Halden Canal
Encyclopedia
Halden
is a both a town and a municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The seat of the municipality, Halden is a border town located at the Tista river delta on the Iddefjord, the southernmost border crossing between Norway and Sweden.-History:...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
begun construction in 1852. The canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
allows boats to make a journey parallel to the Swedish border of 75 km from Tistedal to Skulerud
Skulerud
Skulerud is a village in Akershus, Norway....
. Engebret Soot
Engebret Soot
Engebret Soot is known as the father of the Halden Canal in Norway. He constructed locks and canals for the transport of both watercraft and timber.-Biography:...
(1786 - 1859) was responsible for this canal, as well as the earlier Soot Canal
Soot Canal
The Soot Canal, constructed in 1849, has Norway's oldest sluice gates. It was the work of Engebret Soot . It was built to allow timber to be transported to the Halden sawmills. The canal was 1.5 km long and had 16 locks which extended from Lake Skjervangen at 185 m above sea level up to Lake...
.
Locks
Four sets of locksLock (water transport)
A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is...
(sluser) control the water in the canal. Between 1857-1860 the Strømsfoss and Ørje locks were built. In 1865 the Stenselv river portion of the canal, with two locks at Krappeto, was completed. The locks in the Halden Canal can pass vessels which are 24 m in length, 6 m in beam
Beam (nautical)
The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...
and of 1.6 m draft
Draft (hull)
The draft of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull , with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained...
.
Ørje sluser is located at the north of the system, near Ørje
Ørje
Ørje is the administrative centre of Marker municipality, Norway, not far from the Swedish border. Its population is 1,763.Ørje is known for its canal museum and steamboat club. Engebret Soot made the first Norwegian canal locks at Ørje in about 1857-1860 . The total lift of the locks are 10...
. These facilities include a canal lock museum and three canal lock chambers with a total elevation difference of 10 meters. The canal lock gates are operated manually. Ørje was built in 1860. At Ørje, a standing stone
Standing stone
Standing stones, orthostats, liths, or more commonly megaliths are solitary stones set vertically in the ground and come in many different varieties....
has been erected for the canal constructor Engebret Soot
Engebret Soot
Engebret Soot is known as the father of the Halden Canal in Norway. He constructed locks and canals for the transport of both watercraft and timber.-Biography:...
.
Strømsfoss sluse is located near Strømsfoss
Strømsfoss
Strømsfoss is a village in Aremark municipality, Norway. Here, the Øymarksjøen-Rødenessjøen-Ara-Aspern-Femsjøen watershed meets the national road between Aremark and Rakkestad as well as the county road between Aremark and Ørje. Strømsfoss has a watermill museum, housed in an old mill built in...
(in the middle of this system) and has one canal lock gate and 2 meter elevation height. The locks were built in 1860.
Brekke sluse (in the south of the system) is Northern Europe
Northern Europe
Northern Europe is the northern part or region of Europe. Northern Europe typically refers to the seven countries in the northern part of the European subcontinent which includes Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Finland and Sweden...
's highest canal lock system. Brekke has four canal lock chambers and a height difference of 26.6 meters. The Brekke locks were completed in 1924.