Gustavsfors lock is a single lock that leads from Lake Lelången into Lake Västra Silen. It is the 23rd of the Dalsland Canal. Lock chambers: 1 Elevation: 2, 8 m Duration: 20 min Opening hours

Gustavsfors lock is a single lock. Above the lock, the canal is crossed by a fixed bridge with an 11.75 m clearance and a 4.2 m passage width.

If you peek over the long, narrow Lake Lelång, you’ll see Torrskog Church, beautifully situated on a promontory right on the water. And if you stop by the church, you can visit the tree-trunk-shaped gravestone that Selma Lagerlöf had erected in memory of her sister Anna who died, far too young, at Gustavsfors Manor.

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Some History

Gustavsfors Mill was founded in 1747 by Nils and Jöns Koch, brothers and wealthy townsmen from Uddevalla. The mill began its life as an ironworks, but in the early 19th century, the legendary Gustaf Ekman became interested in the company. Ekman, the man behind the development of the iron industry and thereby Sweden’s prosperity, introduced Lancashire hearth iron processing in Gustavsfors. By 1873, however, the mill was transformed into one of the country’s first paper pulp mills, and continued so until just after World War II, when the mill was finally closed down.

Today, tourism is the main source of income for Gustavsfors. It is in the summer that this idyllic community springs to life. But now and then, other things happen here, too. Sometimes film-makers drop in. Parts of the Danish-Swedish film Midsommar, with Tova Novotny in one of the lead roles, was filmed in Gustavsfors. To take just one example.

• Destination

  West Sweden

• Country

  Sweden

• Type of experience

  Nature

• Best time to visit

  • Spring
  • Autumn
  • Summer

• Nearby stations

  • Port Of Gothenburg
  • Gothenburg City Airport
  • Halmstad Airport