Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Swedish 2016 Must-See Destinations
Wild waterways and peaceful lake lands “Every day at three o’clock in the summer months, the floodgates open and 300,000 litres of water per second is released. It’s quite spectacular – you just don’t understand how much water that is until you experience it,” says Maria Engström-Weber, CEO of Visit Trollhättan Vänersborg. “People come here to experience this alone.” By Linnea Dunne | Photos: Visit Trollhättan Vänersborg
The CEO also recalls, with fascination, the moment last summer when an old East India ship turned up to go through the sluice in Trollhättan. “It took some serious measuring to get this old, classic ship up the sluice,” EngströmWeber says. “Everyone was holding their breath!” Water has always been central to both Trollhättan and Vänersborg. In the case of the latter, an old marketplace, the waterway was key to the shipping and collection of iron found throughout the county, and the long beaches around Vänern – Sweden’s largest lake, technically an inland sea – made it a beneficial place to stay both out of agricultural and 74 | Issue 84 | January 2016
safety perspectives. The importance of the lake for the position of Vänersborg, which got its town privileges in 1644, as a meeting point and trading hub cannot be underestimated. In Trollhättan, it was the narrow water passages of river Göta Älv that eventually led to what was to become the town’s pride, also contributing to its name. These passages caused more than a headache as goods had to be reloaded to continue on land. But it was not until in 1800, after a range of different ideas and more than a few failed attempts, that the first sluice in Trollhättan was completed. The creation was dubbed the world’s eighth wonder and immediately became
a popular place to go for a combination of technical enlightenment and a romantic setting. And the name? People thought that there were trolls in the waterfalls, their bonnets (hättor) sticking out like mini islets.
A drink and a swim Many advancements later, both Trollhättan and Vänersborg still attract visitors thanks to its wild waterways and peaceful lake lands. “I always bring guests in Vänersborg down to the water with wooden cups, because you can actually drink the water and it tastes good!” Engström-Weber enthuses. “A lot of people come here mainly for the peace and quiet though. Vänern has 22,000 islands, so they come with their own boats and are amazed that they end up having an entire island to themselves for a week.” Vänersborg boasts 100 kilometres of Vänern coastline with everything from sandy beaches with shallow waters to