Riddarbron, Pontoon bridge in Norrmalm, Sweden

Riddarbron was a 240-metre pontoon bridge between Norra Riddarholmshamnen on Riddarholmen and Tegelbacken on Norrmalm, opened on 18 June 1953. Its 7-metre carriageway, flanked by safety barriers, carried vehicles of up to 3 tonnes; a separate pontoon bridge for pedestrians ran parallel to the east in the first years.

Riddarbron was inaugurated on 18 June 1953 as a 240-metre pontoon bridge between Norra Riddarholmshamnen and Tegelbacken, replacing the provisional Slingerbultsleden route. It was built as compensation when the metro and Centralbron works cut that route past Riddarholmen. The idea came from city council chairman Yngve Larsson. It remained until September 1967, when the new Centralbron over Norrström opened.

The bridge was named Riddarbron after Riddarholmen, the island it linked to Tegelbacken. Its traffic ran down Wrangelska backen between the Wrangelska palatset and the Kammarrättens hus, so the 20,000 daily vehicles passed through the old judicial quarter. The idea came from Yngve Larsson, longtime borgarråd and chairman of the city college.

To understand this bridge's place in Stockholm's past, you can view the Riddarfjärden from nearby waterfront areas and imagine where it once spanned the water. Local museums and archives hold additional details about its operation and role.

The bridge was the idea of Yngve Larsson, a long-serving city councillor and chairman of the city college. It replaced the provisional Slingerbultsleden route, and its 7-metre carriageway carried up to 20,000 vehicles a day straight through Riddarholmen, down Wrangelska backen between the Wrangelska palatset and Kammarrättens hus.