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, north of
Gamla stan, to
Stockholms ström (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 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 Rik ...
. 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 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 vicin ...
,
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 seve ...
north of Helgeandsholmen which continues into Riksgatan and
Stallbron
Stallbron (Swedish: "The Stable Bridge") is an arch bridge located in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching some 20 meters over Stallkanalen it connects Riksgatan passing through the Parliament Building on Helgeandsh ...
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
Strömbron (Swedish: "The Stream Bridge") is a viaduct in central Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching over Norrström, it is connecting the old city Gamla stan to the northern-central district Norrmalm, or, more specifically, to Blasieholmen near the ...
.
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
Sea trout is the common name usually applied to anadromous (sea-run) forms of brown trout (''Salmo trutta''), and is often referred to as ''Salmo trutta'' morpha ''trutta''. Other names for anadromous brown trout are sewin (Wales), peel or peal ...
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