In Norse mythology’s Ragnarok, what happens to the Bifröst bridge?

In Norse mythology’s Ragnarok, the Bifröst bridge breaks as the forces of destruction cross it. The bridge is described as unable to bear the weight of the advancing hosts, especially the sons of Muspell.

Bifröst is the rainbow bridge connecting Asgard, the realm of the gods, with the other worlds. Heimdall guards it and watches for approaching enemies. Its collapse marks the failure of a boundary that had linked the gods’ stronghold with the wider cosmos.

The breaking bridge is sometimes reduced in modern retellings to a general explosion or magical disappearance. The surviving mythological account gives a more specific image: it breaks under the passage of the hostile forces. The bridge’s destruction is part of the sequence leading into the final battle.

Bifröst is not identical to Gjallarbrú, the bridge associated with the road to the underworld. The two names are sometimes blended in popular culture, but they serve different mythological settings and functions.