communication between the Venner and the sea at Gottenburg, and
the Malar falls into the sea at Stockholm. The only places that required
to be joined by a canal, are the lake Venner and the Hjellmar,
a distance of about 48 miles, but which is so intersected with rivers
and lakes as to be reduced .perhaps to one-half, indeed to much less, if
the river Nosta, or Svarton, as it is called in the maps, could be
rendered navigable. The distance between the Hjellmar and the
Malar does not exceed a few miles. There are four places where the
river Gotha is not navigable: just where it issues from the lake, the
falls o f Trollhatte, another fall a little farther down called the tall of
Akerstream, and at Edet, where a bed of rocks rise s in the middle of
the stream.
The lakes Hjellmar and Maler are united by the canal o f Arboga,
begun by Queen Christina, widened and deepened by Charles XI. and
completed under Charles XII. Being the property of the crown it was
so much neglected as to become useless. But in 1769 seven merchants
of Örebro undertook to repair it at their own expense, on condition
that they should receive the toll of the vessels that should pass through
i t It is broad enough to receive two barks abreast, and its least depth
is eight feet.
A canal was cut between the navigable part of the Gotha and the
lake Venner, by Charles IX., and called by him Carlsgraf Canal. In
Charles XII.’s time a sluice was erected, which gave way almost as
soon as finished. Charles’s object was to lay up his frigates during
winter in the lake Venner, and this was the cause of a great part of
the expense to which he put the kingdom. A new sluice was finished
in 1764. It was 40 feet long, 18 broad, and 12 high. Being too
small for the intended purpose, a new one was cut in 1768, by
Gustavus III. It is 400 feet long, and consists o f two locks, each 200
feet in length. The greatest depth of the water is 13, the lowest six
feet. Vessels of 80 tons burthen easily pass through it, and when the
water is high it admits vessels o f 130 tons.
Prodigious exertions were made by Charles XII. to cut a navigable
passage through the very middle o f the falls o f Trollhatte: but the
works constructed Were not sufficiently strong, and could not resist
the violence of the river. The nation was dreadfully disappointed at
this failure, after such vast sums had been expended upon the undertaking.
They accused the engineer o f having purposely failed in consequence
of a bribe received from Denmark. The real cause o f the
failure was the absurdity o f the measures projected, which were pro-
probably conceived by Charles XII., whose imagination must have
been delighted by their magnificence. In 1793 this plan o f rendering
the falls o f Trollhatte navigable, which had been so often and unsuccessfully
attempted by the Kings of Sweden, was taken up by a
private company, with transferable shares, and completed without
any difficulty in seven years. The method which they adopted was to
join the river above and below the falls by a canal cut through the
gneiss rock, 011 the e a s t sid e uf the river. This canal is 1400 feet long,
about 24 feet wide, and eight deep. Towards the lower end there are
five very magnificent locks. The workmanship o f this canal is excellent,
and the whole view o f it gives much pleasure to the spectator.
It is generally described by travellers as a work o f unheard-of difficulty.
In fact, however, it is not so difficult to make a canal through a rock
as through loose sand. To cut through a rock is indeed more expensive;
but nothing is wanted to ensure success except industry and perseverance.
When the canal is once dug, the whole labour is over: on the
contrary, in digging a canal through a sandy country, .the labour is to
begin after the canal is cut. Much expense and address are necessary
to prevent the water from oosing through the sand, and leaving the
channel dry.
The little canal at Akerstram was began in 1774, and finished
about 1781. A cut was also made at Edet, but as I did not see it, I
cannot venture to give any account of it. Thus the whole o f the projected
inland navigation is now completed, except the junction o f the
Venner and the Hjellmar, and this canal is at present going on, and in
considerable forwardness. Mr. Tellford, from England, examined the
ground, and furnished a plan; and by his advice the execution of the
work was entrusted to the care of Mr. Bagge, a young Swedish gentle