The Göta Canal
The Swedes are proud of it: the Göta Canal. They call this canal the greatest Swedish wonder. The canal is one of the largest projects ever undertaken in Sweden. It connects Sjötorp on Lake Vänern and Mem on the east coast. It has a length of 190 kilometers, of which 87 kilometers were excavated. Use was made of the many lakes Sweden is rich in, as 103 kilometers of the canal consist of lakes and ponds. To overcome the differences in elevation, 58 locks were constructed. The Swedish postal service has dedicated a stamp booklet to it.
How did this canal originate? As early as the 16thde In the 18th century, a proposal was submitted by Bishop Brask of Linköping to construct a canal from the Baltic Sea to the North Sea, but it remained merely plans for a very long time. Duke Baltzar von Platen, a naval officer and minister, stipulated in a treaty in 1806 that a canal could be built. This was ratified by King Karl XIII on April 11, 1810, after which a Canal Company received permission to acquire the necessary tracts of land and forests. Excavation work began as early as May 1810, first in Motala, but soon on fourteen other sections along the route.
The canal was built by 58.000 soldiers from the Swedish army, drawn from 16 different regiments. In addition, approximately 2.000 Russian prisoners of war were also involved. The greater part of the canal was excavated by hand, and rocks were cleared away using explosives. Baltzar von Platen also employed techniques that had previously been used in Great Britain and therefore employed a number of English engineers. Motala became the industrial base for the entire project. After 22 years, the canal was completed.
On September 26, 1832, the canal was officially put into service during a ceremony that took place in Mem, attended by King Karl XIV. Unfortunately, Von Platen himself could not be present at the opening of the canal, as he had passed away three years earlier. During the 19de In the 19th century, the canal was heavily used, but just as in Great Britain, here too the railways and road transport dealt a blow to canal shipping. By being able to work faster and get closer to destinations.
But today, the canal is one of the country's most important tourist attractions, as evidenced by the stamps in the stamp booklet published on May 7, 1979. The stamps primarily showcase the tourist aspect of the canal. For example, one of the ships navigating the canal, the Juno, a steamship of the Göta Canal Company. The ship can also be seen in the Borenshult lock, a staircase of five locks in a row. The bridge is a rolling bridge and can be pushed back on wheels and rails to allow ships to pass through. The bridge is located near Hajstorp. The locks were operated manually. After the lock had filled or emptied, the gates had to be pushed open with a large drawbar. We see the lock keeper at Ricksberg at work. At Godhögen, a sailing ship is just entering the lock, while on the other stamp, a child in a canoe is entering the Forsvik lock.
The stamps were engraved by Czeslaw Slania based on photos taken by six different photographers. Their names are listed on the stamps. The cover of the stamp booklet was designed by Jan Magnusson. Sweden has many hundreds of different stamp booklets, and this booklet was number 315 in the series, with a print run of 2.670.000 copies. Do you also collect stamp booklets? Or just the individual stamps from them? And combinations? Or is that going too far? 
The first Swedish stamps I had bought mint condition as a novelty.