THE GÖTA CANAL
For those who are not pressed for time I can hardly imagine a more
enjoyable trip than that of travelling from Gothenburg to Stockholm
by the combination of river, lake, and canal known as the Göta Canal,
a leisurely journey of two days and a half that takes you through the
heart of the country, from coast to coast, on a line of steamers that,
though bearing much the same relationship to an ordinary passenger boat
as a Pomeranian to a wolf-hound, are models in miniature of what a
river vessel should be, accommodation, cooking, and service being all
that could be desired. The charm of this trip does not lie so much in
the beauty of the castles, churches, and lake scenery that characterise
it, as in the way in which it brings you into constant touch with the
heart-beat of the country. At times the boat glides along fertile
fields and meadows, and within sight of ancient churches, pleasant
villages, or old castle ruins; at others it makes its way across
wide shimmering lakes or passes locks innumerable that afford ample
opportunities for exercise to those desiring it. I shall not easily
forget the enjoyable days that I spent in this manner seeing mile after
mile of the most varied scenery unfolding itself before me, as I sat
lazily complacent in a comfortable deck-chair, almost hoping that
the journey would have no end. This passage across the very centre
of Sweden is so assuaging that I most heartily recommend it to all
those who hold with me that every traveller who would duly appreciate
a country that is to him virgin soil should only visit it with mind
attuned to the world, and consequently that the Göta Canal should
be regarded as a kind of portal to the more arduous Sweden which is
disclosed to the senses as soon as the last lake of Östergötland and
the Stockholm Archipelago will have been traversed. Used both as an
entrance and as an exit to Sweden, however, it is alike admirable,
since in the first instance it predisposes the mind to view everything
favourably, in the second it soon consoles the disillusioned traveller
for any shortcomings and deceptions that he will have discovered in the
rest of the country.
The credit of building a system of waterways linking up Sweden’s many
large lakes, and even the Baltic and North Sea, belongs to no modern
engineer but to a certain Catholic bishop called Brask of Linköping,
a town found on this route, who in 1525 advocated this canal in a
letter to King Gustavus I. as a means of escaping the duties that were
exacted by the Danes on shipping passing through the Sound. The work
was actually begun at a place called Norsholm, and advanced so far
that signs of it are still visible at Brask’s Ditch: only the King’s
extensive commitments in other directions preventing further progress
being made. And from that moment there was hardly a Swedish monarch
who did not recommend the project, though nothing much was achieved
until the reign of Charles XII., when Christopher Polhem finally
obtained permission from the Swedish King to “construct a passage
between Gothenburg and Norrköping by using the natural waterways as
far as possible”. The Swedish Government was to be responsible for the
financial part of the undertaking, and according to the terms of the
contract that was now signed between the King and Polhem on January 17,
1718, this engineer was to complete the canal in five years, a sum
of 40,000 silver daler being allowed him annually for expenses, with
a stipulation that any eventual deficiency would be made good by the
King. The length of the sluices was fixed at that time at 180 feet and
the breadth at 38 feet. The great engineering project was immediately
started from the side of Gothenburg, but Polhem was compelled to
abandon the enterprise at the King’s death in December of the same
year, the Council declaring that the entire project was useless, as it
was only a product of Polhem’s egoism and that it would therefore have
to be abandoned. The completion of the canal was subsequently delayed
for many years, owing to difficulties which arose attendant upon the
construction of several of the locks, and it was only in the early part
of the nineteenth century that a really concerted effort was made to
complete the work, this ultimately leading to the opening of the route
from the Cattegat to the Baltic in 1832, a result that was in the main
due to Baltzar von Platen’s extraordinary energy and driving power. The
cost incurred in completing the canal, as well as the time that was
spent in building it, were so much beyond the estimates made at the
time that there is good reason to assume that von Platen deliberately
handed in an erroneous estimate from the very beginning, so keen was
his resolve to allow no consideration to interfere with the carrying
out of his plan, and so firm his conviction that a more correct
estimate would only have torpedoed his scheme; this misrepresentation
giving Sweden a canal that, though possessing far less importance as
trade route or for war operations than many later canal constructions,
is, as a piece of engineering work, ahead of even the Suez Canal.
