Trollhättan () is the 23rd-largest city in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, the seat of

Trollhättan Municipality Trollhättan Municipality (, semi-officially ) is a municipalities of Sweden, municipality in Västra Götaland County in western Sweden. Its seat is located in the stad (Sweden), city of Trollhättan. The municipality was created gradually in 19 ...

Västra Götaland County Västra Götaland County () is a county or '' län'' on the western coast of Sweden. The county is the second most populous of Sweden's counties and it comprises 49 municipalities (''kommuner''). Its population of 1,616,000 amounts to 17% of S ...

. It is situated by

Göta älv The (; "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 Ice Lake to ...

, near the lake

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

, and has a population of approximately 50,000 in the

city proper A city proper is the geographical area contained within city limits. The term ''proper'' is not exclusive to city, cities; it can describe the geographical area within the boundaries of any given locality. The United Nations defines the term as " ...

. It is located 75 km (46 mi) north of Sweden's second-largest city,

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

History

Trollhättan was granted

city rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

(which today have no legal effect) in 1916 at which time it had about 15,000 inhabitants, now grown to 59,058. Trollhättan was founded on the river

, at the

Trollhättan Falls Trollhättan Falls is a waterfall in the Göta river () in Sweden. The falls starts at Malgö Bridge in central Trollhättan, and has a total height of 32 metres, making up a large part of the 44 metre total fall of the river from Vänern to Kat ...

. The site was first mentioned in literature from 1413. Trollhättan had a strategic significance on the road between Västergötland and Norway. It was also of a commercial and political significance for shipping to and from

. Utilization of the river falls was the first important business activity in the area. From the Middle Ages milling and sawing operations have been conducted where the city center is now located. For centuries, Trollhättan Falls was an obstacle for boats travelling the river, until a

lock Lock(s) or Locked may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainme ...

system was completed in the 19th century. In 1795 the English writer

Mary Wollstonecraft Mary Wollstonecraft ( , ; 27 April 175910 September 1797) was an English writer and philosopher best known for her advocacy of women's rights. Until the late 20th century, Wollstonecraft's life, which encompassed several unconventional ...

visited Trollhattan on her trip through Sweden, Norway and Denmark. She described in one of her letters her observations of the canal under construction, and the falls. It has since been updated several times, and the present locks were finished in 1916. In the late 19th century,

hydropower Hydropower (from Ancient Greek -, "water"), also known as water power or water energy, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, ...

was developed in Trollhättan. The Swedish energy corporation

Vattenfall Vattenfall is a Swedish multinational corporation, multinational electrical power industry, power company owned by the List of government enterprises of Sweden, Swedish state. Beyond Sweden, the company generates power in Denmark, Finland, Germa ...

took its name from the falls in Trollhättan. Today the city has two operational hydropower stations, Olidan and Hojum. Trollhättan is also home of

King Oscars Bridge King Oscars Bridge (known as Oscarsbron in Swedish) is a single arch concrete bridge which spans the Göta River at the Trollhättan Falls in the town of Trollhättan Trollhättan () is the 23rd-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Trollhättan ...

, for a long time one of Sweden's biggest tourist attractions, owing to its impressive views of the Trollhättan Falls. On 22 October 2015, a mass stabbing occurred at Kronan School, a high school.

Name

The name ''Trollhättan'' itself was originally used only for the falls area. The name ''Trollhättan'' is translated as "

troll A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human bei ...

bonnet A bonnet is a variety of headgear, hat or cap. Specific types of headgear referred to as "bonnets" may include Native American *War bonnet, feathered headgear worn as an earned military decoration by high-ranking Plains Indians United King ...

". The latter part "''hätta''" could also mean mountain top. The water that splashed from a large rock at the bottom of the waterfall (before the hydro dam was built) was imagined to look like a troll's hat. Other former names of the site are ''Eiðar'' and ''Stora Edet''; the latter lives on in the name of the south-bordering municipality of

Lilla Edet Lilla Edet is a locality and the seat of Lilla Edet Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 4,862 inhabitants in 2010. Lilla Edet was the smallest of three settlements that were burnt down in Sweden on 25 June 1888. The wooden to ...

