Sjötorp is located on Lake Vänern and is where the Göta Canal begins or ends, depending on the direction of travel. Here you can look at locks, buy fish and enjoy ice cream. Just before we got to Sjötorp we stopped in Norrqvarn, so we start the story there!
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The locks in Norrqvarn
As the name suggests, there was once a mill in Norrqvarn (or Norrkvarn). Milling activities were already present in the 15th century and continued until the 1960s.
When the Göta Canal was built, there was a large work station in Norrqvarn, and between 1810 and 1824, almost 300 soldiers lived and worked here. Today you can visit the site to see two of the locks along the Göta Canal, or perhaps to stay or eat at Norrqvarn Hotell & Konferens.
Norrqvarn is located just south-east of Lyrestad, along the Göta Canal between Lake Vänern and Lake Vättern.
Visiting the lock area in Norrqvarn
The lock area in Norrqvarn offers a wonderful holiday feeling in the summer, at least if the weather is good. Here you can stroll along the canal and watch the boats going through the locks. We arrived just in time for the passenger ship M/S Bellevue to pass - which we had seen just before in both Töreboda and Hajstorp.
Where Norrqvarn is located Hotel & Conference. There are several different types of accommodation (including accommodation in a mushroom!) as well as a restaurant, ice-cream parlour and 'children's mini-channel'. Here the children can play and splash among bridges and locks, and maybe rent a toy boat. Very popular what we could see!
For those who want, there is a cultural trail that is signposted with information about the construction of the Göta Canal. We missed this, but instead we happened to fall on a tall pine tree that looked very un-Swedish.
According to the sign, this was a 'Weymouth pine' which can reach 50 metres in height and usually grows in North America. You might think that the British canal builder Thomas Telford had a cone with him when he was here in the early 19th century ...
Wheeled steamer Eric Nordevall II
Also at the locks in Norrqvarn is the wheeled steamer Eric Nordevall II, a faithful replica of the ship that sank in Lake Vättern in 1856. We watched a fascinating film about the construction when we visited Forsvik mill. Really fun to now see the nice boat for real!
lake village
After the stop at the locks, we rolled on towards Sjötorp, which is the last (or first!) stop along the route. Göta Canal. There are a total of eight locks, of which number 1 leads in and out of Lake Vänern.
Sjötorp is also the site where the construction of the Göta Canal started in 1810, under the leadership of Baltzar von Platen. The physical work was done by 58 000 soldiers, digging with tin-shod wooden shovels. In Sjötorp there is a memorial stone, and next to it is the artwork 'Water Stairs' by Bengt Olsson from 2007.
Sjötorp belongs to Mariestad municipality and is located by Lake Vänern, about 2 kilometres north of Mariestad.
The locks in Sjötorp
We saw three of the eight locks in Sjötorp. Lock number 1, also known as "Sjöslussen", is the first lock on Lake Vänern. Locks 2 and 3, which are a double lock, are located at the bridge into Sjötorp. The other five locks are located further along the canal.
Ice cream and fish in Sjötorp
Sjötorp is not very big, but in its small area there are plenty of restaurants, cafés, ice cream parlours and shops selling fish. In addition to each ice cream, we took the opportunity to shop for frozen perch fillets and frozen pike-perch fillets at a good price. Yummy!
Camping in Sjötorp
Where would we stand with the motorhome then? There are parking spaces in the centre of Sjötorp, but as usual we arrived too late to have a chance to get a space. Just outside, however, we found a large green field with a camping sign. No service, but plenty of space and a lovely dinner view. We gladly swapped 60 kronor for this! Here we had a lovely evening with dinner out in the sun.
See more in the neighbourhood
In the neighbourhood of Sjötorp you can visit beautiful Mariestad. You can also follow the Göta Canal and stop at for example Hajstorp, Töreboda and Wassbacken campsite. Other exciting places in the neighbourhood are Varnhem with its abbey church, The lush national park of Tiveden and the nice little town Askersund. Even more tips for Västergötland can be found below.
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Have you visited Sjötorp?
We have now "completed" the route along the Göta Canal, from Meme to Sjötorp. It has really been a fantastic trip! Now we are continuing the motorhome journey by discovering Västergötland! Have you been to Sjötorp or the locks in Norrqvarn?
Facts about the locks in Norrqvarn
- Locks: Two locks, upper and lower.
- Attractions: The locks and the wheeled steamer Eric Nordevall II.
- Activities: Children's mini-channel, bike hire, canoe hire, restaurant, ice cream parlour and more.
Upper lock
- Baptismal name: Plains
- Year of construction: 1821
- Drop height: 2.9 metres
- Technical facts: Single lock. At this lock the Torvedsbäcken passes under the canal in a culvert.
Lower locks
- Baptismal name: Samuel Bagge (master canal builder)
- Year of construction: 1822
- Drop height: 2.9 metres
- Technical facts: ankle breech
Facts about Sjötorp
- Municipality: Mariestad municipality
- County: County of Västergötland
- Landscape: Västergötland
- Location: About two kilometres from Mariestad along national road 26. The western end of the Göta Canal where it flows into Lake Vänern.
