page_title: Dalälven
section_title: Log driving
hierarchical_section_title: Dalälven / Log driving
caption_attribution_description: Svenska: Flottarlagen vid Grådö, Hedemora, vid Dalälven
context_page_description: The Dal River is a river in central Sweden that flows from the north of Dalarna and runs into the sea in northern Uppland; it is commonly considered to be the southern border of Norrland, however only the last part correlates with Limes Norrlandicus. The northern part is split into two rivers: Österdalälven and Västerdalälven. The two connect in Djurås. It is over 520 kilometres long — the second longest river in Sweden, and has a hydropower potential of 1420 megawatts, of which 2/3 is utilized. The largest power plant is located at the Trängslet Dam. Dalälven has been significant historically as a raft transport route.
  Nedre Dalälven River Landscape, Sweden, covers 308,000 hectares with a mixture of wetlands, rivers, lakes, flood plains and productive forests. It includes Lake Hovran and Färnebofjärden Bay Ramsar site.
  The region boasts high biodiversity, as the river forms a clear border zone between the northern and southern flora and fauna of Northern Europe. Agriculture and forestry have evolved as a result of changes in the steel and iron industries.
  More than 100 ‘Leader+ projects’ designed for sustainable development testify to the high dynamism of the region.
context_section_description: Log driving in River Dalälven is documented from the 1600s onward. An important factor behind it was the 1607 prohibition from Charles IX of cutting wood closer than one Swedish mile from Falun Mine. However, until the Storskiftet land amalgamation reform and England's abolition of customs on wood products in 1849, the logging stayed small-scale.
  Four major sawmill companies dominated the logging in River Dalälven: Korsnäs AB at Lake Runn (Falun), established in 1858; Kopparbergs och Hofors Sågverks Bolag at Lake Hosjön (Falun), which started in 1861 and bought its competitor Carlfors Sågverksbolag in 1874; Stora Kopparbergs Bergslags AB, which modernized its mill at the rapids of Domnarvet (Borlänge) in 1863; and the mill in Älvkarleby, which was replaced by Skutskär sawmill in 1870. 
  Log driving in River Dalälven reached its peak in 1952, when about 30 million logs per year were driven. It ended in most of the river in 1970. However, in the river's lower reaches, the driving continued until 1971, with some final emptying of the stocks in 1972. In 1973 the whole river was closed for log driving, and in 1977 all logging installations along River Dalälven were decommissioned.
caption: Log drivers in lake Hovran in Dalälven, about 1920.
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