The ''Enköping'' is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

motor vessel, and former steam ship, that was built in 1868 at Oskarshamn. Over the years, she has operated under the names ''Östhammar'', ''Skokloster'', ''Arholma'', ''Väddö'', ''Glafsfjorden'', ''Södra Skärgården'' and ''Soten''. In 1948 she was converted to diesel power. In 1990

Strömma Kanalbolaget Ångfartygs AB Strömma Kanal, better known as the Strömma Kanalbolaget, is an operator of tourist shipping services in and around Stockholm, Sweden, as well as a number of ferry routes under the name Cinderellabåtarna in the same area. It is par ...

bought her, and she is now used for tourist services on

Lake Malaren 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 ...

and in the Stockholm archipelago. According to her owners, she is the oldest passenger ship still in service in the

Lloyd's Register of Shipping Lloyd's Register Group Limited (LR) is a technical and professional services organisation and a maritime classification society, wholly owned by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a UK charity dedicated to research and education in science and ...

, and she is a listed historic ship of Sweden.

History

''Enköping'' was built as a steam ship by the

Oskarshamn Shipyard Oskarshamn Shipyard is a shipbuilding and repair facility located in Oskarshamn, Sweden. General information The shipyard company was established in 1863, when a dry dock was built in Oskarshamn. About 540 vessels have been built and launched at t ...

in Oskarshamn and launched on the 20 June 1868. She was delivered to the Bockholmssunds Ångfartygsbolag 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 ...

for service on the route from Stockholm to

Enköping Enköping is a locality and the seat of Enköping Municipality, Uppsala County, Sweden with 30,000 inhabitants in 2018. Geography Enköping is situated near Lake Mälaren, about 78 km west of Stockholm. A comparably large number of Swedi ...

via

. Despite several changes of ownership, she continued to operate on this route until 1885. ''Enköping'' was sold to Ångfartygs AB Östhammar in 1885, for use in the Stockholm archipelago on the Stockholm to Östhammar route, and taking the name ''Östhammar''. In 1889 she was given a new engine and boiler. In November 1899 she went aground outside

Herräng Herräng () is the northernmost locality in Norrtälje Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden, with 422 inhabitants in 2010. It is located 40 kilometres north of the municipal seat Norrtälje along the coast of Singöfjärden, a bay on Roslagen. T ...

and suffered significant damage. The following year, and still unrepaired, she was sold to Ångfartygs AB Sigtuna and renamed ''Skokloster''. After repair, she returned to Lake Mälaren to operate a service from Stockholm to

Örsundsbro Örsundsbro is a locality situated in Enköping Municipality, Uppsala County Uppsala County ( sv, Uppsala län) is a county or ''län'' on the eastern coast of Sweden, whose capital is the city of Uppsala. It borders the counties of Dalarna, ...

via Sigtuna. In 1911 ''Skokloster'' was sold to Ångfartygs AB Sylfid of

Norrtälje Norrtälje is a locality and the seat of Norrtälje Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 17,275 inhabitants in 2010. It is one of the largest towns in Roslagen. History Norrtälje’s early history dates back to the Iron Age. Around 225 ...

and renamed ''Arholma''. Her new owners returned her to the Stockholm archipelago and she was put into service on the Stockholm to

Arholma Arholma is an island in the northeastern part of the Stockholm archipelago in Norrtälje Municipality. It is long by wide. It is the northernmost island in the archipelago before the Sea of Åland. The island is characterised by a picturesque com ...

service. She received a new boiler in 1912, but the following year was sold to Carl Gustaf Grönstedt, also of Norrtälje, and renamed ''Väddö''. She ran on the Stockholm to

Väddö Väddö is an island in the Baltic Sea in Roslagen district, Sweden. It is situated in Norrtälje Municipality. Together with the adjoined Björkö it is considered the seventh largest island of Sweden. Väddö is separated from the mainland by ...

route. ''Väddö'' was sold to Ångfartygs AB Glafsfjorden of

Arvika Arvika is a locality and the seat of Arvika Municipality, Värmland County, Sweden with 14,244 inhabitants in 2010. Geography The town of Arvika is situated at Kyrkviken, a bay of Glafsfjorden, Sweden's only inland fjord, a remnant of the time ...

in 1915 and renamed ''Glafsfjorden''. Her new owners used her on their services on the , a freshwater lake in the Värmland region of Sweden that has navigable access to the sea via

Lake Vänern 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 ...

and the

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 ...

. In 1919 she was sold to Ångbåts AB Byelfven, also of Arvika, and renovated, with the fitting of new roofs and sides, together with a new steam engine. In 1935 ''Glafsfjorden'' was sold to a group of individuals in Styrsö, an island off the west coast of Sweden. She was renamed ''Södra Skärgården'', and put into service between

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

and Styrsö. In 1943 she was renamed ''Soten'' and in 1948 her steam engine was replaced with a diesel engine. In 1971 she was re-engined, and in 1978 sold to Rederi AB Soten of

Kungshamn Kungshamn (''King's Landing'') is a locality and the seat of Sotenäs Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 3071 citizens (in 2011).

, who operated her on a service from

Lysekil Lysekil () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Lysekil Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had about 7,600 inhabitants in 2018. Situated on the south tip of Stångenäs peninsula at the mouth of Gullmarn fjord, it ...

to Kungshamn. In 1990, she was sold to Ångfartygs AB Strömma Kanal, better known as

, who returned her to her original name of ''Enköping'' and to the waters of Lake Malaren.

Operation

The ''Enköping'' is operated by

in the

area on cruises through

and the Stockholm archipelago. She has a length of , a beam of and a draft of . She has a top speed of and carries 148 passengers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Enköping (1868) 1868 ships Passenger ships of Sweden Ships built in Oskarshamn