Falsterbo Canal - Falsterbokanalen

Picture from www.falsterbokanalen.se

Falsterbo Canal (Swedish: Falsterbokanalen) is a short canal that allows ships to pass inside Falsterbo, Skanör and Ljunghusen from the Baltic to the Öresund. Falsterbo, Skanör and Ljunghusen lie on the Skanör-Falsterbo peninsula. The canal is actually making the peninsula in to an island called “Näset”

Already back in 1884 Mårten Dahn proposed to the Parliament in Stockholm to build the Canal so ships could avoid Falsterbo Rev. Local fishermen started to build the Canal in 1896 but they were soon giving up because it was, well, a very hard and difficult job to construct the Canal.

Approaching Falsterbo Canal with m/t Lindfjord April/May 1988

Only time I have passed Falsterbo Canal/ Falsterbokanalen

Approaching Falsterbo Canal with m/t Lindfjord April/May 1988

Only time I have passed Falsterbo Canal/ Falsterbokanalen

During World War II when the Germans mined the water around Falsterbo Rev (Falsterbo reef) the Swedish Government decided to build the Canal to make a safe passage from the Baltic to Øresund. Ships with less than 4 meters draft could sneak along Falsterbonäste (Today the island Näset) and avoid the German mines.

Ships with greater draft had to discharge in Malmö in Øresund or in Ystad or Trelleborg in the Baltic Sea. So the Swedish ships could not pass safely and a decision to build the Canal was taken in December 1939 and on the 3 January 1940 the work to build the Canal started.

And the canal opened on the 1 August 1941 for the first ship to pass the Canal, a passenger ship. But the Canal construction was not completed until one year later. There were heavy traffic during the World War II and the Danish ferry line between Copenhagen and Rønne, Bornholm, Denmark used the Canal.

Postcard from the 60's - The ferry to Bornholm, Denmark passing Falsterbo Canal

Postcard from the 60's - The ferry to Bornholm, Denmark passing Falsterbo Canal

And while waiting at the lock the Danish passengers had the opportunity to jump overboard. They had built a sluice just to prevent strong currents through the canal when the difference in water level between the Baltic Sea and Øresundseas was too big.

The first bridge over the Canal had been used as a temporary bridge when they had rebuilt the bridge “Knippelsbron” in Copenhagen and came to the Falsterbo Canal on a barge.

The old bridge over the canal - 1963

By Finn Johannessen from http://kanaler.arnholm.nu/falsters.html

Picture from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I passed through the Falsterbo Canal back in 1988, the only time I have passed the Canal. I remember already back then, they were kind of surprised to see us and today there ar eno traffic on the Canal. Only pleasure crafts, well, the Canal is more like a yacht marina today.

In 1991 the old truss bridge was replaced and now they opened the bridge according to a schedule instead as before, on demand. There was a railway to Falsterbo and the trains crossed the old bridge until the train service stopped back in 1971.

Truss bridge

A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or sometimes both in response to dynamic loads. Truss bridges are one of the oldest types of modern bridges. The basic types of truss bridges shown in this article have simple designs which could be easily analysed by 19th- and early 20th-century engineers. A truss bridge is economical to construct because it uses materials efficiently.

The integral members of a truss bridge

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bridge over the canal 2005

By User:Daedalus

Picture from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Control tower at Falsterbo in 2005

By User:Grillo

Picture from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Falsterbo Canal in 2005

By User:Grillo

Picture from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bridge over Falsterbo Canal May 2009

By User:Grillo

Picture from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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