LIFE ON THE CANALS

Trollhätte Canal celebrates bicentenary


© Euromapping


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 !

 


A    Locks opened in 1800
B    Locks opened in 1844
C    Locks opened in 1916
D    Waterway Authority


E    Boat harbour and
      restaurant
F    Canal museum
G    Outdoor exhibition

Illustrations by kind permission of the Sjöfartsverket (navigation authonty) in Trollhättan.