User:Relikvie/Grasshopper Bridge

Grasshopper Bridge

Head of the grasshopper

Græshoppebroen (the grasshopper bridge) or Karrebæksmindebroen connects Karrebæksminde to Enø near Næstved.

The current Karrebæksminde bridge is a bascule bridge with a circa 100 metric ton counterbalance. It is comprised of 14.8 tons of old horse shoe and 5 tons of axle steel and the entire bridge weighs 200 tons.

When the bridge opened in 1936 it was grey in colour but in 1988 the business association Karrebæk/Karrebæksminde Erhvervsforening initiated a renovation of it. The cause was the 50 year jubilee since first using the bridge. The artist Tonny Hofman is employed to adorn the bridge in the image of a grasshopper.

On 16 July 1988 the bridge is named The Grasshopper. The naming was officiated by member of harbour and city councils Birgit Jørgensen who was also the chair of the harbour's jubilee comittee. As part of the ceremony 60 live grasshoppers were released. Local musician Bjarne Nilsson wrote a song for the bridge.

In 2003 the bridge cracks and is again renovated though not painted in its green grasshopper colour

In 2005 Karrebæk/Karrebæksminde Erhvervsforening once again initiated adornment of the grasshopper and a young artist from Næstved, Lizette Rosager, is chosen for the task. Although the adornment is a large expense for the association they finally manage to gather the DKK {{gaps|280|000}} to pay for the project.

On 3 June 2006 the grasshopper is unveiled in a new form. The unveiling was officiated by town mayor Henning Jensen.

The bridge is kept in its original green colour and has received new face markings and antennae made from just over 1000 kg of copper.

Grasshopper Bridge is closed for four weeks in September 2020 for repairs. Pedestrians and cyclists may still pass the bridge.

External links

Karrebæksminde-broen er verdens største græshoppe Archived 2009-06-27 at the Wayback Machine

[[Category:Enø]] [[Category:1936 establishments]] [[Category:Buildings and structures in Næstved Municipality]] [[Category:Bascule bridges]] [[Category:Road bridges in Denmark]]