The Goethe Canal is a 190 km long navigable canal in Sweden that connects the Baltic Sea (it starts at Mem Castle on the banks of the Słötbaken Bay) and Lake Venern (Sjötorp). The Geta Canal forms the backbone of a waterway about 420 kilometers long, connecting the coasts of the Baltic and North Seas in the cities of Söderköping and Gothenburg. The idea of building a shipping channel arose as early as 1525. Its creation would make it possible to transport goods to the West coast of Sweden, bypassing the German-Danish borders, and would save merchants from paying large customs duties levied by the Hanseatic League. The construction of the canal began only at the beginning of the XIX century. The rear admiral of the Swedish Navy, Count Balthazar von Platten, managed to convince King Charles XIII and the government of the need to build a canal and secure financing for the project in the amount of 24 million Swedish Riksdealers. The author of the Goethe Canal project was the famous Scottish engineer and architect Thomas Telford. Construction work was started in 1810, completed in 1832, 58,000 soldiers were involved in the construction of the canal, with whose hands 87 kilometers of the track were dug and 58 locks were built. In the XIX century, the Goethe Canal was the most important transport artery in Sweden, but, with the development of rail and road links between Gothenburg and Stockholm, it lost its strategic importance. Currently, the Goethe Canal is one of Sweden's most famous and popular tourist attractions, many cruise ships, yachts, boats and boats run along it, you can travel on the canal either independently (on your own or rented boat), or on a large cruise ship. During the trip, tourists have the opportunity to admire the picturesque landscapes, visit ancient towns and castles, visit museums and markets, go through the many gateways that the Goethe Canal is famous for. On the banks of the canal, many hotels, guest houses, campsites, restaurants and cafes have been built.