The Øresund or Öresund Bridge is a
combined
two-track rail and four-lane road bridge-tunnel across the Öresund
strait. It is the longest combined road and rail bridge in Europe and
connects the two metropolitan areas of the Öresund Region: the Danish
capital of Copenhagen and the Swedish city of Malmö. The international
European route E20 runs across the bridge and through the tunnel via the
two lane motorway, as does the Öresund Railway Line. The construction
of the Great Belt Fixed Link and the Øresund have connected mainland
Europe to Sweden and the rest of Scandinavia. The bridge was designed by
the Danish architectural practice Dissing+Weitling.
The reason for incurring the additional cost and complexity of building a
tunnel instead of another section of bridge is to avoid obstructing
aircraft from nearby Copenhagen Airport and to provide a clear path for
shipping. The bridge crosses the border between Denmark and Sweden, but
due to the Schengen Agreement and the Nordic Passport Union there are no
passport controls. There are frequent customs checks at the toll booths
for those entering Sweden but not for those entering Denmark.
Stamp Issue: 2000.05.09
