Stockholm Congestion Tax
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The Stockholm congestion tax (), also referred to as the Stockholm congestion charge, is a
congestion pricing Congestion pricing or congestion charges is a system of surcharging users of public goods that are subject to congestion through excess demand, such as through higher peak charges for use of bus services, electricity, metros, railways, tel ...
system implemented as a
tax A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to regulate and reduce negative externalities. Tax co ...
levied on most vehicles entering and exiting central
Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
,
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 ...
. The congestion tax was implemented on a permanent basis on 1 August 2007, after a seven-month trial period between 3 January 2006 and 31 July 2006. It was inspired by
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
's
Electronic Road Pricing The Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system is an electronic toll collection scheme adopted in Singapore to manage traffic by way of road pricing, and as a usage-based taxation mechanism to complement the purchase-based Certificate of Entitlemen ...
(ERP) system, which was first introduced as the
Area Licensing Scheme The Singapore Area Licensing Scheme (ALS) () was a road pricing scheme introduced in Singapore from 1975 to 1998 that charged drivers who were entering downtown Singapore. This was the first urban traffic congestion pricing scheme to be successf ...
in 1975. The primary purpose of the congestion tax is to reduce
traffic congestion Traffic congestion is a condition in transport that is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. Traffic congestion on urban road networks has increased substantially since the 1950s, resulting in m ...
and improve the
environmental Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, referring respectively to all living and non-living things occurring naturally and the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism ...
situation in central Stockholm. The funds collected will be used for new road constructions in and around Stockholm. A referendum was held in September 2006, a few months after the end of the trial period. In the referendum the residents of Stockholm municipality voted yes and in 14 other municipalities voted no to implement it permanently. On 1 October 2006, the leaders of the winning parties in the 2006 general election, declared they would implement the Stockholm congestion tax permanently. The
Riksdag The Riksdag ( , ; also or , ) is the parliament and the parliamentary sovereignty, supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members (), elected proportional rep ...
approved this on 20 June 2007, and the congestion tax came into effect on 1 August 2007. On 1 January 2016, congestion taxes were increased in the inner-city parts of
Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
, and also the congestion tax began to be charged on
Essingeleden Essingeleden is a motorway that goes from Solna to Stockholm, Sweden, crossing the westmost parts of central Stockholm, by going over Kungsholmen, Lilla Essingen, and Stora Essingen. Essingeleden has three bridges – Fredhällsbron (270 m), ...
. The measure was implemented not only to improve accessibility and the environment, but also to help develop the infrastructure.


Affected area

The congestion tax area encompasses essentially the entire
Stockholm City Centre Stockholm City Centre (, , ) is in Stockholm Municipality, also known as the City of Stockholm, part of the Stockholm urban area in Sweden. Since 2007, Stockholm City Centre has been organized into four (sometimes translated as "boroughs"): K ...
, which includes
Södermalm Södermalm, often shortened to just Söder, is the southern district of Stockholm City Centre. Overview The Södermalm district covers the island of the same name (formerly called ''Åsön''), which, however, is not fully separated from th ...
,
Norrmalm Norrmalm is a city district in Stockholm, Sweden. History Norrmalm is a part of the larger borough of Norrmalm (''Norrmalms stadsdelsområde''). The southern part of the district, Lower Norrmalm (''Nedre Norrmalm''), also known as the City, ...
,
Östermalm Östermalm (; "Eastern city-borough") is a 2.56 km2 large district in central Stockholm, Sweden. With 71,802 inhabitants, it is one of Sweden's most populous and exclusive districts. It is an extremely expensive area, having the highest ho ...
,
Vasastaden Vasastan, or Vasastaden, may refer to: * Vasastan, Stockholm, a district in Stockholm, Sweden * Vasastan, Gothenburg, a district in Gothenburg, Sweden * Vasastaden, Linköping Vasastaden is a city district in Linköping, consisting of mostly ap ...
,
Kungsholmen Kungsholmen is an island in Lake Mälaren in Sweden, part of central Stockholm, Sweden. It is situated north of Riddarfjärden and considered part of the historical province Uppland. Its area is with a perimeter of . The highest point is a ...
,
Stora Essingen Stora Essingen is an island and a district in the Kungsholmen borough in Stockholm, Sweden. It is located adjacent to Lilla Essingen on Lake Mälaren. Both Essingen Islands are mainly residential areas. Stora Essingen is scattered with privat ...
,
Lilla Essingen Lilla Essingen is a small island in central Stockholm, Sweden. It is on Lake Mälaren next to the larger neighbouring island of Stora Essingen. Both Essingen Islands (''Essingeöarna'') are mainly residential areas, the smaller densely packed ...
and
Djurgården Djurgården ( or ) or, more officially, , is an island in central Stockholm, Sweden. Djurgården is home to historical buildings and monuments, museums, galleries, the amusement park Gröna Lund, the open-air museum Skansen, the small resident ...
. There are unmanned electronic control points (in Swedish: , literally ''payment station'') at all entrances to this area. The congestion tax is applied on both entry and exit of the affected area. From 1 January 2016, the congestion tax began to be charged in on
Essingeleden Essingeleden is a motorway that goes from Solna to Stockholm, Sweden, crossing the westmost parts of central Stockholm, by going over Kungsholmen, Lilla Essingen, and Stora Essingen. Essingeleden has three bridges – Fredhällsbron (270 m), ...
motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...
. Congestion tax was introduced at the access and exit ramps of two
interchange Interchange may refer to: Transport * Interchange (road), a collection of ramps, exits, and entrances between two or more highways * Interchange (freight rail), the transfer of freight cars between railroad companies * Interchange station, a rai ...
s on Essingeleden in order to reduce traffic jams in peak periods, and with shorter traffic jams on Essingeleden, the surrounding roads are expected to have shorter tailbacks. The control points on Essingeleden are located at the Kristineberg Interchange and at the access and exit ramps for Tranebergsbron at the Fredhäll Interchange. The transport agencies involved expect to reduce traffic on Essingeleden by some 10% in peak hours. One week after the tax began to be charged, traffic on the motorway had decreased by 22% compared to a normal day in mid-December.