. Sticker on Saab car window

Industry

The manufacturing company

Nydqvist & Holm AB NOHAB (Nydqvist & Holm AB) was a manufacturing company based in the city of Trollhättan, Sweden. History The company was founded by Antenor Nydqvist, Johan Magnus Lidström and Carl Olof Holm in 1847 as ''Trollhättans Mekaniska Verkstad'' as ...

(now NOHAB) was based in the city of Trollhättan dating from 1847. Further industries quickly followed. Dating from the 19th century, Trollhättan formerly housed the headquarters and main production plant of

Saab Automobile Saab Automobile AB () was a automotive industry, car manufacturer that was founded in Sweden in 1945 when its parent company, Saab AB, began a project to design a small automobile. The first production model, the Saab 92, was launched in 1949. ...

and subsequently the headquarters and a production plant of

National Electric Vehicle Sweden NEVS AB (an abbreviated form of "National Electric Vehicle Sweden") was a Swedish electric car manufacturer which acquired the assets of Saab Automobile from a bankruptcy estate in 2012. After facing numerous financial difficulties, the compa ...

(NEVS). It also has a number of industrial facilities, headed by

GKN Aerospace GKN Ltd is a British multinational automotive and aerospace components business headquartered in Redditch, England. It was a long-running business known for many decades as Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds. It can trace its origins back to 1759 ...

(previously known as

Volvo Aero Volvo Aero was a Swedish aircraft engine, aircraft, guided missiles and rocket engine manufacturer. It became ''GKN Aerospace Engine Systems'' following the company's acquisition by British engineering conglomerate GKN during 2012. It was ori ...

) and its contractual suppliers. As with parallel locations elsewhere in Europe, much of its production has moved from

heavy industry Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); o ...

professional services Professional services are occupations in the service sector requiring special training in liberal arts and pure sciences education or professional development education. Some professional services, such as architects, accountants, engineers, d ...

and the creation of

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...

. As of 2011, Trollhättan hosts a film production complex known as Trollywood; movies shot there include '' Show Me Love'' (''Fucking Åmål''), ''

Dancer in the Dark ''Dancer in the Dark'' is a 2000 musical psychological tragedy film written and directed by Lars von Trier. It stars Icelandic musician Björk as a factory worker who suffers from a degenerative eye condition and is saving for an operation to p ...

'', ''

Melancholia Melancholia or melancholy (from ',Burton, Bk. I, p. 147 meaning black bile) is a concept found throughout ancient, medieval, and premodern medicine in Europe that describes a condition characterized by markedly depressed mood, bodily complain ...

'', ''

Dogville ''Dogville'' is a 2003 experimental drama film written and directed by Lars von Trier. It features an ensemble cast led by Nicole Kidman, Lauren Bacall, Paul Bettany, Chloë Sevigny, Stellan Skarsgård, Udo Kier, Ben Gazzara, Patricia Clarks ...

'' and studio scenes for ''

Lilya 4-ever ''Lilya 4-ever'' () is a 2002 tragedy film written and directed by Lukas Moodysson, which was released in Sweden on 23 August 2002. It depicts the downward spiral of Lilja Michailova, played by Oksana Akinshina, a girl in the former Soviet Union ...

''. The movie studio

Film i Väst Film i Väst (English: "Film in West") is a film company located in Trollhättan, Sweden, nicknamed "Trollywood"), founded in 1992 by the Älvsborg County Council. Lars von Trier used its facilities in his movies, such as ''Dogville'' and '' ...

centered here produces about half of the Swedish feature-length films.

Trollhätte Canal

During the 17th century, work on a system of locks began and the first lock was completed around 1607 at

. During the 18th century several unsuccessful attempts were made to complete the locks. In 1718 a contract was signed by the government and

Christopher Polhem Christopher Polhammar (18 December 1661 – 30 August 1751) better known as Christopher Polhem (), which he took after his ennoblement in 1716, was a Swedish scientist, inventor, and industrialist. He made significant contributions to the econ ...

