Right on the doorstep of Dalsland Studio, a small, unassuming structure has been doing its job for over 150 years: our lock. It forms part of the four-chamber lock staircase at Dals Långed, which raises or lowers boats over a height difference of 13.1 metres – the entire passage takes a full hour, roughly the same as at Håverud, its better-known neighbour further down the canal (Dalslandskanal.se).
Why number 13, of all things?
The Dalsland Canal has a total of 31 lock chambers at 17 lock stations, spread over 254 kilometres of waterway – of which only around 12 kilometres were actually dug or blasted out. Built between 1864 and 1868 under the supervision of engineer Nils Ericson, the canal overcomes a total elevation difference of 66 metres between Lake Vänern and Årjäng in Värmland (Wikipedia; VGRegion).
If you count the individual chambers from the south, Mustadfors is officially the ninth lock on the canal. Our four chambers in Dals Långed follow directly after that – the last of them is therefore numbered 13. According to the count, number 14 would come straight after that – but it no longer exists: Långbron’s lock is officially numbered 15, because a previous number 14 was removed from the system at some point (Västsverige). Our Lock 13 is therefore actually the immediate neighbour of Långbron – a minor curiosity that can only be discovered by those who count the chambers individually rather than by station.
From steamships to floating summer homes
Its use has changed completely over the decades. According to historical records, in 1905, 2,792 steamships, 200 sailing cargo ships and 914 barges passed through the canal – purely for the transport of goods to the region’s ironworks and paper mills. The last recorded freight transport was in 1965; since 1966, the canal has been used almost exclusively for recreational traffic (Dalslands Kanaltrafik). Today, thousands of pleasure boats pass through the locks every summer – as one SVT boat guide aptly put it: The number of boats is hardly any different from before, except that today the traffic consists mainly of floating summer homes around twelve metres long rather than cargo barges. The 2026 season has been underway since 22 May, with the peak season running from 11 June to 16 August (Dalslandskanal.se) – so we’re right in the thick of it.
Here in Dals Långed in particular, there can be waiting times during the peak season between 11.30 am and 1.30 pm, as passenger vessels have priority in the lock staircase – often including the historic M/S Storholmen and the more modern M/S Dalslandia, which pass through 16 of the 31 lock chambers on their five-hour route between Bengtsfors and Håverud (Naturkartan).
A place to understand locks and contemplate the world
For us, Lock 13 has long been more than just infrastructure. Anyone who wants to know how a lock system actually works – how water lifts boats rather than lifting them – can observe it here at their leisure: sailing boats alongside canoeists, historic excursion boats alongside floating holiday homes, all lining up lock chamber by lock chamber through the same 13.1 metres of elevation. And anyone who simply wants to sit there with a cup of coffee or tea and reflect on the world will find our lock one of the quietest places I know for doing so – a place where patience, 19th-century craftsmanship and the rhythm of summer come together quite naturally.