The Lagan is one of four main westcoast rivers in south-western
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
besides
Göta älv
The (; "River of (the) Geats") is a river that drains lake Vänern into the Kattegat, at the city of Gothenburg, on the western coast of Sweden. It was formed at the end of the last glaciation, as an outflow channel from the Baltic Ice Lake to ...
. It is 244 kilometers and is one of the longest rivers in southern Sweden.
It starts in
Tahesjön near
Taberg in the municipality of
Jönköping
Jönköping (, ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland.
The city is the seat o ...
, flows through
Vaggeryd
Vaggeryd is a locality situated in Vaggeryd Municipality, Jönköping County, Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norwa ...
,
Värnamo
Värnamo (), historically known as Wernamo, is a town in Jönköping County in the south of Sweden. It is situated on the river Lagan (Sweden), Lagan just north of the lake Vidöstern. It is the seat of Värnamo Municipality and has 19,822 inhab ...
and
Ljungby
Ljungby () is the Urban areas in Sweden, central locality of Ljungby Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden, with 15,785 inhabitants in 2015.
Ljungby was instituted in 1829 as a ''köping'', or ''market town'', and did not become a municipality o ...
and ends in the town of
Mellbystrand in the municipality of
Laholm. More specifically, it ends in the Bay of Laholm, a part of the strait of
Kattegat
The Kattegat (; ; ) is a sea area bounded by the peninsula of Jutland in the west, the Danish straits islands of Denmark and the Baltic Sea to the south and the Swedish provinces of Bohuslän, Västergötland, Halland and Scania in Swede ...
.
People have been following the river from the coastal areas since the
Viking Age
The Viking Age (about ) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. The Viking Age applies not only to their ...
and settling in its vicinity. Along Lagan was a trading route, the so-called ''Lagastigen'' ("the Lagan path"), which is now part of the road
E4.
The straight middle and upper course of Lagan follows a branch of the
Protogine Zone —a zone of
crustal weakness in western Sweden.
See also
*The other three main
Halland
Halland () is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap''), on the western coast of Götaland, southern Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Skåne, Scania and the sea of Kattegat. Until 1645 and the Second Treaty of Br ...
rivers:
Viskan
Viskan is a river in the south west of Sweden. It is about 140 kilometers long. It starts in the lake Tolken outside Ulricehamn and has its outlet in the Kattegatt. It runs through Borås
Borås ( , , ) is a city (officially, a locality ...
,
Ätran,
Nissan
is a Japanese multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the ''Nissan'' and ''Infiniti'' brands, and formerly the ''Datsun'' brand, with in-house ...
*
Lagan, a town located by the river some 10 kilometers north of
Ljungby
Ljungby () is the Urban areas in Sweden, central locality of Ljungby Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden, with 15,785 inhabitants in 2015.
Ljungby was instituted in 1829 as a ''köping'', or ''market town'', and did not become a municipality o ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lagan (River)
Rivers of Halland County