History
11, 000 years ago, the last glacial period started to release its hold of the Scandinavian continent. The ice edge receded north, but when it had reached the part of Vänern which is now called Dalbosjön, the climate grew colder again and for a few hundred years the ice edge did not move, until it finnally continued its retreat. This resulted in stones, gravel and sand gathering in a row along the ice edge, and the traces of this ice age can be seen even today throughout Sweden. In Vänern this ice edge zone is particularly visible at Hjortens udde on the Dalsland side and at Hindens Rev on Kålland.
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At first Vänern was still a bay, but about 9, 000 years ago the elevation of the land had reached a point where the bay of Vänern was cut off from the sea and became a lake. The sound between the lake and the sea gradually formed a river, which is now the Göta river. The young lake was much larger than teh present Vänern. Large land masses from Värmlandsnäs in southern Värmland and down towards the Västergötland border were covered by water. The elevation of the land is still going on, at an average rate of about 3 mm per year. |
Three provinces
Lake Vänern is surrounded by the three provinces Värmland, Dalsland and Västergötland, administratively divided into tow county administrations.
Värmland is situated in the north of lake Vänern. It is a large and sparsely populated county (275000 inhabitants). Karlstad is the main city, situated in the southern parts of the county with shoreline to lake Vänern and 44% of the inhabitants are living in the Karlstad area. Traditionally, the pulp
and 
aper industry and the iron industry
have dominated the county. In both these
lines of business mayor structural change
s have been carried out, leading to
higher efficiency, but lower number
of job opportunities. Therefore, the
unemployment rate and the depopulation
have been rather high. The last couple of
years, there have been high concentra-
tion on the education sector and there is
great hope that the development of Karlstad University should be positive for the county. Another area of priority has been the infrastructure. There have been investments in a new airport in Karlstad and also within information technology.
In the southern and western part of the Vänern region, a new large county has been established, containing the provinces Dalsland, Bohuslän and Västergötland. It has 1,5 million inhabitants, 600 000 of them living in the Gothenburg area.
In Dalsland situated in the western part of the Lake Vänern region, the area next to the lake is characterised by agricultural land and few and small built-up areas. There is also pulp and paper industry that has gone through the same kind of structural changes as in Värmland, leading to unemployment and depopulation.
The southern parts of the Lake Vänern area are also mainly rural areas and there is focus on food industry. There are also quite a number of sub-contractors of the car industry. In Trollhättan, one of the car centres of Sweden is situated. SAAB has its head office here as well as production of aircraft engines. Trollhättan is the largest city in the southern parts of the Lake Vänern region. Other larger cities are Lidköping and Mariestad.
Lake Vänern is surrounded by the three provinces Värmland, Dalsland and Västergötland, administratively divided into tow county administrations.
Värmland is situated in the north of lake Vänern. It is a large and sparsely populated county (275000 inhabitants). Karlstad is the main city, situated in the southern parts of the county with shoreline to lake Vänern and 44% of the inhabitants are living in the Karlstad area. Traditionally, the pulp and paper industry and the iron industry have dominated the county. In both these lines of business mayor structural changes have been carried out, leading to higher efficiency, but lower number of job opportunities. Therefore, the unemployment rate and the depopulation have been rather high. The last couple of years, there have been high concentration on the education sector and there is great hope that the development of Karlstad University should be positive for the county. Another area of priority has been the infrastructure. There have been investments in a new airport in Karlstad and also within information technology.
In the southern and western part of the Vänern region, a new large county has been established, containing the provinces Dalsland, Bohuslän and Västergötland. It has 1,5 million inhabitants, 600 000 of them living in the Gothenburg area.
In Dalsland situated in the western part of the Lake Vänern region, the area next to the lake is characterised by agricultural land and few and small built-up areas. There is also pulp and paper industry that has gone through the same kind of structural changes as in Värmland, leading to unemployment and depopulation.
The southern parts of the Lake Vänern area are also mainly rural areas and there is focus on food industry. There are also quite a number of sub-contractors of the car industry. In Trollhättan, one of the car centres of Sweden is situated. SAAB has its head office here as well as production of aircraft engines. Trollhättan is the largest city in the southern parts of the Lake Vänern region. Other larger cities are Lidköping and Mariestad.
Water quality
In the 1970s mercury and organic material from the
pulp and paper industries around the lake polluted
Lake Vänern. High levels of mercury were common in
sediments and fishes. Also emissions from the cities caused
a low water transparency and a high level of phosphorus.
A major clean-up effort started and today Lake Vänern is
oligotrophic and the water is almost clean enough to drink
without cleaning it first.
The lake is used for drinking water for 800 000 people.
The mercury level in fishes has decreased, the water transparency has almost doubled, and fresh sediments have covered the earlier polluted sediment. Most of the point sources are reduced and today we have more long-term environmental problems.