During the first stage of the journey the steamer proceeds slowly up
the Göta river, and after passing Jordfallet, arrives in sight of
the picturesque ruins of Bohus Castle, which dominate the two arms
of the river. Erected in 1308 by Håkon Magnusson, King of Norway,
this fortress long enjoyed the reputation of being one of the most
formidable strongholds of Scandinavia, and was also the scene of
innumerable sieges and counter-sieges in which the attacking party
invariably came off second best. King Eric XIV. invested it for over
a year and a half, only to find his best armies and most experienced
generals recoiling in defeat before its massive walls and equally
stout-hearted defenders, and it continued to live up to its proud
reputation of impregnability until the beginning of the eighteenth
century, when it was condemned as a fortress and left to fall to wrack
and ruin. Only two of its towers remain, the _Fars hatt och mors
mössa_ (the father’s hat and the mother’s cap), of which the first
is an interesting and well-preserved example of mediæval fortress
architecture.
[Illustration: THE TROLLHÄTTAN FALLS]
On the opposite shore, and immediately facing Bohus, is the little
town of Kungälv, now an unimportant village, but at one time a large
and thriving city which appears to have been the Scandinavian Geneva
of its age. Here the rulers of the three Nordic nations used to meet
in conference, and it was here again that the famous Peace Congress
of 1101 held its meetings. Kungälv did not, however, long retain its
exalted position, and after having been partly destroyed by Ratibur,
King of the Wends, at the close of the twelfth century, quickly
relapsed into comparative obscurity. Though shorn of all its former
importance, Kungälv is an attractive place to visit, especially during
the summer, and is picturesquely situated at the foot of a steep and
thickly wooded hill from which interesting views can be obtained of the
neighbouring country. Beyond Bohus are the green fields and marshes
of Hisingen island and in the far distance the chimneys and church
steeples of Gothenburg. After passing Gamla Lödöse (Old Lödöse), of
which a story relates that by command of Gustavus I. its inhabitants
removed to another locality twenty miles nearer the mouth of the river
and there built a new town on the spot now called Gamlestaden, the
steamer reaches Trollhättan and the first series of sluices that lead
up to Brinkeberg Hill, the time spent in negotiating this uphill climb
providing ample opportunity and leisure for seeing the Trollhättan
Falls and electric power station. The Falls are six in number, and
the sight of the great masses of water as they hurtle and leap down
from one rocky shelf to the other, impetuously forging their way
between rocky canyons in a frenzied descent of over a hundred feet,
is impressive to a degree. The accumulated force of this water is
more than 270,000 horse-power, of which over 170,000 have been turned
to practical use by the huge electric power station that has been
installed in the vicinity of the cataract; while of the current thus
generated part has been transformed into electricity for the lighting
of a 300-mile area and also for the Stockholm-Gothenburg railway,
and part consumed by the numerous saw and wood-pulp mills, smelting
furnaces and ironworks which have been set up near the falls. For sheer
grandeur of scenery Trollhättan compares favourably with any other
place in Sweden, and abounds with beautiful walks in the surrounding
woods, from whence magnificent views can be obtained in all directions.
Shortly after leaving Trollhättan the steamer begins what is to many
by far the most attractive portion of the journey, for lake after
lake are now traversed that, if lacking the dreamy voluptuous charm,
soft atmosphere, and luxuriant vegetation of southern lakes, are
almost equally pleasing for the exquisite loveliness of their sunsets
and the beauty of their skies. Surrounded by low-lying hills and
pine woods that often extend to the very water edge, these lakes are
strongly evocative of Canadian scenery, and from early dawn to that
golden twilight which in June is the nearest approach to night that
is obtainable in these northern latitudes, present a slowly changing
kaleidoscope of colour so rich and varied that not only does the eye
rarely weary of watching it, but even the mind refuses to do aught but
unquestioningly admire.
The steamer first glides into Lake Vänern, the largest inland lake
in Sweden, and the biggest in Europe outside of Russia. Over 2000
square miles in area, this lake is divided into two parts by two long
necks of land, each with an archipelago. Dotted here and there are
many beautiful islands and skerries, of which many call for careful
navigation, compasses being often at a discount owing to the ore lying
at the bottom of the lake.
From Vänersborg, the first port of call in the lake, we motor or drive
to Halleberg, a strange-looking hill that is now separated by a deep
valley from Hunneberg, a sister hill which was originally one with it.
Exceedingly steep and difficult of access, but equally picturesque,
Halleberg is crowned by a large plateau in which lonely waste land
alternates with small lakes and pine woods, where, if luck favours
you, giant elks evoking prehistoric times may occasionally be seen
crashing through the encircling branches. Like many other hills found
in the vicinity of these lakes, Halleberg possesses many interesting
geological features and affords a good idea of the type of Swedish
scenery that characterises this part of Sweden.
