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LIFE
ON THE CANALS
Trollhätte
Canal celebrates bicentenary
© Euromapping
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On 27 May 2000 the VEV delegations visited a fascinating canal
which forms part of the strategic route crossing Sweden from east
to west. Like the Canal du Centre in Wallonia, it retains well-preserved
structures built over two centuries while serving modern shipping
and nurturing ambitious projects for the future.
The
Trollhättan Canal celebrates its bicentenary on 14 August
2000. It connects Vänern, the largest lake in Sweden, to
the Baltic Sea through the Göta, a tranquil river over most
of its length, but which lets loose in Trollhättan just after
leaving the lake, tumbling dramatically through a rocky gorge,
fall-ing 32m in just a few kilometres.
By-passing these falls was seen as crucial for trade from the
17th century, but it seemed impossible to excavate a canal with
the necessary locks through the steep and inaccessible gorges,
until the project designed by civil engineer Nordewall in 1790.
His remarkable structures (A on the sketch) are reminiscent of
those conceived by Leonardo da Vinci through the Adda gorges at
Paderno, in Lombardy: a canal excavated in the rock beside the
gorges with two double staircase locks (here 5 and 3 chambers
respectively).
The success of the canal, inaugurated in August 1800, encouraged
Count Baltzar von Platen to take off the shelf the plan drawn
up in 1781-84 for a canal right across Sweden from east to west,
and submit it once again to the approval of King Gustav IV. The
Göta Canal was thus built, with the Scottish engineer Thomas
Telford as consultant, from 1815 to 1832.
The capacity of the Trollhättan locks, 140 tons, rapidly
proved insifficient in view of the higher capacity of the locks
on the Göta Canal, 300 tons. A second series of staircase
locks was thus built from 1838 and 1844, divided this time into
three drops, with three, four and three chambers respectively,
and a new intermediate bassin. The two series of staircase locks
remained in constant use until 1916, when the modern canal was
opened. This was originally design-ed for 1 500-ton vessels, but
progressively enlarged to 4 000-ton standards. The latest enlargement
works date back to 1974. Some ten commercial vessels navigate
the canal daily, representing an annual traffic of 3.5 million
tons. Passage through the four modern locks takes no more than
45 minutes. There are two other locks on this 82km-long waterway:
at Brinkebergskulle, down-stream of Vänersborg, with a 6m
drop, and at Lilla Edet, 20km downstream of Trollhättan,
with a 6.4m drop.
The ports of Lake Vänern have grouped together to rationalise
their infrastructure and services to shippers, in order to maintain
their competitiveness. The construction of a series of bigger
locks was even envisaged, to accommodate higher- capacity ships,
but this project has now been abandoned as unfeasible in economic
terms. There is little doubt however, that recreational and commercial
traffic will continue to share this unique waterway for at least
another century !
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A Locks
opened in 1800
B Locks opened in 1844
C Locks opened in 1916
D Waterway Authority
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E Boat
harbour and
restaurant
F Canal museum
G Outdoor exhibition |
Illustrations
by kind permission of the Sjöfartsverket (navigation authonty)
in Trollhättan.
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