(1661–1751) for construction of a canal between Kattegatt and Lake

and from Vättern to the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

. Trollhätte Canal first begun construction in 1718. In 1800, Baltzar von Platen (1766–1829) completed the locks. Larger locks were later built under

Nils Ericson ''Friherre'' Nils Ericson (born Nils Ericsson; 31 January 1802 – 8 September 1870) was a Swedish mechanical engineer who built canals and railways in Sweden. His younger brother John Ericsson, who emigrated first to England and then the U ...

(1802–1870). The further construction of the

Göta Canal The Göta Canal () 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 Aniansson, ''Sustainab ...

enabled larger boats to pass through Trollhätte Canal.

Trollhättan Church

Trollhättan Church (''Trollhättans Kyrka'') belongs to the Trollhättan congregation in the

Diocese of Skara The Diocese of Skara () is the oldest existing diocese in Sweden. It was originally a Latin bishopric of the Roman Catholic church, but since the Protestant Reformation has been a Lutheran diocese within the Church of Sweden, with its seat in S ...

. Between 1860 and 1862, the New Trollhätte Canal Company (''Nya Trollhätte Kanalbolag'') built Trollhättan church. It was inauguration in 1862 and was handed over to the congregation as a gift. The church is erected in a neo-Gothic style after drawings by architect Adolf W. Edelsvärd (1824–1919). It consists of a longhouse with a north–south orientation. To the south is the tower with main entrance and to the north is a polygonal

cairn A cairn is a human-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehistory, t ...

. It is located on a cliff in the Göta River in the middle of the canal system. At the expense of the canal company, a sacristy was built in the north-west in 1896–1897 with a rise to the pulpit, and the same year came glass paintings designed by Folke Zettervall (1862–1955). The window paintings in the choir, which was installed in 1962, are done by artist Ralph Bergholtz (1908-1988). The church was restored in 1983–84 with Jerk Alton as architect.

Sports

Trollhättan hosted Division B of the

2017 Bandy World Championship 2017 Bandy World Championship was the 37th Bandy World Championship and was held in Sweden. The games in Division A were played in Göransson Arena in Sandviken, 29 January to 5 February. The games of Division B were played in Slättbergshall ...

.World Championship Bandy 2017
/ref> The following sports clubs are located in Trollhättan: * IFK Trollhättan *

FC Trollhättan FC Trollhättan is a Swedish football club located in Trollhättan currently playing in Division 1. Background The club was founded in 2001, when the old rivals Trollhättans IF and Trollhättans FK decided to merge. In their first ever le ...

* Skoftebyns IF *

Gripen Trollhättan BK Gripen Trollhättan BK is a bandy club in Trollhättan, Sweden, formed in 1936. The club was named Gripens BK 1936–1988. The men's team played in the Swedish first division in the seasons 1973–74, 2001–02, 2002–03 and 2004–05. In the 2 ...

Gallery

Trollhättans Kyrka.jpg, Trollhättan Church Trollhattefallen.jpg, Trollhättan Falls Olidans kraftstation, Trollhättan.jpg, Olidan Hydropower Station Neue Schleuse (1916), Trollhätte-Kanal.jpg, Trollhättan Canal Trollhättan Water Tower.jpg, Trollhättan Water Tower

Notable people

* Alexis Ahlgren - long distance runner *

Rune Almén Rune Almén (born 20 October 1952 in Trollhättan, Västra Götaland County) is a former Swedish track and field athlete who competed in the high jump. Almén became the Swedish junior champion in high jump three years in a row between 1970 and ...

- high jumper *

Arne Andersson Arne Andersson (27 October 1917 – 1 April 2009) was a Swedish middle distance runner who became famous for his rivalry with his compatriot Gunder Hägg in the 1940s. Andersson set a 1500 metres world record in Gothenburg in August 1943 with ...

- runner *

Frank Andersson Frank Öivind Stefan Andersson (9 May 1956 – 9 September 2018) was a Swedish wrestler and entertainer. He started in wrestling, winning several world championship gold medals as well as a bronze medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles ...

