Brätte, originally known as Vassända, was a settlement on

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 ...

's southernmost bay, now Lake Vassbotten; it was a predecessor of today's

Vänersborg Vänersborg () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Vänersborg Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 23,882 inhabitants (out of a municipal total of 39,904) Until 1997 it was the capital of Älvsborg County, which mer ...

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 ...

Origins

It is unclear when Brätte was founded, but it was a commercial center in the early 1500s. The name Brätte was first mentioned in 1556. Its site was important because the

rapids Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep stream gradient, gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Flow, gradient, constriction, and obstacles are four factors that are needed for a rapid t ...

and waterfalls on the

Göta Älv Göta is a Swedish given name, which is the female equivalent of Göte. It may refer to: * Göta Ljungberg (1893–1955), Swedish singer * Göta Pettersson (1926–1993), Swedish gymnast Other uses * Göta, Sweden *Göta älv, a river in Swede ...

at Rånnum (current Vargön) and

Trollhättan Trollhättan () is the 23rd-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Trollhättan Municipality, Västra Götaland County. It is situated by Göta älv, near the lake Vänern, and has a population of approximately 50,000 in the city proper. It is loc ...

barred navigation to shipping on Vänern and obliged traders to unload their cargoes here for

portage Portage or portaging ( CA: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a '' ...

on the Edsvägen. In addition, roads connected to the then Norwegian

Bohuslän Bohuslän () is a Provinces of Sweden, 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 to the ...

Skara Skara is a locality and the seat of Skara Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 18,580 inhabitants in 2013. Despite its small size, it is one of the oldest cities in Sweden, and has a long educational and ecclesiastical history. O ...

and

Dalsland Dalsland () is a Swedish traditional province, or ''landskap'', situated in Götaland in southern Sweden. Lying to the west of Lake Vänern, it is bordered by Värmland to the north, Västergötland to the southeast, Bohuslän to the west, ...

. Sometime between 1580 and 1586 Brätte was granted town privileges. Brätte became its own

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

around 1600, but had become part of Vänersborg parish by 1644. During the

Kalmar War The Kalmar War (1611–1613) was fought between Denmark–Norway and Sweden. Though Denmark-Norway soon gained the upper hand, it was unable to defeat Sweden entirely. The Kalmar War was the last time Denmark-Norway successfully defended its '' ...

(1611–1613), Nya Lödöse was taken by the

Danes Danes (, ), or Danish people, are an ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. History Early history Denmark ...

and some of its population moved to nearby market towns, principally Brätte, whose population increased from 200 to 450. While Nya Lödöse was Danish, Brätte became Sweden's only place of shipment to the west until 1619 when

regained its lost areas in Älvsborg's second strike.

Decline

Brätte could not survive because militarily it occupied a poor location and the natural separation of Lake Vassbotten from the rest of Vänern prevented ships from reaching Brätte. There had already been attempts to move the town, both by

Gustav Vasa Gustav Eriksson Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), also known as Gustav I, was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560. He was previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm (''Reichsverweser#Sweden, Riksföreståndare'') fr ...

in 1560 and by

Eric XIV Erik XIV or Eric XIV (13 December 153326 February 1577) became King of Sweden following the death of his father, Gustav I, on 29 September 1560. During a 1568 rebellion against him, Erik was incarcerated by his half-brother John III. He ...

a few years later. The next attempt was made by Charles IX in 1610 after a fire destroyed six of the town's 22 houses. The intended location was privately owned, however, but in 1641 an agreement enabled the acquisition of the estate. Brätte's residents were now able to establish their new city and on February 1, 1644, Queen Christina granted regency privileges for

. The last inhabitants left Brätte in 1647.

Excavations

Archaeological excavations were made in 1918 and 1943 and the remains of the city are now visible. Many of the finds can be seen in the Vänersborg Museum, where a model (by Sören Elmqvist) depicts Brätte as it was in the early 1600s.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bratte Former populated places in Sweden Vänersborg Municipality