Page "Göta Canal" Paragraph 6

The idea of a canal across southern Sweden was first put forward as early as 1516, by Hans Brask, the bishop of Linköping.

However, it was not until the start of the 19th century that Brask's proposals were put into action by Baltzar von Platen, a German-born former officer in the Swedish Navy.

He organised the project and obtained the necessary financial and political backing.

His plans attracted the enthusiastic backing of the government and the new king, Charles XIII, who saw the canal as a way of kick-starting the modernisation of Sweden.

Von Platen himself extolled the modernising virtues of the canal in 1806, claiming that mining, agriculture and other industries would benefit from " a navigation way through the country.