"Pennybridge"

Hello, Peanut here! I heard of something called "Pennybridge" today. As I am still a pup, I had not heard of it before. My Mom and the other adults explained the word for me. It is a humourous translation of the name of our home city into English.

The name of our city, Örebro, means Gravel bridge, which derives from the oldest bridge across the Svartå river at a place where there was a lot of gravel. Ör is an old Nordic word for gravel, not commonly used today. This word can also be found in names such as the Swedish town Skanör and the Danish town Helsingör, both of which lie at the Sound, which in Swedish and Danish is called Öresund. Bro is the Swedish word for bridge. The e is perhaps just added for the purpose of pronounciation, but might be due to some kind of old grammar.

Meanwhile, the smallest monetary value in Sweden, so small it is not used in coins any more due to inflation, is called öre. Hundred öre has the amount of one Swedish crown (or krona, as it is called in Swedish). The smallest English coin is the penny, so Öre in Örebro has been swaped for Penny, hence the name Pennybridge.

Mom said she hopes most people know of the humour, that the Pennybridge name is not a real translation. One cannot be sure, though, she said.

I am now considering whether I will henceforth call our home city Gravelbridge. It might be fun.