Helge River

The River Helge å near the mouth

The Helge å or Helgeån is a river in Sweden. East of Älmhult it flows through several small lakes in Småland and flows Hanöbukten in the Baltic Sea. He is one of the Swedish Ramsar sites.

The river has a total length of about 200 kilometers, the drop height is 160 meters. Through an outflow of 45 m³ / s annual average, it is possible to use the Helge å for energy production. In his run eight hydroelectric power plants were built, which provide a total annual output of 110 GWh.

The course of the river leads us through several small lakes to the west, then head south, past the southern Swedish cities Osby, Broby and Kristianstad. There, the Helge å flows into the lake Hammarsjön, then runs in the direction of Yngsjö, where the river at Härnestad finally forked. After Aahus part runs as a river grafting and flows in the local port in the Baltic Sea. In the main course of the Helge å opens into the Hanöbukten.

Originally the mouth of Helge was Aahus. In 1775, however, the river was looking for a flood of melt water and a subsequent unsuccessful drainage company a new bed and has since been its main mouth of the Gropahålet near Yngsjö.