Read also the 1st part of the district report "From Gothenburg to Sjötorp: Across Sweden on the Trollhätte Canal"
There are these dream roads, these arterial routes of longing, where the journey itself is the destination. These include legends such as European Route 6 to the North Cape, the Pan-American Highway from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego or the legendary Route 66, which begins on the shores of Lake Michigan and leads all the way to the Pacific coast of California. However, wild landscapes and endless horizons are not only to be found when travelling along shiny strips of asphalt. A waterway can also keep up. It runs through the south of Sweden, from coast to coast, a kind of nautical Route 66.
Its 400-kilometre route can be divided into three sections: The first is the Trollhätte Canal, which runs northwards from Gothenburg to Lake Vänern. The journey then continues across Sweden's largest lake to Sjötorp on its eastern shore. We described both stages in YACHT 6/2024. Now the journey continues. Ahead: the Göta Canal. The destination: the Baltic Sea near Mem, south of Stockholm.
On the Göta Canal from Sjötorp to Vadstena
1 Sjötorp
The western part of the Göta Canal, the so-called Västgötadelen, begins at the lower stem gate of "Sjötorp 1". A small white lighthouse helps with the approach. Those who already have a long day behind them can first moor in the lower outer harbour. The office of the canal's operating company is located right next to the lock chamber. You can register and pay for your passage there if you have not done both online.
Sjötorp owes its fame entirely to the canal, both in the past and today. Although its days as an important trading centre are over, tourists and day trippers come here today. The canal museum located here gets you in the mood for the days of cruising ahead.
2 The locks
"Sjötorp 1" is the first of eight locks in the area of the village. The upper outer harbour for guests is located between the double chambers two/three and four/five. Please note that there are only rings and bollards for guiding the lines at the top next to the edge of the chamber. The stone lock walls, on the other hand, are completely smooth. This means that a crew member has to step over the front line ashore in front of the gate and tow the boat into the chamber in the good old fashioned way with a little motor assistance.
The average stroke is about two and a half metres; the mooring lines should be at least ten metres long. After the fore line has been passed around a bollard or through a ring and returned on board, the person ashore takes the aft line and repeats the process. It sounds complicated, but it ensures controlled procedures and has long since become routine by the time we leave Sjötorp anyway - especially as the friendly lock staff always have everything in view.
You are almost never travelling alone anyway; the lock operations ensure that small convoys form and travel through the landscape together.
3 The Västgötadelen
The fields, meadows and forests between which the waterway now winds are part of the province of Västra Götalands län, which stretches as far as Lake Vättern. This lake forms the border with Östergötland. The two sections of the Göta Canal are named accordingly. Västgötadelen connects Sjötorp with Karlsborg over a distance of 65 kilometres. After Lyrestad, it climbs in quick succession over three double and one triple lock at Hajstorp to almost 87 metres above sea level.
Töreboda is a good place to end the first day's stage. The route continues at this level for a few kilometres the next day until the Göta Canal finally reaches its highest point at 91.5 metres: Lanthöjde, marked by an obelisk. It stands on a small island that was created when a very narrow loop of the canal was subsequently straightened at this point by cutting a hole through it.
4 The Viken
Nowhere else on the route are you as close to the sky of southern Sweden as on the tranquil expanses of Viken. This is where the watershed between the coasts runs. You can enjoy the journey in peace and quiet, with wild wooded shores in the background and tiny islands in front, just big enough for a few pine trees. Narrow passages such as Brosundet are buoyed with floating bars. The passage ends with the passage of the Spetsnäs Canal and Billströmmen. At this point, the rock faces get so close that there is a one-way traffic regulation: Vehicles travelling east have priority.
In Forsvik, a plaque commemorates the fact that King Charles XIII travelled here in person in 1813 to inaugurate the first lock on the Göta Canal and Sweden's first iron bascule bridge, now a technical monument.
5 Karlsborg
The route continues across the flat Bottensjön lake to Karlsborg. The town of 5,000 inhabitants with its mighty fortress from 1870 is a garrison base. But it is not only soldiers who characterise the picture. Sand and sun attract many holidaymakers to the beach on hot days. Boat guests will find moorings between Bottensjön and Vättern on both sides of the bascule bridge at Rödesundet (vastsverige.com/en/karlsborg).
6 The Vättern
With an extension of 120 kilometres in a north-south direction and an area of 1,900 square kilometres, Vättern is only second to Lake Vänern in Sweden - but it is still four times the size of Lake Constance. The canal route leads right across: 33 kilometres separate Karlsborg from Motala on the eastern shore. While Jonköping and the island of Visingsö in the south are too far away for detours, the charming north is within striking distance. It is just under 50 kilometres through the Norra-Vätterns archipelago and the densely wooded Stora Hammarsundet to the pretty little town of Askersund. A little off the beaten track, but a real insider tip (visitaskersund.se).
7 Vadstena
This place at least should not be missed - nowhere else in the area is mooring more spectacular! In fact, the moorings for guests are located directly in the former moat just below the walls of Vadstena Castle. Gustav Wasa had the imposing castle built in the middle of the 16th century. Today it is considered a model of Swedish Renaissance defence architecture (vadstenaslott.com).
Vadstena is also home to the country's oldest town hall from the 15th century as well as the Gothic convent church of the Birgittinnen convent from 1440. You can also enjoy a delicious meal at "Wasa" on Storgatan.
