Øresund Bridge

An iconic link between Sweden and Denmark

The Øresund Bridge is far more than a way of getting from Malmö to Copenhagen. Spanning the Øresund strait for about 8 kilometres on its bridge section and continuing through tunnel and causeway to a total of roughly 16 kilometres, it forms a dramatic man‑made horizon between two countries. Four motorway lanes share the structure with a double‑track railway, making this one of Europe’s most important combined road‑rail links. Completed in 2000 after years of planning and political debate, the bridge instantly reshaped daily life in the region. Commuters, students and day‑trippers now move between Sweden and Denmark in around ten minutes of actual crossing time, turning the strait from a barrier into a busy corridor of activity.

Design, structure and the Peberholm island

The most recognisable part of the Øresund connection is the cable‑stayed bridge rising from the Swedish side. Its tall pylons and delicate web of cables create a clean, minimalist silhouette that feels both functional and sculptural. The structure is engineered to allow large ships to pass underneath, with the main span kept high above one of the strait’s deepest channels. Midway across, the bridge does something unexpected: it meets the man‑made island of Peberholm. Built from dredged material, this low, elongated island serves as the transition point between bridge and tunnel. From here, the road and rail lines dive into the seabed, continuing towards Denmark through one of the world’s longest underwater road‑rail tunnels before emerging near Copenhagen’s airport.

A symbol of Nordic cooperation and ambition

The Øresund Bridge quickly became a symbol of Nordic collaboration. It represents decades of shared planning between Sweden and Denmark, bringing together architects, engineers and construction teams from across the region. The project also had to satisfy environmental requirements, from protecting marine ecosystems to allowing water to circulate freely between the Baltic Sea and the Kattegat. Beyond its technical achievements, the bridge embodies an idea: that two cities and two nations can effectively operate as a single cross‑border metropolitan area. It helped fuel new business links, cultural exchange and a sense of a broader Øresund region, with Malmö and Copenhagen acting as twin urban centres on either side of the water.

What it feels like to cross

Experiencing the Øresund Bridge is as much about sensation as sight. By car, you rise steadily above the dark blue water, with pylons sliding past and wide‑open views of both coastlines on clear days. In winter, the light can be stark and silvery; in summer, the sea often glows deep green or blue, dotted with passing ships and wind farms in the distance. By train, you travel on the lower deck, occasionally catching framed glimpses of waves and sky between the bridge elements. The rhythm of the tracks, the brief emergence into daylight after the tunnel, and the sudden shift of language on station signs all underscore the feeling of crossing an invisible border at speed.

Viewing the bridge from the Swedish shore

You do not have to cross the bridge to appreciate it. Along Malmö’s coast, several vantage points give sweeping views of the pylons marching across the horizon. The structure often appears and disappears with the weather, sharp and graphic in clear conditions, almost ghostly in sea mist. At sunset, the bridge can glow with warm color while the sea turns dark, making it a favourite subject for photographers. From land, you also sense its constant movement: tiny strings of headlights and train carriages sliding back and forth, sometimes barely visible, but always present. This combination of monumental stillness and continuous motion is part of what gives the Øresund Bridge its distinct character.

Stories, culture and lasting impact

The bridge’s profile is familiar to many people who have never been to Scandinavia, thanks in part to its starring role in a Nordic crime series that placed its stark lines at the centre of the opening sequence. Its image has become shorthand for cross‑border mysteries, modern Nordic noir and the idea of Europe’s north as both connected and remote. On a more everyday level, the structure has changed how cities and people relate to one another, turning international travel into a simple hop for work, leisure or study. Whether you see it from a Malmö shoreline, rush across by train or drive its length in slow, appreciative fashion, the Øresund Bridge offers a rare combination of infrastructure, landscape and symbolism in a single sweeping line of steel and concrete.