Toll bridge
A toll bridge is a bridge over which traffic may pass upon payment of a toll, or fee.- History :The practice of collecting tolls on bridges probably harks back to the days of ferry crossings where people paid a fee to be ferried across stretches of water. As boats became impractical to carry large...
until 1914. The ruin of the fort Falkenberg
Falkenberg (fort)
Falkenberg was a fort in Falkenberg, Sweden. It was first mentioned in 1298. It would later give the town, which was previously known as Ätraby, its name. The fort was the location for several Nordic treaties during the fourteenth century...
is located close to the bridge, at the southern strand. The bridge has given name to the nearby high school Tullbroskolan.
Predecessors
The bridge had an upstream predecessor, close to Nybyhemmet. It was part of the medieval town of Ny-FalkenbergHistory of Falkenberg
The history of Falkenberg is, to a smaller or larger extent, known since the late 13th century, when the town starts to appear in written sources. The town might have taken over the position as a local power center from a location in Stafsinge...
. Remains of the bridge can still be observed at the stream bed. Following the destruction of Ny-Falkenberg, a new bridge was built, located close to the current clinic. Boulders from its holdings are still visible. The last predecessor was built in 1725. On that bridge toll was taken from 1739 and onwards. The bridges had previously been maintained by the people in Årstad och Faurås Hundred.
The construction process
County governor Hans Hummelheim was responsible for the infrastructure in the county and had found a need for a stone bridge over river Ätran. The bridge was drawn by architect Carl HårlemanCarl Hårleman
Baron Carl Hårleman was a Swedish architect.Hårleman was born in Stockholm, son of the garden architect and head of the royal parks and gardens Johan Hårleman, who hade been ennobled in 1698, and began his architectural training under Göran Josua Adelcrantz...
, and had by 1752 passed all necessary authorities. When Hårleman died in 1753 his job was taken over by Carl Cronstedt. He changed the construction, by increasing the number of arches from four to five. The construction work was led by Fridrich August Rex and performed by the soldiers of Älvsborg and Västgöta-Dal regiment.
A meeting with those involved took place in 1753. The original plans had been to build the bridge at the same position as the previous one. August Rex did however consider that place unsuitable and suggested the place at which it later was built. The new location had a better bedrock, although the river was wider. They wrote a contract in 1755 and the construction started in July 1756.
The total cost for the construction of the bridge was 34,258 Swedish riksdaler
Swedish riksdaler
The riksdaler was the name of a Swedish coin first minted in 1604. Between 1777 and 1873, it was the currency of Sweden. The daler, like the dollar, was named after the German Thaler. The similarly named Reichsthaler, rijksdaalder, and rigsdaler were used in Germany and Austria-Hungary, the...
. Källstorp in Slöinge
Slöinge
Slöinge is a locality situated in Falkenberg Municipality, Halland County, Sweden, with 974 inhabitants in 2005.Archeological excavations has revealed a chieftain estate from the 8th century; among the remains is a large number of golden figures....
, supplied the stones, while the wood came from Fagered. Fridrich August Rex wrote a personal journal during the construction work, which has been published as a part of the book "Tullbron i Falkenberg - Dess byggnad och historia från 1753 till vår tid".
Later history
A toll house was built next to the bridge. It was rented out six years at a time. The owner paid a fee to the state and maintained the bridge, while getting the money from the toll. The house included a pub. It stayed within on family from the mid 19th century and onwards. It would later be used for a wide range of purposes, such as hosting the press of Falkenbergs TidningFalkenbergs Tidning
Falkenbergs Tidning was a conservative newspaper, published in Falkenberg between 1875 and 1954. It was also an advertising broschure/free newspaper, published between 1993 and 2005...
, during its first years. The house was demolished in 1933. The toll was only paid by travelers going north, the people living in Årstad and Faurås paid half price.
The bridge was repaired in 1783 and 1787, as well as, to a minor degree, in 1876. Falkenberg Town was allowed to take over the ownership of the bridge in 1912, on condition that they had it repaired. It would however take until 1920 before they formally gained ownership. The town scrapped the toll, first for the townspeople and later for all travelers. Thorough repair works took place between May and September 1927 by Skånska Cement
Skanska
Skanska AB, is a multinational construction and development company based in Sweden, where it also is the largest construction company. The company's head office is in Solna, north of Stockholm.-History:...
. During the work a temporary bridge was constructed to the north of the bridge. The total cost for the repairs was 97,400 Swedish kronor, of which the town paid 34,000, while the rest was paid by state subsidies and money taken from the car tax.
The traffic over the bridge grew, as the town grew south of the river, and Skrea strand
Skrea strand
Skrea strand is an about two kilometre long beach in Falkenberg, Sweden. It has a 250 metre long pier and about 1,600 cabins. An indoor bath, Klitterbadet, is located close to the beach.-History:...
became a popular beach. Hence, the city council decided in June 1939 to widen the bridge, from 7.2 to 13.5 meters. The decision was the start of the "bridge broadening dispute". It was suggested to build a bridge close to Garvareforeforsen, as an alternative to widen the bridge. The matter was discussed not only locally, but at national level as well. Among those who wanted to leave the bridge unchanged were Ernst Wigforss
Ernst Wigforss
Ernst Johannes Wigforss was a Swedish politician and linguist , mostly known as a prominent member of the Social Democratic Workers' Party and Swedish Minister of Finance...
and Fredrik Ström
Fredrik Ström
Fredrik Ström was a Swedish Socialist politician and a prolific writer. He held a seat in the Riksdag from 1916 - 1921, and from 1930 - 1938....
. That faction invited king Gustav V, who was quoted saying "It would be a pity to broaden that bridge".
The matter went through the authorities. The city council decided three times that the bridge should be broadened. The final decision was however to build a temporary footbridge next to the bridge in 1955. As the vehicles had shared the bridge with the pedestrians, it would mean that the actual width available to the vehicles would increase. The decision had followed a ruling by the government in December 1954 to outlaw any major changes to the bridge due to its cultural value.
One of the most important transport routes in Sweden, National Road 2, did use the bridge until 1962. That year the road was renamed E6
European route E6
European route E 6 is the designation for the main north-south road in Norway, and the west coast of Sweden, running from the southern tip of Sweden, at Trelleborg, into Norway and through almost all of the country north to Finnmark. The route ends close to the Norwegian border with Russia...
and got a new route just outside the town, as a new bridge was built over river Ätran. Later, another bridge has been built over Ätran, Söderbron. The temporary footbridge has been demolished.