Norrström is one of the shortest rivers in Europe in central

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 connects

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 ...

with 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 ...

. It runs from

Riddarfjärden Riddarfjärden (, "The Knight Firth") is the easternmost bay of Mälaren, Lake Mälaren in central Stockholm. Stockholm was founded in 1252 on an island in the stream where Lake Mälaren (from the west) drains into the Baltic Sea (to the east); to ...

, north of

Gamla stan Gamla stan (, "The Old Town"), until 1980 officially Staden mellan broarna ("The Town between the Bridges"), is the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Gamla stan consists primarily of the island Stadsholmen. Officially, but not colloquially, Gamla stan ...

, to

Stockholms ström Stockholms ström (The Stream of Stockholm), also known as Strömmen (The Stream), in Stockholm is the innermost part of Saltsjön, a bay of the Baltic Sea. It continues into Lake Mälaren through Norrström and Söderström. See also *Geogra ...

(the western part of

Saltsjön Saltsjön is a bay of the Baltic Sea that extends from Stockholm archipelago to the inner city of Stockholm. Its innermost part reaches the eastern shore of Gamla stan at Skeppsbrokajen. It is navigable for large craft and the major ferry lines ...

). Two islands lie within it,

Strömsborg Strömsborg () is a small islet in central Stockholm, Sweden, located north of Stadsholmen, and west of Helgeandsholmen, between the bridges Centralbron, a motorway passing through central Stockholm, and Vasabron. Strömsborg is part of Gamla s ...

and

Helgeandsholmen Helgeandsholmen () is a small island in central Stockholm, Sweden. It is located north of Stadsholmen, and east of Strömsborg, with which, together with Riddarholmen, it forms Gamla stan, the old town of Stockholm. Helgeandsholmen contains the ...

. It is one of two natural waterways between Mälaren and the Baltic sea, the other being Söderström south of Gamla stan. Norrström is crossed by

Centralbron Centralbron (, "The Central Bridge") is a major bridge in central Stockholm, Sweden, connecting the northern district Norrmalm to the southern Södermalm. It is 1,200 metres long and consists of two viaducts passing over Söderström ("Southern ...

and the adjacent pedestrian bridge,

Vasabron Vasabron (Swedish: "The Vasa Bridge") is a bridge over Norrström in central Stockholm, Sweden connecting Norrmalm to Gamla stan, the old city. The bridge is, unintelligibly, named after King Gustav Vasa (1496–1560), perhaps because of the vic ...

Riksbron Riksbron (Swedish: "The National Bridge" or "The State Bridge") is an arch bridge in central Stockholm, Sweden leading from Drottninggatan on Norrmalm over to Riksgatan on Helgeandsholmen. The name is derived from the bridge's proximity to se ...

north of Helgeandsholmen which continues into Riksgatan and Stallbron south of the island,

Norrbro Norrbro (Swedish for "North Bridge") is an arch bridge over Norrström in central Stockholm. It extends north from the northern front of the Royal Palace passing over Helgeandsholmen in front of the Riksdag building, and from there over to Gustav ...

crossing Helgeandsholmen, and Strömbron. While the majority of the river flows north of Helgeandsholmen, a small controlled portion known as the runs south of the island, between it and Gamla stan. As the water level of Mälaren is usually higher than that of the Baltic, the current normally runs from west to east. Norrström is not navigable for traffic between Mälaren and the Baltic, though whitewater kayakers often use it for training. A great number of fish species can be caught there, among them sea trout and

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...

, which makes Norrström a popular destination for sport fishers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Norrstrom Rivers of Stockholm County Mälaren * Geography of Stockholm