- wrestler and entertainer * Gustaf Andersson - footballer *

Jessica Andersson Jessica Elisabeth Andersson (born Jessica Arvidsson on 27 October 1973) is a Swedish singer and songwriter. She was part of the Swedish duo Fame with Magnus Bäcklund between 2002 and 2006 after they met at the reality television show '' Fame ...

- singer/songwriter * Johan Andersson, artist * Bertil Antonsson - wrestler * Hans Antonsson - wrestler * Ada Arnstad - Norwegian politician *

Rebin Asaad Rebin Asaad (born 31 October 1994) is a Swedish professional footballer of Kurdish-Iraqi descent who plays as a midfielder for Österlen FF. Early life Asaad was born in Trollhättan, Sweden, to Iraqi parents of Kurdish descent. At age four, hi ...

- footballer *

Lennart Bengtsson Lennart Bengtsson (born 5 July 1935) is a Swedish meteorologist. His research interests include climate sensitivity, extreme events, climate variability and climate predictability. Career Bengtsson was head of research at the European Centre for ...

- meteorologist *

Anna Björk Anna Cecilia Björk (born 12 March 1970 in Trollhättan) is a Sweden, Swedish actor, actress. Now she works at the Royal Dramatic Theatre. Selected filmography *1989 - ''Flickan vid stenbänken'' (TV) *1993 - ''Chefen fru Ingeborg'' (TV) *1996 - ...

- actress * Benjamin Björklund - painter *

Erik Carlsson Erik Hilding Carlsson (5 March 1929 – 27 May 2015) was a Swedish rally driver for Saab. He was nicknamed "''Carlsson på taket''" ("Carlsson on the roof" in reference to Astrid Lindgren's children's book character) as well as ''Mr. Saab'' ...

- rally driver * Dan Corneliusson - footballer * Erik Dahlin - footballer * Johan Dahlin - footballer *

Rasmus Dahlin Rasmus Erik Dahlin (; born 13 April 2000) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman and Captain (ice hockey), captain for the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL). Having been referred to as the most talented player available ...

- ice hockey player *

Claes Eriksson Claes Ingvar Eriksson (born 27 July 1950) is a Swedish people, Swedish film director, director, screenwriter, Revue, revue artist, comedian, actor and composer.Anders Eriksson - comedian * Christofer Erixon - composer and music producer * Linus Fagemo - ice hockey player *

Kim Fransson Kim Fransson (born 7 June 1982 in Trollhättan, Sweden), is a Swedish singer-songwriter, scoring Sverigetopplistan successes during 2009. He is particularly known for taking part in the first season of the series ''Made in Sweden'', along with ...

- singer/songwriter * Kerstin Granlund - comedian and actress *

Sven Haglund Sven Anders Fredrik Haglund (born January 13, 1980, in Trollhättan) is a Swedish sport shooter. He has been selected to compete for Sweden in rifle shooting at the 2004 Summer Olympics, and has attained numerous top ten finishes in a major inter ...

- sport shooter *

Per Jonsson Per Christer Jonsson (born 21 March 1966 in Stockholm, Sweden) is a former speedway rider who won the Speedway World Championship in 1990, and finished runner-up in 1992. He earned 65 international caps for the Sweden national speedway team a ...

- paralympian * Per Kågeson - scientist and author * Anton Kurochkin - footballer *

Marjut Heinonen Marjut Heinonen (born October 28, 1976, in Trollhättan, Sweden) is a Finnish sport shooter. At age thirty-one, Heinonen made her official debut for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where she competed in women's skeet shooting. She placed se ...

- Finnish sports shooter *

Simon Hedlund Simon Fredrik Hedlund (; born 11 March 1993) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Allsvenskan club Elfsborg. Hedlund joined IF Elfsborg at the age of 16 and debuted in the Allsvenskan in 2012. In 2016, he moved to U ...

- footballer *

Arne Hülphers Arne Gunnar Valter Hülphers (April 4, 1904, Trollhättan – July 24, 1978, Norrköping Municipality) was a Swedish jazz pianist and bandleader. Hülphers played early in his career at the club Felix-Kronprinsen, from 1924 to 1927, and played in ...

