Trollhättan is a town in the region of Västergötland. Over the centuries, the place has has been strategically important on the road to Norway and along the Göta Älv with ship traffic to Lake Vänern. A settlement slowly arose on the site of the large waterfalls, where boats had to be transported overland. The first locks to overcome this were established in Lilla Edet in the early 17th century during the rule of Charles IX. Trollhättan’s locks were firstly dug in the 18th century but opened in 1800 at the same time as the Trollhätte Canal.

The need to utilize the power of the large water volumes in Göta Älv grew with the industrial revolution. At Trollhättan there were great potential for energy production with the waterfalls, and the city developed and prospered due to it. The basis for industries was present, and in 1847 Nydqvist & Holms mekaniska verkstad opened, which later became the production plant called Nohab. Several companies followed, and in 1905 the state bought the Trollhätte Canal and expanded the energy production with several power plants in what later became the company Vattenfall.

Today, Trollhättan, with its unique combination of beautiful natural surroundings and interesting industrial and cultural history, has developed into a popular place for tourists, and there is much to experience on a trip to the city. You can walk along Trollhätte Canal, which connects the natural course of Göta Älv with Lake Vänern. Through Trollhättan, the canal forms an artificial waterway that has been blasted and dug out of the rocks to allow ships to pass the large waterfalls in the city.

The canal is on the shipping highway between Gothenburg and the interior of Sweden and all the way to Stockholm, and you can follow the traffic through the city at Trollhättan’s interesting lock areas to the south of the center. Today, you can see three different sets of locks in the Trollhättan lock area. The first were built in 1800, the next in 1844, and the current ones in use in 1916. You can walk around the scenic area and get close to all the locks. It is a great experience to follow one of the large cargo ships through the locks, where it rises from being far below you in just a few minutes and sails on to the next lock.

You can of course also see the waterfalls, which are called Trollhättefallen in Swedish. Today, the water flow is used to produce hydropower, and therefore the sluices are opened at regular intervals, so that the water is once again allowed to flow freely to the delight of visitors. It is a unique sight and an impressive performance by the nature of the water. The opening of the waterfalls is scheduled as a tourist attraction or made to regulate the water level in Lake Vänern. When the water is allowed to flow freely, 300,000 liters of water pass by per second, and it can all be seen from Oskarsbron bridge.

In this area you can visit the Olidan power plant as well, which was the first hydroelectric project by the Swedish state and the beginning of the later energy company Vattenfall. Construction of Olidan started in 1907, and in 1910 the first four turbines were put into operation. Four years later, the capacity had doubled to eight turbines. Today, there are usually ten turbines in operation out of the thirteen installed. The height of the water to the turbines is like the city’s natural waterfall of 32 metres. Close by, you can follow the waters of the Göta Älv from a beautiful nature walk to the Kopparklinten viewpoint west of the river.

It is a great idea to take a closer look at other parts of the industrial history of Trollhättan, which is possible in several places. Innovatum Science Center is an interesting museum and experimentarium in engineering and natural sciences. It is set up in Nydqvist & Holm’s former industrial buildings, which in themselves are testimony to the large industry that developed in Trollhättan because of the easy access to both electricity and navigable waterways.

The factory Nohab produced i.a. locomotives with great success, and for example, large diesel locomotives were delivered to the Danish and Norwegian railways, not least of the popular MY/Di3, MX and MZ classes. At the museum you can see the history of locomotive production, and there are exhibitions where you can try out natural sciences by yourself. You can also take a cable car across the Trollhätte Canal to the exhibition building Insikten, which informs about hydropower and the electricity that comes out of it.

Trollhättan was also home to the SAAB factories, which were built as an aircraft factory in 1937. In 1947, car production was added, and SAAB, together with Volvo, became the major passenger car brands in Scandinavia. At the SAAB Museum you can see the history of the company and not least the cars from the so-called Ursaab in 1947 to the latest cars that were produced on SAAB’s factory lines.