- Population: Around 500 (2010)
Things to see and do in Sjötorp
- Attractions: The canal museum, Sjötorp church (belonging to Lyrestad parish) and the old mission house used as a community centre, the Göta Canal locks and the Surö beech forest nature reserve.
- Activities: Bike hire, boat trips on the Göta Canal (passenger ship Bellevue), mini-golf, swimming areas, hiking trails, restaurants and cafés and more.
- Food and drink: Café Baltzar, Kanalkrogen and others
- Parking spaces: The Göta Canal motorhome site has 16 electric sites by the canal and 13 electric sites by the upper pool. There is a service centre with toilets and showers.
- Camping: Simple natural camping on a lawn just outside the bridge to Sjötorp. No services. Fee 60 SEK/day (2020).
History of Sjötorp
- Early history: Sjötorp has been a mill community, where one of the activities was shipbuilding. The largest employer for a long time was Sjötorps Varf Docka and Steam Saw, under the management of the Groth family.
- 1830-1980: A large number of fishing and cargo ships were built at the Sjötorp shipyard.
- 1913: Of the 1446 registered sailing ships in the Swedish fleet during this period, 72 were built in Sjötorp. The size varied between 25 and 135 register tonnes (one nautical volume unit). The yard's dry dock remains and is still in use.
Sjötorp lock 1
- Baptismal name: The Constitution (the form of government adopted after the overthrow of Gustav IV Adolf). Sometimes called the 'sea lock'.
- Year of construction: 1817
- Drop height: 2.9 metres
- Technical facts: ankle breech
Sjötorp lock 2-3
- Baptismal name: Nobles and priests
- Year of construction: 1816-1817
- Drop height: 4.8 metres
- Technical facts: Double lock
Sjötorp lock 4-5
- Baptismal name: The bourgeoisie and the peasants
- Year of construction: 1819-1820
- Drop height: 4.8 metres
- Technical facts: Double lock
Sjötorp lock 6
- Baptismal name: Agriculture
- Year of construction: 1820
- Drop height: 2.4 metres
- Technical facts: ankle breech
Sjötorp lock 7-8
- Baptismal name: Mining and trade
- Year of construction: 1822.
- Drop height: 4.6 metres
- Technical facts: Two coupled locks. After the double lock there is the "Smörgåsekröken", a transverse bend.
You might also like:
Läckö Castle - De la Gardie's fairytale castle on Lake Vänern
Göta Canal by motorhome - big guide with tips
Things to do in Borås - 15 tips for the city of art and textiles
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Kenneth Risberg says:
Well done!
Have a nice trip in Västergötland.
28 July 2020 - 7:43
Helena says:
It has been an interesting and nice trip along the canal! Thank you! 🙂
28 July 2020 - 14:47
Maria/ Magnolia Magis says:
How fast that journey went then! Very lovely pictures and nostalgia trip for me. Have a continued nice trip!
28 July 2020 - 8:33
Helena says:
Travelling along the canal has been interesting and fun! And thank you! 🙂
28 July 2020 - 14:51
Lisa says:
It has been nice to follow your journey along the canal with many recognitions. Do not know how long you are staying in Skaraborg but a hot tip is Kinnekulle
28 July 2020 - 9:11
Helena says:
Glad to hear that you enjoyed following the trip! Thanks for the tips! We thought about Kinnekulle, but we have to prioritise a bit so it was different this time. We will save it for another occasion!
28 July 2020 - 14:57
Rolle o Carina says:
Of course it is nice at the Göta Canal, we have probably been at all of them over the years!
But you can go there again ????
Take care.......
28 July 2020 - 9:14
Helena says:
Very nice indeed! And very interesting to see!
28 July 2020 - 14:57
Nils-Åke Hansson says:
From Vassbacken to Läckö Castle I have/we have travelled by boat. Was a nice experience and not boring.
28 July 2020 - 9:35
Helena says:
It sounds like a nice trip! 🙂
28 July 2020 - 14:58
Husisblogg says:
Thanks for the nice reports from the Göta Canal. Too bad that you always have to be so early to get a place. But you have found a lot of other gems instead.
All the best and drive carefully.
28 July 2020 - 16:56
BP says:
Thank you very much for the cheap ride along the Göta Canal. Very charming and summer Swedish:-) Nice to see that so many people are out enjoying themselves. Oh what lovely weather you had ordered. Will be fun to see what you explore in Västergötland, Borås perhaps which is Sweden's most famous "graffiti city".
28 July 2020 - 17:50
Matts Torebring says:
But what wonderful pictures, you attract and seduce.
28 July 2020 - 18:49
Lena - gott för själen says:
Wow, I had no idea that there were so many nice things to see along the canal in the small communities. So thanks for the trip!
Hug Lena
29 July 2020 - 6:02
Torkel Bodin says:
Very nice and good presentation!
02 February 2021 - 17:32
Göran says:
The whole of Sjötorp is well worth a visit, good food, the canal restaurant, a little gem!
23 July 2023 - 17:23