[Illustration: SJÖTORP LOCKS, GÖTA CANAL]
The steamer from here proceeds north, and after reaching the Eken
archipelago, a labyrinth of small islands and skerries which present
considerable difficulties to the navigator, rounds the promontory and
turning south calls at Hällekis, a village that is most picturesquely
situated at the foot of Mt. Kinnekulle. Towering over all the
surrounding country, this mountain is not only so extraordinarily
fertile that in early spring and summer it becomes a garden of wild
flowers, but it possesses geological characteristics that in themselves
would justify making it a special visit, there being no less than three
distinct layers of rock strata below the diorite that once covered the
entire hill. Surrounded by many pleasing valleys and woods, Kinnekulle
is during the summer months an inland rural paradise and an ideal place
for dreaming away an hour in quiet contemplation of the landscape.
Leaving Kinnekulle the steamer then proceeds north and at Sjötorp
begins a long uphill climb along the canal leading out of Lake Vänern
into the province of Västergötland. From lock to lock the boat is
gradually raised until it is more than 150 feet above Lake Vänern, this
providing a unique opportunity for getting down on shore and having a
look at the country people working in the fields. I thoroughly enjoyed
the experience, but found few fellow-passengers energetic enough to
follow my example, the great majority seeming to prefer to remain on
deck, from which they could occasionally be heard making those vapid
exclamations of admiration that pass for appreciation of beauty.
Comfortably reclining in deck-chairs and basking in the sun, it was
clear that their thoughts were little concerned with the rustic beauty
of the landscape through which they were passing, and that they only
regarded the journey in the light of a rest cure. For this regrettable
state of affairs I rather fancy the Göta Canal Company is in part
responsible, for the diminutive little steamers in which the journey
from Gothenburg is taken are so crammed full with comfort and so
similar to miniature hotels that it is perhaps not to be wondered at
that so many travellers succumb to their attractions and lazily allow
life to slip by without worrying over such trifles as scenery or old
and historic buildings. _On le ferait à moins._
Quietly and almost unobtrusively, then, the steamer glides along
fertile fields and rural landscapes, the canal being at times so narrow
that at one place after passing Lake Viken (Spetsnäset or Pointed
Ness) branches can actually be broken off the trees lining the banks.
Nothing very distinctive about the scenery, apart from its general
pleasantness, but I noticed, in addition to innumerable silver birches,
a profusion of unfamiliar trees of the ash variety lining the banks
of the canal, which I was informed were called oxel or beam trees.
Covered with white blossoms they made a pretty picture, though their
general effect was rather marred by the very pungent and sickly perfume
which emanated from their flowers, and of which I became unpleasantly
conscious as I approached nearer to the trees. I made various attempts
to bring back some of these sprays of white blossoms to the boat, but
on every occasion elected to throw away those which I had picked, owing
to their offensive and almost nauseating odour.
After crossing Lake Viken, a typical forest lake of great natural
beauty studded with rocks and small wooded islands, the steamer
proceeds down the canal, and near the point where it enters Lake
Vättern passes the powerful fortress of Karlsborg. Begun as far back
as 1820 to serve as a final base of operations against a potential
invader, this fortress was part of a scheme of defence which Carl
Johan Bernadotte, the founder of the present Royal House of Sweden,
organised just after the Napoleonic campaigns in order to make good
the wastage caused by a very exhaustive series of wars. It was thought
at the time that the fortress would take ten years to build, and
the probability is that it would have taken no longer a time if the
military authorities had not been so anxious to make it outshine every
other fortress in Europe. The result was that though any amount of work
was put into building it the Swedish military authorities submitted
so many plans and counter-plans that little was done that was not
immediately undone, in view of a possible improvement, this policy
causing the work to drag on till 1909, when the principal fort was at
last completed. Passing on from Karlsborg we then enter Lake Vättern,
the second largest lake in Sweden and perhaps the most beautiful.
