Fyrisån (, "the Fyris river") is a river in the Swedish province of

Uppland Uppland () is a historical province or ' on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. On the small uninhab ...

, which passes through the city of

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Located north of the ca ...

and ends in

Lake Mälaren A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larg ...

. The "Sala" river in Uppland was changed in the 17th century in memory of the Fyrisvellir battle, mentioned in the Icelandic sagas, as it was the belief that the marshy plains called "Föret" was the site of the famous

Battle of Fýrisvellir The Battle of Fýrisvellir was fought in the 980s on the plain called Fýrisvellir, where modern Uppsala is situated, between King Eric the Victorious and an invading force. According to Norse sagas, this force was led by his nephew Styrbjörn ...

in the late 10th century. Boats can sail up the river from Lake Mälaren all the way to central Uppsala where two

weir A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

s make further progress impossible. In the summer of 2007 the construction of a fish ladder was started, in order to make it possible for the asp, an endangered and potamodromous fish, to pass the weirs and reach its

spawning Spawn is the eggs and sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, and the act of both sexes is called spawning. Most aquatic animals, except for aquat ...

waters. On the last day of April every year, during

The Uppsala River Rafting Event The Uppsala River Rafting Event is an event organized in Uppsala, Sweden on the Fyris River at the end of April each year. Started in 1975, the event is organized by the Uppsala Union of Engineering and Science Students (UTN). The River Raft ...

, students attempt to navigate the weirs on homemade rafts with predictable results.

References

{{reflist Uppland Rivers of Uppsala County Norrström basin