Olaus Magnus - On Narrow Passages when Approaching Harbour

Baggensstäket (also Baggarstäket or Södra stäket) is a

strait A strait is an oceanic landform connecting two seas or two other large areas of water. The surface water generally flows at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in either direction. Most commonly, it is a narrow ocean channe ...

in the Stockholm archipelago, between the island of Värmdö and the mainland (

Södermanland Södermanland ( or ), locally Sörmland, sometimes referred to under its Latin form ''Sudermannia'' or ''Sudermania'', is a historical province or ''landskap'' on the south eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Östergötland, Närke, Västmanla ...

). It is part of the

waterway A waterway is any navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other languages. A first distinction is necessary b ...

between the

firth Firth is a word in the English and Scots languages used to denote various coastal waters in the United Kingdom, predominantly within Scotland. In the Northern Isles, it more usually refers to a smaller inlet. It is linguistically cognate to ''fj ...

of and

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

of . The waterway continues northwards through to

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

. The strait is shallow and narrow and can only be traversed by small vessels with up to

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vessel ...

. Traffic through the strait is heavy in summertime.

Etymology

Baggenstäket, like the nearby

Baggensfjärden, probably was given its name after the naval hero

Jakob Bagge Jakob Tordsson Bagge (1 May 1502 – 14 January 1577) was a Norwegian born, Swedish admiral and nobleman. Biography Bagge was born the son of Norwegian nobleman Thord Olofsson Bagge and his wife Ingeborg Jakobsdotter. Both he and his father ...

, who owned the nearby estate on Värmdö.

History

Baggensstäket, which was known as ''Harstäket'' earlier, was since time immemorial the southern waterway between Stockholm and the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

. Until the 13th century the main waterway led through Baggensstäket, Lännerstaviken, and Järlasjön to Hammarbysjön; later it passed Lännerstaviken och Skurusundet. Baggensstäket was the main waterway to Stockholm until the end of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, when the

post-glacial rebound Post-glacial rebound (also called isostatic rebound or crustal rebound) is the rise of land masses after the removal of the huge weight of ice sheets during the last glacial period, which had caused isostatic depression. Post-glacial rebound a ...

made the channel shallower while at the same time ships progressively had larger drafts. It is also probable that the waterway was made more impassable by filling it with

rubble Rubble is broken stone, of irregular size, shape and texture; undressed especially as a filling-in. Rubble naturally found in the soil is known also as 'brash' (compare cornbrash)."Rubble" def. 2., "Brash n. 2. def. 1. ''Oxford English Dictionary ...

. Such filling with rubble may have been done during conflicts between 1518 and 1520. After the

Swedish War of Liberation The Swedish War of Liberation (1521–23; sv, Befrielsekriget, lit=The Liberation War), also known as Gustav Vasa's Rebellion and the Swedish War of Secession, was a rebellion and a civil war in which the nobleman Gustav Vasa deposed King Chri ...

, king

Gustav Vasa Gustav I, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known as Gustav Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560, previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksföre ...

ordered a clearing of the waterway.

Eric XIV Eric XIV ( sv, Erik XIV; 13 December 153326 February 1577) was King of Sweden from 1560 until he was deposed in 1569. Eric XIV was the eldest son of Gustav I (1496–1560) and Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg (1513–1535). He was also ruler of Est ...

decreed that all ships from foreign countries were to be inspected in

Vaxholm Vaxholm is a locality and the seat of Vaxholm Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden. It is located on the island of in the Stockholm archipelago. The name Vaxholm comes from Vaxholm Castle, which was constructed in 1549 on an islet with this nam ...

and pay

toll Toll may refer to: Transportation * Toll (fee) a fee charged for the use of a road or waterway ** Road pricing, the modern practice of charging for road use ** Road toll (historic) The road toll was a historical fee charged to travellers and ...

fees for goods transported to Stockholm. In response, some merchants transferred their cargoes to smaller vessels which were passed in via Baggensstäket, which in this manner became a well-utilized

smuggling Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various ...

route. Charles IX decreed in 1602 that a toll station would be placed in Baggensstäket as well. The station was placed at the narrowest point of the strait and is named ''Knapens hål'' ("Knaap's hole") after one of the first customs officials, Olof Knaap. In 1680 the toll inspection was moved from Baggenstäket and Vaxholm to Blockhusudden. Architect

Nicodemus Tessin the Younger Count Nicodemus Tessin the Younger (May 23, 1654 – April 10, 1728) was a Swedish Baroque architect, city planner, and administrator. The son of Nicodemus Tessin the Elder and the father of Carl Gustaf Tessin, Tessin the Younger was the middle ...

, owner of nearby , offered to deepen Baggensstäket to a depth of eight Swedish feet, in return for the privilege to collect a "boom fee"; this was collected from ships which couldn't pass a

boom barrier A boom barrier, also known as a boom gate, is a bar, or pole pivoted to allow the boom to block vehicular or pedestrian access through a controlled point. Typically the tip of a boom gate rises in a vertical arc to a near vertical position. Boo ...

placed in the water at a certain depth. He received this privilege in 1704. The clearing of the strait was done with "90 prisoners, over 40

dalecarlian Dalecarlian (''dalmål'' in Swedish) is a group of East and West Scandinavian languages, and their respective dialects spoken in Dalarna County, Sweden. Some Dalecarlian varieties can be regarded as part of the Swedish dialect group in Gästrik ...

s, 12 timbermen, 24 horses and drivers". In April 1705 the work was completed, even if Tessin didn't manage to make the waterway as deep as he had promised. It was through Baggensstäket the

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...

came to Sweden in 1710. A boat from Pernau in

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

had the contagion onboard and when the skipper died at the Erstavik inn at Baggensstäket, the plague gained a foothold in the country. In 1719 a

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n invasion fleet attempted to reach Stockholm through Baggensstäket, but were beaten back by Swedish forces at this last line of defence (see

Battle of Stäket The Battle of Stäket was a minor battle during the Great Northern War. A probing Russian force, circumventing Vaxholm Castle, attempted to pass through Baggensstäket, a very narrow passage in the Stockholm archipelago. After a counterattack ...

). Shortly thereafter three new

redoubt A redoubt (historically redout) is a fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on earthworks, although some are constructed of stone or brick. It is meant to protect soldi ...

s were built on both sides of the strait. After the

treaty of Nystad The Treaty of Nystad (russian: Ништадтский мир; fi, Uudenkaupungin rauha; sv, Freden i Nystad; et, Uusikaupunki rahu) was the last peace treaty of the Great Northern War of 1700–1721. It was concluded between the Tsardom of ...

in 1721 these defensive works started decaying; in 1742-1743 temporary fortifications had to be erected. The 19th and early 20th centuries saw several proposals of widening and deepening the waterway being laid forth, in order to reopen a convenient route for Stockholm-bound sea traffic from the south. None were accepted, one reason being that this would require further expenditures for new fortifications. An alternative was proposed in 1893: a

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

south of Baggenstäket at the bay of Moranviken, a distance of less than a kilometer. Between 1853 and 1947 Gustavsbergsbolaget had the responsibility for maintaining the waterway. The company financed its traffic and the maintenance by among other things extracting a fee from deep-going vessels at Knapens hål. For this purpose a guard booth was built around 1870. There the guard would collect the fee with a håv until 1945, when the last guard retired. Sjöfartsverket took over the responsibility in 1947. In the autumn of 1985 Knapens hål was

dredged Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing da ...

and widened and new erosion protection was installed.

Etymology

History

See also