English Canal

English Channel ( Swedish: Engelska kanalen ) is the name of an unfinished construction project between the northern Swedish cities Gällivare and Luleå. The channel should be used for the transportation of iron ore from the location sites of the region.

Located near Gällivare large iron ore deposits were discovered as early as the 1650s. From their degradation, however, was mostly apart, as options for transporting the ore to the coast were missing, where it could be loaded onto ships. Among the projects discussed was found among other things, a horse-drawn tram. 1863 was the decision of the Lule älv from the sea to the confluence of the headwaters of the Great and Little Lule älv to channel. This means that the rapids Edeforsen Hedenforsarna and should be avoided.

A joint stock company incorporated in Sweden in 1863 was registered in 1864 in London as Gellivare Company Limited, since there was the fundraising easier. During the most intense construction around 1,500 people were involved in canal construction. Soon it came to financial difficulties and disputes with the inhabitants of the region who could be appeased only by the use of the military. The Swedish wholesale merchant Victor Kjellberg, who is regarded as the driving force of the project, went bankrupt in 1864. The construction could be delayed due to government bonds and private donations until 1867, then the corporation was insolvent.

The most significant remains of the canal project can be found today near the residential area on the outskirts of the city Trångfors ground. These received monument status in 1989. The visible ground well is in Swedish called graven as Engelska occasionally, which is a pun on the Swedish word grav, which can mean both trench and grave / coffin.

After this failed company, it took until 1888 was held up in the region worthwhile ore mining. This has been triggered by the construction of the iron ore railway. This building, too, was initially the project of a British society.