Hjälmare Kanal

Hjälmaren Canal ( sv, Hjälmare kanal ) is a 13 kilometres long

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 ...

that connects

Lake Hjälmaren A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

with

Lake Mälaren A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. The canal was taken into use in 1639, aimed to transport iron from the Central Swedish Mining District to Stockholm and further abroad. Plans to extend the canal west of Örebro to Lake

Vänern Vänern ( , also , ) is the largest lake in Sweden, the largest lake in the European Union and the third-largest lake of all Europe after Ladoga and Onega in Russia. It is located in the provinces of Västergötland, Dalsland, and Värmland in ...

and further to

Göta älv The Göta älv (; "River of (the) Geats") is a river that drains lake Vänern into the Kattegat, at the city of Gothenburg, on the western coast of Sweden. It was formed at the end of the last glaciation, as an outflow channel from the Baltic Ic ...

were never realized (hilly area). Instead

Göta Canal The Göta Canal ( sv, Göta kanal) is a Swedish canal constructed in the early 19th century. The canal is long, of which were dug or blasted, with a width varying between and a maximum depth of about .Uno Svedin, Britt Hägerhäll Anianss ...

, located further south and taken into use in 1832, fulfilled the aimed function of connecting the Baltic with the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

. Traffic on the Hjälmaren Canal was frequently discontinued due to a considerable maintenance need, which is why the canal was relocated in 1830. The relocation led to radically decreased maintenance costs and increased reliability. But the canal's importance diminished in the late 19th century due to competition from

rail transport Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a p ...

. At the same time Sweden's metallurgic and timber industry came to focus on provinces far further north in Sweden. Since the reconstruction of 1830, 9

canal lock A lock is a device used for raising and lowering boats, ships and other watercraft between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water lev ...

s lower the boats 22 metres down to Lake Mälaren. Boats may not exceed the dimensions 30x7 metres and a maximum draught of 1.9 metres. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hjalmare Kanal Government-owned companies of Sweden Canals in Sweden Norrström basin Canals opened in 1639 1639 establishments in Sweden