Hjälmaren ( or ), also spelled Jälmaren, is

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 ...

's fourth largest lake. It is situated in the

Central Swedish lowland The Central Swedish lowland ( sv, Mellansvenska sänkan, Mellansvenska låglandet) is a large region of low relief and altitude in Sweden spanning from the Swedish West Coast at Bohuslän to Stockholm archipelago and Roslagen at the Baltic Sea. T ...

and drains through

Eskilstunaån Eskilstunaån (''Eskilstuna River'') is a small river in Sweden, length 32 km, running through the city of Eskilstuna and the town of Torshälla in Södermanland County. The river drains Lake Hjälmaren into Lake Mälaren Mälaren ( , , ...

into the adjacent Lake

Mälaren Mälaren ( , , or ), historically referred to as Lake Malar in English, is the third-largest freshwater lake in Sweden (after Vänern and Vättern). Its area is 1,140 km2 and its greatest depth is 64 m. Mälaren spans 120 kilometers from e ...

, which in turn drains into 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 ...

, west of

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 ...

. It is connected by waterway with Stockholm by the 13 kilometres long

Hjälmare kanal Hjälmaren Canal ( sv, Hjälmare kanal ) is a 13 kilometres long canal that connects Lake Hjälmaren with Lake Mälaren in Sweden. The canal was taken into use in 1639, aimed to transport iron from the Bergslagen, Central Swedish Mining Distric ...

. It is bounded by the

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

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 ...

Närke Närke () is a Provinces of Sweden, Swedish traditional province, or ''landskap'', situated in Svealand in south central Sweden. It is bordered by Västmanland to the north, Södermanland to the east, Östergötland to the southeast, Västergö ...

, and

Västmanland Västmanland ( or ), is a historical Swedish province, or ''landskap'', in middle Sweden. It borders Södermanland, Närke, Värmland, Dalarna and Uppland. Västmanland means "(The) Land of the Western Men", where the "western men" (''västerm ...

. Hjälmaren is 63 kilometres long, about 20 kilometres wide, and has an average depth of 6 metres, and a surface of 483 km². The town of

Örebro Örebro ( , ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, sixth-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of the Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers in ...

is situated at the western end of the lake. The lake itself is an iconic part of Sweden with music festivals taking place on the banks of the lake. Several notable bands played there, including

The Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also referred to as simply Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chamb ...

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...

and

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, guita ...

. Between 1878 and 1887, a damming project lowered the surface level of Hjälmaren to free up land for agriculture and to reduce the risk of flooding. Rebel

Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson (1390s – 27 April/4 May 1436) was a Swedish nobleman, rebel leader and military boss of German ancestry. He was the leader of the Engelbrekt rebellion in 1434 against Eric of Pomerania, king of the Kalmar Union. Enge ...

was assassinated in 1436 at Engelbrektsholmen, an islet in Lake Hjälmaren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hjalmaren Norrström basin Lakes of Södermanland County Lakes of Stockholm County

See also

References