- jazz pianist * Robin Jansson - footballer *

Jay-Jay Johanson Jäje Folke Andreas Johansson (born 11 October 1968), better known by his stage name Jay-Jay Johanson, is a Swedish singer-songwriter, known for his melancholic vocals. His music has integrated the trip hop genre until now even if he also inclu ...

- singer/songwriter * Jakob Johansson - footballer * Jan Karlsson - wrestler *

Kristian Karlsson Kristian Gunnar Karlsson (; born 6 August 1991) is a Swedish professional table tennis player. Career Born in Trollhättan, Västra Götaland, Karlsson started to play table tennis in his hometown club at the age of 8. He remained in Trollhätt ...

- table tennis player * Per Kågeson- author and scientist *

Tuomo Könönen Tuomo Könönen (born 29 December 1977) is a Finnish football coach and a former professional football player. Career statistics Club International Honours MYPA *Veikkausliiga: 2005 *Finnish Cup: 2004 RoPS *Finnish Cup: 2013 ...

- Finnish footballer * Pernilla Larsson - football referee *

Peter LeMarc Peter LeMarc (born Peter Lenn Marc Fransson, 23 October 1958) is a Swedish singer and songwriter. He made his record debut in 1982 and broke through in 1987, when the album ''Peter LeMarc'' sold gold. Since then he has released several successfu ...

- singer/songwriter * Jan Lööf - illustrator and author *

Håkan Mild Stig Håkan Mild (born 14 June 1971) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder. He is best remembered for his time with IFK Göteborg, with which he won four Swedish Championships. A full international betwe ...

- footballer * Viktor Morozov - Russian footballer *

Peter Nyborg Peter Nyborg (born 12 December 1969), is a Swedish former professional tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of ...

- tennis player *

Clark Olofsson Clark Oderth Olofsson (later known as Daniel Demuynck; born 1 February 1947) is a Swedish criminal. He has received sentences for attempted murder, assault, robbery, and dealing narcotics, and has spent more than half of his life in prison in Sw ...

- criminal * Tom Pettersson - footballer *

Paul Sahlin Paul Sahlin (born Paul Johansson; 30 March 1955), known by his stage name Paul Paljett, is a Swedish singer, songwriter and musician. Later he became a funeral director. He is well known for songs like the 1977 Svensktoppen ''Svensktoppen'' () ...

- singer/songwriter *

Rolf Santesson Rolf Santesson (1916–2013) was a Swedish lichenologist and university lecturer. He was awarded the Acharius Medal in 1992 for his lifetime contributions to lichenology. Early life and education Santesson was born in 1916 in Trollhättan, Sw ...

- lichenologist *

Gitta-Maria Sjöberg Gitta-Maria Sjöberg (born 25 July 1957) is a Swedish operatic soprano who celebrated her 25th anniversary as a soloist with the Royal Danish Theatre in 2013. She has frequently performed outside Denmark, especially in Germany and Sweden as well ...

- operatic soprano *

Jayne Svenungsson Jayne Christine Svenungsson (1973) is a Swedish theologian and philosopher who holds the chair in Systematic Theology at Lund University. Her field of research lies within political theology, aesthetics and the philosophy of history. In Septembe ...

- theologian and philosopher * David Urwitz - singer and musician *

Nils van der Poel Nils Göran Svensson (born Nils Göran van der Poel; ; 25 April 1996) is a retired Swedish Speed skating, speed skater who is the current World and Olympic record holder and 2022 Olympic champion in the World record progression 5000 m speed skati ...

- speed skater * Janne Wallenius - reactor physicist * Ulla Westermark - numismatist * Simon Westlund - speedcuber * Jigs (band) - band *

Lord Belial Lord Belial is a Swedish black metal band. History The band formed in 1992 and released their debut album in 1995; placing them among the pioneers of Swedish black metal. Their sound has been compared with bands such as Dissection Dissecti ...

- black metal band

References

External links

Trollhättan City Website in EnglishVisit Trollhättan Vänersborg
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Trollhattan Municipal seats of Västra Götaland County Swedish municipal seats Populated places in Trollhättan Municipality Cities in Sweden nn:Trollhättans kommun