Shaped somewhat like a spindle, Vättern is fed almost entirely by
subaqueous springs of purest quality which would account incidentally
for the limpidity of its waters, and possesses so many legends and
historic memories of the past that it has become invested with a charm
and attraction that are quite its own. Our next objective being the
town of Jönköping, at the southern extremity of the lake, the steamer
now takes a southerly direction, and after a few hours arrives in sight
of the mysterious Vising Island, a visit to which is almost obligatory
upon any visitor to the lake. It contains an old abbey and a castle
which was for centuries the residence of the Swedish kings, as well
as a number of runic stones that were erected in the Viking age to
the memory of warriors who had fallen in distant lands. Apart from
Mt. Omberg, with its lovely grottos and its wooded heights recalling
Kinnekulle, however, we pass nothing else of special interest until we
reach the extremity of the lake and the town of Jönköping.
An important commercial city and the centre of the match industry,
Jönköping is less frequented by tourists than the other parts of the
lake because it is not on the direct line between Gothenburg and
Stockholm and consequently is very often overlooked by English and
American tourists. It is, however, well worth visiting, if only for the
beautiful park which the municipality has had planted on the shores of
the lake and a very interesting wooden church dating from the Middle
Ages, in which I saw many quaint wall-paintings and carvings as well as
an old portal that was simply riddled with Danish bullets. Jönköping
is the most convenient headquarters for making excursions to either
Visingsö, Vadstena, or St. Bridget, while it is within easy distance
from the iron mountain of Taberg, the surrounding country being very
typical of Sweden.
Turning north again the steamer then proceeds to Vadstena, perhaps one
of the most interesting historical places in Sweden, and certainly one
of the oldest.
Dominating the town is a large sixteenth-century Renaissance castle,
built for Gustavus Vasa by Joakim Bulgerin, the best fortress architect
of his age, as a defence against Danish Sweden, an imposing edifice
forming one side of a rectangle, the others consisting of ramparts and
four circular bastions bristling with cannon embrasures, which are
surrounded by one of the widest moats that I have ever seen. A little
too massive for my taste, yet not without a certain air, and replete,
moreover, with historical memories, this building is typical of what
Augustus Hahr calls “business-like architecture or utility buildings”.
You feel that it was only constructed for a utilitarian purpose and
that Bulgerin’s principal concern was to make a fortress that would
resist both the attacks of time and those of its enemies.
Here many Swedish monarchs had their residence, including Gustavus
Vasa, who was married here to Catharine Stenbock, and Magnus, who in
a fit of madness hurled himself out of a window in order to “seize
a beautiful girl whom he had seen rising out of the waters of the
lake”. Here again many Parliaments were held, including that of 1501,
when Hans of Denmark was dethroned. Vadstena owes its proud position
as royal city almost equally to the convent which the same Magnus
Eriksson had built on the shores of the lake in 1370 for St. Bridget
and the religious order which she founded—the most influential and
respected association of the north at that time. And especially after
St. Bridget’s canonisation in 1391 the town increased in population
and in importance sufficiently to enable Queen Margaret to give it
full civic rights, while it was also entirely re-planned. Very little
remains to-day of the original convent buildings erected by Magnus,
but within the precincts of the lunatic asylum which now stands on the
old site are still to be seen one or two nuns’ cells, and also the
private chapel of the Abbess, while of the original gardens there
remain a few old pear trees dating from those early days on which the
first Bergamote pears had been grown. Apart from the castle and convent
there is little else of interest to be seen in Vadstena except the Blue
Church, an attractive towerless building of bluish-grey limestone in
which the bones of the saint and many memorials of the Middle Ages can
be seen.
[Illustration: JÖNKÖPING]
Passing on from Vadstena we next come to the town of Motala at the most
easterly extremity of the lake, and re-entering the canal begin our
gradual descent to the Baltic, after passing the stone memorial which
the townspeople of Motala erected in the early part of the nineteenth
century to Baltzar von Platen, the founder of the canal. Made of one
solid block of stone, this monument is typical of early Victorian
architecture, and a blur on the landscape. More pleasing and typical
of a scenery which from this moment is perhaps the prettiest of any
found on this journey are the many fine estates now seen on both sides
of the canal and on the shores of Boren, the next lake that we meet.
