The Old Town Bridge

Gamle Bybro connects the City Center With Bakklandet, and crosses the river Nidelva from the south end of Kjøpmannsgata. It was built in 1681 in connection with Cicignon’s town reorganisation, and was positioned so that it could be reached by cannons from Kristiansten Fortress. A guardhouse and customs house stood at each end of the bridge. The customs house on the west side still stands and is now used as a kindergarten. Gamle Bybro has undergone several modifications, and the bridge and gates as they stand now date from 1861.

Gamle Bybro is also known as the ‘Portal of Happiness’ after the lyrics of the popular romantic waltz ‘Nidelven stille og vakker du er’, written by Oskar Hoddø. Both the song and the characteristic appearance of the portals have probably contributed to the bridge witnessing many a marriage proposal over the years.

It is said that Hoddø wrote the waltz about Nidelva one night at the end of April 1940 while standing at Gamle Bybro. During the Second World War, Hoddø was a resistance fighter against the Nazi occupation of Norway. On 17 November 1943, he and eight other resistance fighters were executed by the Nazis at Kristiansten Fortress.

Today, Gamle Bybro is one of Trondheim’s most recognisable landmarks and is one of the most photographed motifs in Trondheim.