Amount of tax to pay

The amount of tax payable depends on what time of the day a motorist enters or exits the congestion tax area. There is no charge on Saturdays, Sundays,
public holidays A public holiday, national holiday, federal holiday, statutory holiday, bank holiday or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year. Types Civic holiday A ''civic holiday'', also k ...
or the day before public holidays, nor during nights (18:30 – 06:29), nor during the month of July. The congestion tax was raised in January 2016, the first increase of the tax since it was introduced permanently in 2007. The highest increase took place at the two highest rush hour periods, 7:30 to 8:29, and 16:00 to 17:29, from SEK 20 to SEK 35. The objective was to steer the traffic towards other times of the day and public transport, and in this way reduce congestion in the Inner City area. Also the maximum amount levied was raised to SEK 105 per day and vehicle. The additional funds will contribute to finance the extension of the Stockholm metro. The following table summarizes the charges for
Essingeleden Essingeleden is a motorway that goes from Solna to Stockholm, Sweden, crossing the westmost parts of central Stockholm, by going over Kungsholmen, Lilla Essingen, and Stora Essingen. Essingeleden has three bridges – Fredhällsbron (270 m), ...
and the Inner City since 1 January 2016. 1) Tax amount shown in
Euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...
for comparative purposes. Currency rates .Google currency rates: "1 SEK in EUR"
/ref>Google currency rates: "1 SEK in USD"
/ref>


Method of payment

Payment of the congestion tax cannot be made at the control points — they merely register which vehicles have passed them. A
bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Pl ...
is sent to the vehicle owner at the end of each month, with the tax decisions for the preceding month's control point passages. The bill must be paid before the end of the next month. The vehicle owner is responsible for the payment of the tax, even if the bill does not arrive. The bill can be delivered in three different ways. By default delivery by mail to the vehicle owner's registered address, or opting for electronic delivery to the vehicle owner's
Internet bank A direct bank (sometimes called a branch-less bank or virtual bank) is a bank that offers its services only via the Internet, mobile app, email, and other electronic means, often including telephone, online chat, and mobile check deposit. A direct ...
, or opting for a
direct debit A direct debit or direct withdrawal is a financial transaction in which one organisation withdraws funds from a payer's bank account. Formally, the organisation that calls for the funds ("the payee") instructs their bank to collect (i.e., debit) ...
arrangement called ''Autogiro''Bankgirot — Autogiro
that allows the tax to be automatically deducted from the vehicle owner's bank account when the bill is due. Failure to pay the tax within the allotted time results in a reminder bill being sent with an added 500  SEK fee. If the tax along with the reminder fee is still unpaid within 30 days after the reminder bill was sent, the case will be forwarded to the
Swedish Enforcement Administration The Swedish Enforcement Authority (, ; abbreviated as KFM; colloquially known as Kronofogden) is the government agency in Sweden responsible of debt collection, distraint, evictions, and enforcement of court orders. The authority also supervise ...
, which adds an additional fee of at least 600 SEK, and the vehicle owner will be noted in the Enforcement Register unless payment is made. The same rules are from 2015 valid for foreign-registered vehicles. The authority has contracted
collection agencies Collection or Collections may refer to: Computing * Collection (abstract data type), the abstract concept of collections in computer science * Collection (linking), the act of linkage editing in computing * Garbage collection (computing), autom ...
in the most common countries who charge the owners.


