The circle bridge

Cirkelbroen (The circle bridge) by artist Olafur Eliasson

Cirkelbroen is a bridge for pedestrians and cyclists that spans Copenhagen’s Christianshavn Canal. It links the area of Christiansbro to Applebys Plads and
makes it possible to walk, run or cycle along the Inner Waterfront of Copenhagen in a continuous line. Inspired by the Christianshavn district’s maritime history and culture, Olafur Eliasson used the sailing boat as the visual point of departure for the design of the bridge, which consists of five staggered circular platforms of various sizes, each with its own ‘mast’.

With Cirkelbroen I want to tell a story about what happens beyond Copenhagen’s prominent waterfront: a story about the intimacy that you find around the canal in the Christianshavn neighbourhood, about the unique life on the ramparts, its houseboats and sailing boats. It is a tool for reflecting on the interspaces of a city and on the frictional role that water plays in urban movement. I hope that people will stop for a while on the bridge and use it almost as a public square. The zigzag form of the bridge forces people to reduce their speed and shift their focus. It is a threshold. To hesitate on our way is to engage in bodily thought – it encourages us to renegotiate public space. I see such thoughts as an essential part of a vibrant city.

- Olafur Eliasson

Circular platforms topped by tall masts make up Cirkelbroen. Thin steel cables extend from the top of the masts to the platform’s circular railings, outlining barely perceptible conical screens around the masts – the highest of which rises twenty-five metres above the bridge. Accessible via ramps at each end, the five steel platforms vary in diameter from ten to fourteen metres and are arranged to create a staggered, zigzag path across the water. The indirect route that the construction forces people to take inspires uncertainty and pause.

The bridge is 39 metres long with a water-clearance height of 2.25 metres. One section of it functions like a swing bridge, rotating to allow large boats to pass into and out of the canal. Local sailors can open it by activating a control unit on the north ramp.

The lighting is switched on and off automatically together with the street lighting, but can also be controlled separately.

The City of Copenhagen is responsible for the bridge’s maintenance