a ship canal linking the western and eastern coasts of Sweden, between the cities of Göteborg and Söderköping. The Göta Canal system, which has an overall length of 420 km, includes the Trollhättan Canal, the lakes Vänern and Vättern, and the canal itself (190 km long), which runs between the lakes and the Baltic Sea. It was built between 1810 and the 1830’s. With the development of railroad and motor-vehicle transportation and because of the limited traffic capacity of the canal, it lost its original significance and is used today primarily for tourism.