Did you know that... • there are approximately 10,000 wrecks at the bottom of Lake Vänern.
• there are 16,000 pleasure boats on Lake Vänern.
• Lake Vänern’s very own mythical creature is called Koffa and is, according to legend, half infant and half burbot.
• 700,000 people get their drinking water from Lake Vänern.
• the water of Lake Vänern makes up one third of freshwater supplies in Sweden.
• the entire population of the earth would fit onto the surface of Lake Vänern.

8/1 A feeling for paper 9/1 Harness racing at Axevalla Travbana 10/1 Eagle weekend at Lake Hornborga 13/1 A feeling for paper 18/1 Eagle weekend at Lake Hornborga

Dalsland Canal - one of Europe’s most beautiful waterways

One of the most beautiful waterways in Europe, the Dalsland Canal connects a labyrinth of large and small lakes and rivers, and idyllic, meandering canals. Only ten kilometres of the canal is man-made; the rest is a 240-kilometre navigable system of lakes with a total of 31 locks at 17 different stations.

One of the highlights of the canal is at Håverud - completed in 1868, it is a combination of a roadway bridge, a railway bridge and an aqueduct. Not far from Håverud is the Hantverkshuset or House of Crafts, one of Sweden’s largest and most diverse, beautifully located by Lake Upperudshöljen and a few hundred metres from Dalsland’s Museum. The Dalsland Canal is a popular fairway for pleasure craft, canoes and passenger boats.

History – a monument of cultural significance

Ironworks owners push for a canal
In the 18th century, several ironworks appeared along the Upperud river. All the ironworks owners from the Dalsland-Nordmarken region wanted to canalise the Upperud river system, to remove the most difficult stretches from Upperud upstream to Laxsjön lake. Most of the ironworks and sawmills were located by the rapids where we now find the locks of the Dalsland Canal.

Canal of strategic and political significance
In 1863 the Swedish parliament finally gave the go-ahead for the construction of the Dalsland Canal. The political situation in the country had very much to do with the positive decision: In 1814 Denmark was forced to cede Norway to Sweden and a canal through Dalsland-Värmland would have both strategic and political significance. The construction was completed in four rather than the estimated seven or eight years, and in September 1868 the canal was opened, amidst much rejoicing, by King Charles XV.

Competition from rail and road
The competition from trains and lorries increased towards the end of the 1950s.
The last barge left Dalsland’s Canal in the early 1970s and the income from the transport of pulpwood through the locks ceased completely.

Tourism saves the day
In the end, the Dalsland Canal was saved by tourism. Traffic through the locks increased dramatically in the 1970s and 1980s. More passenger boats began to operate on the canal. Today more than half of the canal users are international guests.

Dalslands Kanal AB
Kyrkogatan 14
662 31 Åmål
Tel: 0532 - 104 66
Fax: 0532 - 10477
E-mail:
www.dalslandskanal.se

Suecia ofrece escapadas sin punto de comparación para 2009. Fresh flicks at the 32nd Gothenburg International Film Festival Try Swedish eco-tourism at its finest with newly accredited nature tour: walking in West Sweden for £105 pp Pre-Christmas treats – Swedish weekend packages from £108 pp Cruise into Christmas within the Gothenburg archipelago for £40 pp

Most wanted this week

Sjötorp Säteri Fishing & Recreation Beaver safari in southern Dalsland Stay at farm Stora Holmen - Norra Vånga Liseberg amusement park Adventure Pool Stay at farm -Storegården 1, Norra Vånga Torrekulla Golfklubb, Göteborg Onsjo Farm Cottage, Vara, Sweden Källö-Knippla Island - Gothenburgs archipelago Deepsea angling with Daisy