In Upperud there are two locks with a difference in altitude of five meters. This is part of Dalslands Kanal, (see previous post here). The first iron work of Dalsland was founded here in 1647 and in 1840 it was the largest in the area. In the old nearby mansion Napoleons niece, princess Christine Egypta Bonaparte lived together with her husband Arvid Posse.
Don’t let water get in your way, make a waterway. Ha de Gött!
On the fortress walls of Fredriksten Festning. Two cannons, tools of war. Protection or assault at the whim of a self-, or Grace of God appointed ruler. Human history, hard wired to self destruct. Enemy and brother.
Two cannons to frame this lanscape photo of Halden and Idefjorden. Squeezed between cannons, the prosperous city with peaceful trade. Open ports and safe passage between borders. Railroad tracks to travel near and far.
Two hundred years of peace between the nations, even if there was a bit tension when the union was dissolved in 1905. Let’s hope that these cannons only serve to frame pictures for two hundred more years. Serving as a beacon of peace all around the world.
War machines belong in museum, ha de Gött!
A windswept Klädesholmen in the distance. As many of the small island villages it is today mainly summer houses. It is believed to date back to the 1200 when the Norwegian king Håkon Håkonsson established many communities around Viken. Viken is an old name for Bohuslän and the coastline up to Oslo. There is a theory that the name for Vikings originates from this area.
Wind power, ha de Gött!
The 32,5 meter long aqueduct in Håverud is hold together by 33 000 rivets. Manufactured by Bergsunds Mekaniska in Stockholm. Not a single rivet has been replaced since the inauguration in 1868. It is part of Dalslands kanal, Canal of Dalsland that with a serie of locks connects the lakes from the larges lake in Sweden Vänern to Östervallskog in Värmland just one kilometer from the Norwegian border. By digging and blasting through the rock for 12 kilometers and waterway of 240 kilometers was created. With the canal in Trollhättan and the river Göta Älv goods could be transported to the port of Göteborg.
The work was a father and son project led by the brilliant engineers Nils Ericsson and his son Werner Ericsson. With 31 locks in 17 stations they created this blue highway through the deep forests of west Sweden. The jewel in the crown is the passage with the aqueduct and locks that cross the fierce waterfall in Håverud.
Something to reflect upon when looking at today’s climate challenges. Ha de Gött!
According to WordPress this is my post number 500. To write about milestones makes perfect sense.
Milestone originates back to the Roman Empire where they used them to mark the distance to Rome. Between each pole shaped stone, miliaria, the distance was one thousand dubbel steps, mille passus, approx 1483 meters.
In Sweden they were introduced by law in 1649 and was used until 1890. Back then local farmers was obliged to act as driver or supply horses for the nobles and officials travels across the kingdom. The milestones was introduced to create a way calculate a fair fee.
They used the Swedish mil that was 18000 alnar, cubit, that equals to 10688 meters. Today a Swedish mile is 10000 meters. If you ever get lost driving in Sweden and you get help with directions be sure to ask if they use Swedish miles.
Drive safe, ha de Gött!
The ‘Påskbrasa’ Easter bonfire tradition stems back the mid 1700 when Dutch merchants in Göteborg brought this to the Swedish west coast. The fires was meant to scare of the witches returning from the island Blåkulla where they been indulging in orgies with the Devil. There is also a link to the burning of alleged witches that took place all over Europe during the 1600.
The Easter bonfire is a tradition in the northwestern part of Europe, Austria and Switzerland. Like many Christian church traditions this has it roots in the folklore. Fires were lit in the breaking point between winter and spring, to help spring to win over the cold and dark winter.
Keep the fire burning for all that is good, ha de Gött!
A few days ago I wrote about this skerry without a name. Can’t have that my Mother-in-law said. After some digging in the local history books she found a name reference in connection with a rather sad story. The name is Hällbergsskäret. The name comes from a poor family with the name Hällberg that lived in a small cottage on the beach close to the spot where I took the picture.
In 1895 two orphans, a brother 18 years old and a younger sister 13 years old embarked on a voyage in a small row boat from Kalvö to Lammö. With only a 100 meters left to row go the boat sunk and the two youngsters drowned. The reason why the boat sunk is not mentioned. The distance between the two islands is just a little more than one kilometer.
Even the smallest places has a history, ha de Gött!
The small village Gullbringa, tucked in behind the rocks. In the past all houses was placed so that it was sheltered from the winds. Specially the north and the west winds. This made easier to keep the warmth in the houses. In the past all wood was used to cook fish-oil during the herring periods.
Herring usually lives far out in the oceans but in periods, between 10 to 20 years, the shoals move close to the coast. This made it possible to capture huge amounts of herring even with smaller boats. Result was a economic boost to the area. The challenge was the almost 100 years between when people needed to find other income sources.
Nothing lasts forever, ha de Gött!
Framed by the alder branch you see the cliff ‘Riddarsprånget’. Translates to ‘knights leap’. According to the local folklore a knight was chased up on the cliff. Outnumbered and with chasers rapidly closing in on him, he spurred his horse over the cliff. Wether the knight and his horse survived the 30 meter fall remains untold. If the knight stripped off his steel Armour before, he might have swimmed ashore together with his faithful runner on this very beach.
Don’t let anything weigh you down, ha de Gött!
The windmill of Ulseröd, just outside Havstenssund, was built in 1900 and was in operation until 1939. During this period new technology made it possible for the farmers to mill their grain in small electrical mills. This together with the urbanization made the windmills obsolete.
The windmill of Ulseröd was saved from decay by Tanum Local Folklore Society and Havstenssund Community Association. A major renovation took place in 2013 to 2016. The windmill wings were rebuilt, the facade wood replaced and painted red, windows replaced. Find out more here (in Swedish). In my opinion, by volunteer heroes saving this piece of history for the future.
The windmill type is a smock mill, also called Dutch type. The top, or the smock cap, can be turned by the windmill operator to capture optimum wind. It’s an old well tested design that already Leonardo da Vinci made a sketch for. Special feature of Ulseröd windmill is the two parallel milling stations. Check out the fictional story I wrote a year ago about the windmill here. Stay tuned for interior pictures.
Against the wind is power, ha de Gött!
UlleHaddock 