In Åtorp, you will find the county's longest and most beautiful stone arch bridge. Spanning 98 meters, the bridge leads the old Letstigen over the waters of the Letälven river.
The County's Longest Stone Arch Bridge
Since 1817, an impressive stone arch bridge has crossed the river Letälven. The bridge, with its five spans (98 meters), is the longest and best-preserved stone arch bridge in Örebro County. At the eastern bridgehead, there are inscriptions from 1751, which probably refer to an earlier wooden bridge located a bit further north.
An Old Ford
Here in Åtorp, the road has crossed the river for a long time; initially, there was a simple ford. The old Letstigen is documented in writings from the 1520s. During the Middle Ages, there was a chapel nearby where travelers could stop and pray for safety on their continued journey. The community of Åtorp grew around the new church, Nysunds Church, which began construction in the early 1600s (read more about Nysunds Church). The name Åtorp, mentioned in writings as early as the 1500s, indicates that Letälven was previously called "å."
Roads and Bridges Through History
The oldest travel routes followed ridges and watercourses. It was often easier to travel by water than by land. Winter travel on snow and ice was the best. Over running water, people used rafts and ferries, and over marshes, they laid corduroy roads of brushwood and logs. Later, wooden bridges began to be built, possibly as early as the Viking Age. In the 1600s, the most important roads were improved so that people could travel by horse and carriage. Stone arch bridges became common in the 1700s and were built throughout the 1800s. Around 1900, concrete bridges began to be built. In the 1950s and 60s, cars became common, and major road construction took off, leading to the modern road network.
204, 69370 Åtorp
In the centre of Åtorp, 15 km south of Degerfors.
