Svinesund is a

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

separating the

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 ...

municipality of

Strömstad Strömstad is a locality and the seat of Strömstad Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 6,288 inhabitants in 2010. For historical reasons, Strömstad is called a ''city'' despite its small population. Strömstad became part of S ...

in the province of

Bohuslän Bohuslän (; da, Bohuslen; no, Båhuslen) is a Swedish province in Götaland, on the northernmost part of the country's west coast. It is bordered by Dalsland to the northeast, Västergötland to the southeast, the Skagerrak arm of the North Sea ...

in the county of Västra Götaland from the

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

municipality of

Halden Halden (), between 1665 and 1928 known as Fredrikshald, is both a town and a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The municipality borders Sarpsborg to the northwest, Rakkestad to the north and Aremark to the east, as well as the Swedish muni ...

in the county of

Viken Viken may refer to: *Viken, Scandinavia, a historical region *Viken (county), a Norwegian county established in 2020 *Viken, Sweden, a bimunicipal locality in Skåne County, Sweden *Viken (lake), a lake in Sweden, part of the part of the Göta cana ...

. Two bridges, the old and new

Svinesund Bridge The Svinesund Bridge ( no, Svinesundsbrua, sv, Svinesundsbron) is a through arch bridge crossing Iddefjord at Svinesund, and joining Sweden and Norway. Svinesund is a sound separating the Swedish municipality of Strömstad from the Norwegian mu ...

, span this sound of the

Iddefjord Iddefjord ( en, Idd Fjord or Idde Fjord; no, Iddefjorden); sv, Idefjorden) is a classic fjord with a narrow watercourse and steep natural formations on both sides. It runs along the Norwegian-Swedish border from the Singlefjord ( en, Single Fjo ...

. The Swedish side is extremely popular with Norwegians who flock to buy relatively cheap goods in Sweden, where a large shopping area can be found immediately after crossing the sound. Following the inauguration of the new bridge in June 2005, both the old and new bridges are

toll bridge A toll bridge is a bridge where a monetary charge (or ''toll'') is required to pass over. Generally the private or public owner, builder and maintainer of the bridge uses the toll to recoup their investment, in much the same way as a toll road. ...

s. Norwegian and Swedish

customs Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs ...

authorities have offices and checkpoints on their respective sides of the sound. While there is not normally any passport control on the border, vehicles crossing are regularly stopped and searched. Norway is not in the EU so there are much stricter restrictions on the amount of goods (e.g. alcohol, cigarettes, food, etc.) that can be taken across the border without stopping to pay customs duties than between EU countries. Customs duties are paid immediately after crossing the border using the new bridge.

References

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{{Coord, 59, 05, 45, N, 11, 15, 35, E, region:SE_type:waterbody, display=title Landforms of Västra Götaland County Bohuslän Landforms of Viken (county) Sounds of Norway Sounds of Sweden Norway–Sweden border crossings International straits