And after making its way across this very attractively wooded lake
the steamer re-enters the canal at Borensberg and there begins a slow
progression down fifteen locks in the short distance of two miles,
a feat that, taking nearly two hours to accomplish, affords a splendid
opportunity for walking to Vreta Abbey church situated near by. Built
in the twelfth century, in the reign of King Charles Sverkersson, this
old church has undergone many vicissitudes, and after being burned
to the ground in the middle of the thirteenth century was repeatedly
built over and even considerably altered in form and dimension. In
1915, however, the church was restored and excavations made, in the
course of which large parts of the old walls of the monastery building
were brought to light and freed from the thick layer of soil that had
covered them for centuries. Inside the Abbey are numerous graves of the
Middle Ages, in which are treasured the relics of the old dynasties of
the country, the most noticeable of these being the tombs of King Inge
and his queen Helena, those of Kings Magnus Nilsson and Valdemar and
Queen Sophia, and the well-preserved mortuary chapel in which members
of the Douglas family lie buried. Like most of their countrymen who
emigrated to foreign countries in the Middle Ages, the Scotch soldiers
of fortune who came over to Sweden at various moments of her history to
earn renown not only made good but rendered signal and distinguished
service to the country of their adoption, there being few fields of
activity in which they were not soon prominent.
From Vreta the journey now proceeds through Lake Roxen, there
being, however, little to detain us beyond the pleasing character
of the scenery and the town of Linköping on the southern side of
the lake, where a visit should be made, if time permits, to the
thirteenth-century Gothic cathedral which has been attributed to Bishop
Bengt, brother of the mighty Birger Jarl.
Richly decorated, this old church is one of the best examples of
fifteenth-century Gothic architecture to be found in Sweden. After
passing Norsholm, where tourists who are pressed for time can break
the journey and proceed to the capital by train, we then cross one of
the most enjoyable parts of the Göta Canal, the scenery being not only
extremely attractive but equally varied. At one moment we glide through
a lake (Asplången) whose banks are pleasantly wooded or studded with
picturesque country houses; at another we follow the sinuosities of a
canal that, winding its tortuous way through a most fertile landscape
or passing between high banks of trees whose branches sweep the
very deck of our boat, is a revelation of what engineering can do.
And passing lock after lock we reach Söderköping, once an important
commercial centre and coronation city, now one of Sweden’s principal
watering-places. Picturesquely situated almost on the shores of the
Baltic, this town abounds in enjoyable excursions, the finest of
these being the delightful though steep ascent that may be made of
the heights of Ramunderhäll on the other side of the canal. An hour
later, and as the steamer glides gently into an arm of the Baltic Sea
at Mem, the water trip across the mainland of Sweden may be said to be
completed, yet the remainder of the journey to Stockholm is no less
enjoyable than that spent along the canal. We first pass the ruins of
Stegeborg on our right, a solitary tower on the water edge dominating
the surrounding country, which is the last remnant of a castle in which
Gustavus I. and his son John III. are said to have passed the greater
part of their lives. Stegeborg has had an interesting history, and by
some authorities is declared to be of unknown antiquity, by others to
date back to the twelfth century. All, however, agree that King Birger
Magnusson held his court here at the beginning of the fourteenth
century and that after his flight it underwent many vicissitudes.
It was first captured by Mats Kettilmundsson, and then besieged in turn
by Engelbrekt, Charles Knutsson VIII., Sten Sture, and Gustavus Vasa’s
famous leader, Arvid Västgöte; the estates ultimately passing into the
possession of certain noble families connected with the Vasa dynasty,
only to be then dismantled and allowed to fall to rack and ruin.
[Illustration: VADSTENA CASTLE, LAKE VÄTTERN]
From here the steamer proceeds past Etter Sound and the deserted
copper mine of Arvidsberg along the wooded shore of the mainland
until the Arkö Sound is reached, when it cuts right across Bråviken
Bay and steers north in the direction of Oxelösund, the first of
the Archipelago lighthouses (the _Femörehufvud_ or Half-penny
Lighthouse) being passed shortly before reaching this port. These
lighthouses are not exceptionally striking to look at, but possess
a lighting apparatus that is so exceptional that I am not afraid of
wearying my readers by describing them with some detail. Around a
petroleum flame 14 inches in diameter, whose glare is intensified by a
powerful lens and driven by the heat generated by it, there revolves a
rotary plate which ensures that the flame is adequately hidden at
regular intervals from any given point, frames of coloured glass, red
or green, in the body of the lighthouse itself but interposed between
the flame and the outside world, causing that light to appear red or
green according to the position in which the observer is then standing.
This enables the position of the vessel to be correctly estimated.
These lights are so distinct that no person who is not absolutely
colour-blind should ever make a mistake as to their character, and
so carefully adjusted that as you stand on one part of the deck of
the steamer one colour is visible, while another can be observed if
you shift your position in any appreciable degree. When the course is
clear the light appears white. The archipelago is strewn with so many
rocks and skerries, however, that even with the help of these splendid
light towers the most expert navigator crossing it would be courting
inevitable danger if to his skill was not added great local knowledge
of the shoals and rocks lying in his course.
