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History
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History of Telemarkskanalen |
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Shipping on the Telemark watercourse
The Norsjø-Skien Canal with locks at Skien and Løveid is the elder of the two Telemark canals, built between 1854 and 1861. The idea of canalizing the Telemark watercourse was introduced as early as 1805, when political economist Christen Pram entertained the notion that to be able to sail up the waterfalls Klostefossen and Skotfossen would be a most welcome convenience. In 1831, Governor F. Wedel Jarlsberg brought to the attention of the government the need for improved communications between Norsjø and Skien. The construction of a canal at Løveid was sanctioned in 1844. Plans for the construction were drawn up by the director of the project, Engebret Soot, his assistant Waligorski, and the two directors Røiem and Johan Tullin Thams.
Den første dampbåten var hjulbåten «Statsraad Stang», sjøsatt ved Fjærestrand i Solum i 1851, i rute fra Fjærestrand til Tangen i Heddal fra 1852. Først var folk skeptiske til det nye fremkomstmidlet som «røykte seg fram over vatna», men tiltroen kom etter hvert. I 1852 kom det også dampskip på Vestvannene (Bandak, Kviteseid- og Flåvatn) fra Strengen til Dalen med hjulbåten «Sankt Olaf».
Most of the early traffic involved the transportation of stone from the quarries at Eidsberg in Lårdal. Regular steamer service was put into operation on the Telemark lakes in the mid-1800s. Before that, rowing was the only way of traversing these stretches of water. People could hire someone to row them, or they could rent a boat themselves. Inns along the watercourse provided accommodation for travellers. The longest stretches to row were divided into shifts. Transport between the lakes was either by horse or on foot. In 1851, the paddle steamer "Statsraad Stang" was launched at Fjærestrand in Solum and became the first steamship in regular service, operating between Fjærestrand and Tangen in Heddal. People were initially sceptical to this new means of transport that "smoked its way across the water", but their scepticism was soon replaced by growing confidence. In 1852, the paddle steamer "Sankt Olaf" was put into service on the Western lakes (Bandak, Kviteseid and Flå), operating between Strengen and Dalen. The locks of the Norsjø-Skien Canal (opened in 1861) were too narrow for the wide paddles of the steamship, so a new propeller-driven ship, the "Amtmand Aall", was purchased. Two other ships were acquired in 1866 and 1870: the "Nordsjø" and the "Løveid". The "Victoria", built in Oslo and put into service in 1882, is still running. She has been partially rebuilt and is now a popular tourist attraction.
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Where is Telemarkskanalen?
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