Norrström is one of the shortest rivers in Europe in central Stockholm. 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 fr ...

. It runs from

Riddarfjärden Riddarfjärden (, "The Knight Firth") is the easternmost bay of 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); today the ...

, 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 st ...

, 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 Mälaren, Lake Mälaren through Norrström and Söderström (Stockholm ...

(the western part of Saltsjön). 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. 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 ("Souther ...

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 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 Gust ...

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 In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of e ...

and

salmon Salmon () is the common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of ...

, which makes Norrström a popular destination for sport fishers.

References

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