Oxelösund itself is a very thriving industrial town possessing every
natural advantage for the facilitation of transport both by land and
water, in addition to being the terminus of the Flen Oxelösund railway
and the port to which converges for transporting purposes practically
all the iron ore mined in Central Sweden. The harbour is deep and
capacious enough for the largest steamers, and enormous quantities of
iron ore are shipped from here not only to other parts of the country,
but also to Germany and Great Britain, where the high-grade Swedish
iron is in great demand for the manufacture of heavy ordnance and
plate armour. From this town, moreover, many delightful excursions can
conveniently be made, especially in the direction of Norrköping.
Continuing our journey, we then cruise in and out of narrow straits
and among skerries and rocks that are at times so close that you could
almost jump on to them from the steamer as you pass them by, there
being one particular strait called Stendörren, or Stone Door, reached
shortly after entering Örsbaken, that is so narrow and winding that
only the exercise of the greatest caution and the firmest of hands
at the helm can negotiate it successfully. From this point until
Hållsfjärden, where the boat enters the Södertälje Canal, we then
pass the most delightful scenery, the archipelago simply abounding
in picturesque pine-clad islands and rocks and furnishing endless
subjects for an artist’s canvas, while the clearness of the atmosphere
appears to endow every object with the most exquisite colouring.
These skerries, like those found in Bohuslän and in the Baltic around
Stockholm, are ideal places for fishing, boating, and yachting, and
in summer become the happy hunting-ground of numbers of Swedish men,
women, and children, who can be seen daily yachting or darting in
and out among the islands in those very light motor-boats that have
become so common a feature of Swedish life of to-day. As the islands
number many thousands, however, there are hundreds which are still
unfrequented, this ensuring a complete absence of those unpleasant
elements which tourists are apt to bring in their train, there being
countless beauty spots where even the most retiring traveller is
certain of finding peaceful solitude and oblivion from the world.
After passing through Södertälje Canal—which, incidentally, is so
narrow that even steamers as diminutive as the canal-boats belonging
to the Göta Canal Company cannot pass one another when crossing
it—the steamer follows the coast line of Södertörn and soon reaches
Lake Mälar, our course now taking us eastward in the direction of
Stockholm, through scores of channels and past even more numerous
islands set with pine and dotted with attractive red wooden houses or
with the more imposing stone castles of the aristocracy. The scenery
here recalls that seen in the archipelago of the Skärgård, with the
one distinction that the shore line that we continue to hug until we
reach the capital is no longer uniformly pine-green in colouring, this
typically Swedish landscape colour being now frequently splashed with
the more genial green tints peculiar to the elm, maple, and other less
sombre deciduous trees. A very pleasant part of the journey this last
stage. Steaming lazily along, we first come to the island of Björkö
(Birch Island) on our left, where Christianity was first preached in
Sweden by Ansgarius, in whose memory a granite cross in old Gothic
style was erected on a prominent part of the island in 1834, and then
swinging eastward follow the coast line of Södertörn, first crossing
the narrow Bockholm Sound (Buck Island Sound), perhaps the most
beautiful strait in the country. On our right we notice several fine
estates, among these the beautifully situated Sturehof Castle, and
Norsborg with its numerous graves purporting to contain the bodies
of old Swedish giants, while we pass several islands on our left
concerning which interesting legends have lingered on to this day
attesting the part which they played in the early annals of the country
or locality. Thus Estbröte recalls the history of Johan Knutsson
Folkunge, whom the Esthonians treacherously attacked and killed on
his family estate of Askanäs, only in their turn to be annihilated by
his avenging wife when they had returned to their island lair, while
Kungshatt (King’s Hat), one of the next islands that we come to, evokes
the days of King Erik Väderhatt. Stuck on the top of a high pole that
is visible from any part of the straits is a large hat which this
warrior king is supposed to have flung aside as he jumped down from
the rocks into the lake and with his horse swam across to the opposite
shore when escaping from his foes. Then after passing Fågelö (Bird
Island) and the islands of Långholmen (Long Island) and Slagstaholmen,
whose shores are lined with villas and summer residences, we obtain
our first view of the quays of Stockholm glimmering white in the water
and of the city itself, beautifully situated amid encircling and
intersecting waterways.