This blog post is part of the running all bridges of Stockholm-project.
Gamla Stan
If you know anything about Stockholm, you’ll know Gamla Stan.
For a runner, Gamla Stan is probably not the place to go for various reasons. Not many actually live there, so it’s not the closest place to run for most. It’s also quite small, not offering too much to run. However, many do run there. Why is that? The reason is (my interpretation) that it connects north and south Stockholm and Västerbron is the only other similar connector. And since Gamla Stan is much more centric, it’s on the path of very many commuters and runners.
If you start counting, Gamla Stan has a ridiculous number of bridges given how small it is. Let’s first look at the bridges to the mainland in the north.
The westernmost bridge is Vasabron (crossed 11.4.2020). Strömsborgsbron (crossed 11.4.2020) is a bridge connecting Vasabron to the tiny island Strömsborg that is almost completed occupied by one single building. Absolutely no reason to run to that island (if you’re not collecting bridges), but I of course ran there.
Between Gamla Stan and Norrmalm there’s another small island Helgeandsholmen (not getting its own post). There are two bridges starting from the mainland, crossing over to Helgeandsholmen and again crossing over to Gamla Stan. The western one is called Riksbron (crossed 4.4.2020). It kind of goes through Riksdagshuset. Now forget what I told about Gamla Stan not being great for running, it’s actually pretty cool to run next to these big buildings in the historical atmosphere, just look at the pics! I just wouldn’t like to have these routes as the everyday running route.
The second bridge crossing Helgeandsholmen is called Norrbro (crossed 4.4.2020). It looks like it’s built to demonstrate the power and might of the Swedish empire. It’s very wide (good for parades) and leads directly to Kungliga slottet.
The easternmost bridge is Strömbron (crossed 4.4.2020), one more super wide bridge leading to the castle. Why so many? No idea. Why not?
Then in the south there’s the good old Slussen (crossed 11.4.2020) that is currently (2021) under construction and will be for many years. It gets its job done, but will be completely rebuild.
One part of the “new Slussen” complex is the Guldbron. When I was living in Stockholm the bridge was not operational (now it is), so I had to settle to this picture from below.
The naming of bridges is sometimes difficult and complex. The bridge in the image below is supposedly called Södra Järnvägsbron (crossed 9.2.2020). Be it called whatever, it connects Gamla Stan to Södermalm. It’s basically a continuation of the pedestrian bridge starting from Riddarholmen heading towards Södermalm. Now when looking at Wikipedia, I’m not sure if this bridge even is there anymore or if it has been replaced by a new one as part of the Slussen makeover. But anyways, I’ve run it.
Riddarholmen
If Gamla Stan is not the number one running destination, Riddarholmen is even less likely to be that. But exactly like Gamla Stan, you can use Riddarholmen to run from south to north (or vice versa) making it likely you one day run it if you live in Stockholm.
The connections to the island are simple compared to all those bridges of Gamla Stan.
To the mainland in the north there’s Norra Järnvägsbron (crossed 9.2.2020) and in the south towards Södermalm there’s Hebbes bro that connects to Gamla Stan and further to Södermalm. Hebbes bro looks like it’s in bad shape. I’d assume it’s going to be fixed or replaced as part of the Slussen renewal.
To the east there’s the short Riddarholmsbron (crossed 6.5.2020) connecting to Gamla Stan.
A route
This routes takes you from Kungsholmen to Norrmalm and from there over Norra Järnvägsbron to Riddarholmen and over Hebbes bro to Gamla stan and from there to Södermalm over Södra Järnvägsbron. From there the route loops back to Kungsholmen.
https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/platform.jsRelive ‘Riddarholmen’
Mynksteri's site 