Where do I find Nybron? Well, you don't. But perhaps, in a sense, you just might.
In the Middle Ages, Berzelii Park of today was a bay of the Baltic Sea called Packaretorgsviken or Katthavet. Its rim was at a market place, known as Packaretorget, where ships moored and cargoes were unloaded. The bay was crossed by a bridge, Gamla Ladugårdsbron.
Ladugårdslandsbron on a map from 1642. Source: Stockholms stadsmuseum
1642
In order to connect the island of Blasieholmen with the so called Ladugårdslandet on the other side (roughly where you will today find the end of the street Nybrogatan, adjacent to the Royal Dramatic Theatre) a new bridge was constructed on a much grander scale. This was Nybron. It measured close to 200 metres and had a draw bridge to allow the ships to pass into the bay and moor at Packaretorget. Nybron was also called Ladugårdslandsbron, Nya Ladugårdslandsbron and Stenbron.
In the 1830s, Nybron was modernized and new cast iron railings were erected. These were manufactured at the Ludwigsberg workshop in Stockholm and ornated with elaborate marine life motives.
As the dry land continued to rise, the shoreline receded and the bay became shallow and marshy. Ultimately, the bay had become a swamp.
Nybron (Ladugårdslandsbron) 1855. Source: Stockholms stadsmuseum
1855
Shortly after the modernization of the bridge, it was therefore decided that the bay should be filled. To no little degree this decision came about due to the influence of His Majesty the King Karl XIV Johan. Where the bay had previously been, a park was constructed. The park was named after the Swedish professor of chemistry, Jöns Jacob Berzelius. A statue of Berzelius still stands at the centre of the park.
In time, the pressure on the bridge from the land that filled in the old bay, or Berzelii park, as it then was, became too much for the bridge to withstand. It was decided to also fill the bay on the east side of the bridge, towards present day Nybrokajen. As a consequence, Nybron ceased to exist.
But not entirely. One of the sturdy cast iron railings remained. It still stands, almost defiantly, along the east side of Berzelii park, separating the park from Nybroplan.
The ornaments of the railings inspired the logo of Nybron Advokater, courtesy of DOT Stockholm
Birger Jarlsgatan 33 Ι 111 45 Stockholm Ι Sweden Ι info@nybronadvokater.se Ι Reg. No. 969796-7587
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