Hjälmare Canal

Hjälmare Canal is a 13 kilometres long canal that connects Lake Hjälmaren with Lake Mälaren in Sweden.

The canal was taken into use in 1639, aimed to transport iron from the Central Swedish Mining District to Stockholm and further abroad. Plans to extend the canal west of Örebro to Lake Vänern and further to Göta älv were never realized. Instead Göta Canal, located further south and taken into use in 1832, fulfilled the aimed function of connecting the Baltic with the North Sea.

Traffic on the Hjälmaren Canal was frequently discontinued due to a considerable maintenance need, which is why the canal was relocated in 1830. The relocation led to radically decreased maintenance costs and increased reliability.