Baltzar von Platen - founder of the Göta Canal

In 1798, Naval officer and politician Count Baltzar von Platen was appointed to the Board of the Trollhätte Canal company. At the same time, he began work on plans for a link between the North Sea and the Baltic that was later to be known as the Göta Canal.

On 11 April 1810, Göta kanalbolag under the leadership of Baltzar von Platen was granted permission by King Karl XIII to build a Canal from Mem on the Baltic to Sjötorp on Lake Vänern.

The Canal workshops at Motala Verkstad were founded by von Platen in 1822 to manufacture equipment for building the Canal. This was also the start of a development that led to Motala being known as the cradle of Sweden's engineering industry.

Baltzar von Platen was never able to experience the splender of Göta Canal upon its completion. During 1829, three years prior to the formal inauguration in Mem during 1832, von Platen passed away. He has since then receiver a resting place near the Canal in Motala.