The Inner Harbour Bridge is an essential part of Copenhagen's famed bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. A 180-metre-long bridge that links the inner city with Christianshavn, it makes the two tourist attractions of Nyhavn and Freetown Christiania new neighbours. It’s also part of the Christianshavn bicycle route that takes cyclists from the heart of the city to the green commons of Amager.
When the idea for the bridge was presented back in 2011, it was quickly nicknamed ‘the Kissing Bridge’ – as the first retractable bridge in Europe. It closes by moving two central spans horizontally towards each other to form a gentle kiss at the centre. However, problems riddled construction from the start, and ‘the Kissing Bridge’ became known for a long time as ‘the Missing Bridge’. But thankfully all that is history now.
Initial estimates predicted that between 3,000 and 7,000 cyclists would cross the bridge daily, but with numbers quickly surpassing 16,000, Inderhavnsbroen has far exceeded expectations and become an instant success.
It not only saves cyclists valuable time on their morning commutes, but public viewing platforms also provide pedestrians with unbeatable views of the magnificent architecture and bustling life of the inner harbour.