On the Göta Canal from Vadstena to Mem
8 Motala
The modern "capital" of the Göta Canal was founded in 1810. The officer and politician Count Baltzar von Platen created the country's first industrial centre here in Sweden, which at the time was dominated by agriculture. The "Verkstad Motala" soon became a trademark for steam engines worldwide. The canal company still has its headquarters at the harbour today, and its founder is as close to it as ever: it was the era of late Romanticism when the Count, who was born on Rügen, died in Christiania, now Oslo, in 1829 - three years before his canal was completed. At his own request, his grave was erected on the shore in Motala, on a raised terrace with a clear view of the waterway. In 1834, the first steamship started a regular service between Gothenburg and Stockholm. Its name: "Admiral von Platen".
The floating jetties of the guest harbour are located at the entrance to the eastern half of the canal before the first lock on the northern bank (motala.se).
9 The Östgötadelen
Around 90 kilometres are still missing on the way to the Baltic Sea. This is the stretch of the eastern part of the canal, the Östgötadelen. From Motala, the route continues to descend. It starts with the Borenshult lock stairs with five successive chambers down to Boren. The ten-kilometre-long, reed-lined lake is so shallow that there are shallow spots even in seemingly open water. They are only buoyed on the south side. So be careful in poor visibility.
Another level lock follows in Borensberg. The canal then loops undisturbed through the gently undulating fields of Östergötland's old cultural landscape. Farms, grain silos and avenues characterise the landscape. Hikers and cyclists can be found on the towpath along the banks. Remote-controlled roller bridges open as if by magic for approaching yachts.
10 The sluices of Berg
The peaceful countryside ends abruptly. Behind Ljungsbro, the terrain drops steeply down to the last large lake in the canal, the Roxen. The difference in altitude is overcome by no less than eleven locks. There are exactly 28.8 metres between the top and the bottom, and as the traffic only moves in one direction at a time, it is not surprising that the experience can take several hours. Many crews spend the night in the harbour basin halfway up, still above the lock stairs. Here you are more sheltered than directly on the lake.
11 The Kinda Channel
The Roxen offers the possibility of another attractive cruise extension: the Kinda Canal branches off on the south bank near Linköping, the second historic waterway connected to the main system alongside the Dalsland Canal on Lake Vänern. Time really does seem to have stood still here: an area close to nature and full of tranquillity (kindakanal.se).
12 Söderköping
The last section of the journey has begun, with barely more than 20 kilometres to go, forest and fields again on the banks. We pass through the Asplången. Another series of double and single locks, then we reach Söderköping, the last major town on the Göta Canal. This pretty little town also attracts tourists; the guest harbour is right in the centre, surrounded by cafés and right next to the "Lock, Hop & Barrel Brewery". You can get the full view from the vantage point on Ramunderberg, which towers north of the canal (visit.soderkoping.se).
13 Mem
Shortly afterwards, the Göta Canal comes to a completely unspectacular end at the Mem lock - and with it our 400 kilometre journey on the maritime dream road across the south of Sweden, Sveriges Route 66. We have reached the east coast. Ahead lies the long Slätbaken Fjord, the beautiful archipelago of Sankt Anna and behind it the open Baltic Sea.
Once you have left the lower stem gate of Mems sluss behind you, the moorings in the outer harbour tempt you to spend the very last night on the Göta Canal - even if the ship already has salt water under its keel again.
Information and tips for the cruise
The Göta Canal
The distance between Sjötorp on Lake Vänern and Mem on the Baltic Sea is 190 kilometres, with around 85 kilometres on lakes. On the canal sections, the maximum depth in the middle of the fairway is 2.80 metres and the maximum speed is five knots. There are more than 20 guest harbours. A total of 58 locks, all but two of which (the level locks in Tåtorp and Borensberg) are manned by personnel, and a large number of movable, remote-controlled bridges have to be passed.
Opening hours & prices
This year, the low season runs from 7 May to 12 June, the high season from 13 June to 15 August and the low season from 16 August to 28 September. A one-way canal ticket for a ten-metre boat costs 8,400 Swedish kronor (750 euros) in the high season. Payment is made at the entrance to the canal or in advance online: bokning.gotakanal.se
Distances
- Sjötorp-Karlsborg: 65 km
- Karlsborg-Askersund: 49 km
- Karlsborg-Motala: 33 km
- Motala mountain: 55 km
- Mountain-Mem: 37 km
Canal weather
From mid-June to the end of August, the average daily maximum temperature is 20 degrees Celsius. The sun shines the longest in June with nine hours a day, in August it is seven hours. Precipitation falls on the Göta Canal around ten days a month in summer.
Area guide & maps
- "Törnführer Schweden 1: Die Westküste mit Trollhätte-Kanal und Vänersee Südteil" by Gerti and Harm Claußen, Delius Klasing Verlag, 39.90 euros -> order here
- Up-to-date nautical and tourist information can be found in German on the Göta Canal Company website. The "Skipperguide" brochure for the current season can also be downloaded there free of charge as a PDF (gotakanal.se/en).
- DK sports boat charts, set 14: "Göta Canal with Vänern and Vättern - Gothenburg to Mem with Göta Älv and Trollhätte Canal". Single charts, 3 transatlantic charts, 23 area and detailed charts, area guide with harbour plans and canal charts; 79.90 euros -> order here
