Motala lock

Product description

Formal name: Föreningen
Year of construction: 1818
Technical facts: Rise of 0,1 metres.
On April 11, 1810, King Charles XIII issued the charter that gave Göta kanalbolag (the Göta Canal Company) the right to build and operate the prospective canal. The company was then assigned workers, land and forests to support the construction of the canal. In May that year, the first shovel of soil for the Göta Canal was turned and around the same time excavation began at Forsvik, on the opposite side of Lake Vättern. A first goal was to connect the lakes Viken, Vättern and Boren, thus simplifying transportation of construction materials.

Shortly thereafter work began at the canal endpoints in Söderköping and Sjötorp, as well as at Påvelstorp and Berg. It quickly became apparent that the initial cost estimates would not hold and the entire canal project was called into question. The organisation was faced with harsh criticism and some claimed that von Platen had deliberately spread the work out, so as to make cancellation impossible, whilst also making the work more costly than if it had been concentrated at just a few construction sites. There was probably some truth to the criticism and the Swedish Parliament soon realised that cancellation of the canal project was not a realistic option.