The Bridge Across the Gudenå River at Falgård

At the narrowest point across the Gudenå River, on the outskirts of Ry, there was in the late 900s a 70m long bridge and dam. On both sides of the river, a 5-8m wide dam was built out into the water, consisting of large flat stones held in place by wooden posts. The remains of the wooden posts indicate that there was a freestanding bridge approximately 17m long across the middle of the river, under which the water could flow freely. The bridge was part of one of the important east-west routes in Denmark in the Viking Age – you can still see the remains of hollowed-out roads in the area – and is possibly more evidence of Harald Bluetooth’s ability to unify the country via infrastructure. In the park below the Sclerosis Hospital, Klostervej 136, Ry, there’s an info-panel about the bridge. Here you can see the narrow crossingpoint over the river, where the bridge lay.