
Old Town Bridge with "Lykkens portal".
'Old Town Bridge' (in Norwegian ''Gamle Bybro'' or ''Bybroa bru'' is located in
Trondheim (a city and
municipality in the
county of
Sør-Trøndelag,
Norway). Bybroa crosses the river Nid or
Nidelva from the south end of ''Kjøpmannsgata'' to ''Bakklandet''. Gamle bybro was constructed in
1681 in conjunction with
Cicignon's city reconstruction and the construction of the
Kristiansten Fortress.
The bridge location was of military-strategic significance and the king assumed the cost of construction. It was completed in
1685. The bridge was built in the vicinity of the
Elgeseter Bridge, and when it was opened the older bridge was allowed to decay and collapse. Since then the ''Gamle Bybro'' has undergone many changes.
Originally the ''Gamle Bybro'' was constructed of wood, but the wood was supported on three stone piers. In the middle of the bridge an iron grill/gate was placed. This remained a guarded city gate until
1816. At each end of the bridge there was a toll and
guard house. The access house on the west end still stands, but that on the east side was taken down in
1824.
The bridge was reconstructed in
1861 by the engineer
Carl Adolf Dahl. Today ''Gamle Bybro'' is one of Trondheim's characteristic landmarks. It is also called "Lykkens portal" (''The Gate of Happiness/Luck''), after Oskar Hoddø's waltz "''Nidelven stille og vakker du er''".