Tax deductibility

The congestion tax may be deducted from taxable income for both private individuals and businesses. Private individuals may deduct the congestion tax for business journeys, and for traveling between the home and workplace according to the usual rules of car cost deduction (1:80 SEK/km), that is if the distance is at least and the time saved by traveling by own car compared to public transport is at least 2 hours per day. If this is not valid, the public transport cost can be deducted (without congestion tax). The first 10.000 SEK can not be deducted (the public transport pass inside Stockholm county costs 8.400 SEK during year 2016). Businesses may deduct all congestion tax expenses, also private driving with company cars (there is a general tax on the right to drive company cars in private).


Exemptions from the congestion tax


Exempt vehicles

Some classes of vehicles are exempt from the congestion tax: * Emergency services vehicles *
Bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...
es with a total weight of at least 14
tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1,000  kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the s ...
s *
Diplomatic corps The diplomatic corps () is the collective body of foreign diplomats accredited to a particular country or body. The diplomatic corps may, in certain contexts, refer to the collection of accredited heads of mission ( ambassadors, high commis ...
registered vehicles *
Motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...
s * Military vehicles * Cars with parking permit for disabled persons, after application to the Swedish National Tax Board. This exemption is not valid if the car is used for professional purposes. Foreign-registered vehicles were exempt from the congestion tax until 2014. This was mainly for practical reasons, as it was hard to get access to foreign car registers and to claim payment from foreign citizens. The exemption was removed as a result of objections from companies relating to unfair taxation, and because the "Eurovignette" EU directive (1999/62/EC article 7 and 2006/38/EC) requires that user charges may not discriminate on the grounds of the nationality of the haulier or the origin of the vehicle.


Technology

The vehicles passing the control points are identified through
automatic number plate recognition Automatic number-plate recognition (ANPR; see also other names below) is a technology that uses optical character recognition on images to read vehicle registration plates to create vehicle location data. It can use existing closed-circuit ...
. The equipment, consisting of cameras, laser detectors, antennas, and information signs are mounted on a set of gantries at each control point. There are no payment booths at the control points, they are all unmanned and payment is done by other means later (see '' Method of payment'' above). At a traditional toll booth, a substantial percentage of the toll goes to costs for the staff, which is avoided here. For those living on the island of
Lidingö Lidingö (), also known in its definite form Lidingön and as Lidingölandet, is an island in the inner Stockholm archipelago, northeast of Stockholm, Sweden. In 2023, the population of the Lidingö urban area on the island was 48,162. It is the ...
or otherwise often traveling there, an optional
DSRC Dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) is a technology for direct wireless exchange of vehicle-to-everything (V2X) and other intelligent transportation systems (ITS) data between vehicles, other road users (pedestrians, cyclists, etc.), and ...
transponder In telecommunications, a transponder is a device that, upon receiving a signal, emits a different signal in response. The term is a blend of ''transmitter'' and ''responder''. In air navigation or radio frequency identification, a flight trans ...
can be used also to more accurately identify the vehicles, as an incorrect identification results in the Lidingö exemption rule not taking effect (see '' Geographic exemptions'' above). The DSRC transponders that were used during the congestion tax trial period are useless now and should be returned to the
Swedish Road Administration The National Road Administration () was a government agency in Sweden. Its primary responsibility was to organise building and maintenance of the road network in Sweden. Its headquarters were located in Borlänge. History The agency was founded i ...
.


History


Debate

The congestion tax was before its inception a highly debated proposition, especially in the peripheral parts of Stockholm county where residents who lived outside of the control points but worked in the city center argued that they should also have a say in whether the proposition was to be accepted. In the time since the control points were put in place, however, the debate has calmed down considerably as the system works smoothly and the actual cost of passing these stations is acceptable to most residents, as well as the fact that central Stockholm has been getting cleaner since the proposition went into action. The debate has instead in many instances shifted toward the political reasons behind the proposition, where some argue that the proposition is simply a way to punish the residents of Stockholm for the centralized Swedish political system, which reportedly many people in rural parts of Sweden feel favours Stockholm above other regions. Initially this was planned as a congestion
fee A fee is the price one pays as remuneration for rights or services. Fees usually allow for overhead, wages, costs, and markup. Traditionally, professionals in the United Kingdom (and previously the Republic of Ireland) receive a fee in contrad ...
, not a
tax A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to regulate and reduce negative externalities. Tax co ...
. But the
Swedish government The Government of the Kingdom of Sweden () is the national cabinet of Sweden, and the country's executive authority. The Government consists of the Prime Minister and their cabinet ministers (). The Government is responsible for its actions ...
ruled that this kind of endeavor was considered a tax and not a fee, and thus this was made a governmental tax, not a local tax, as municipalities in Sweden are not allowed to create new taxes.


Trial period

A seven-month trial period of the congestion tax, called ''The Stockholm trials'' (), took place between 3 January 2006 and 31 July 2006. In addition to the optical recognition of license plates,
DSRC Dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) is a technology for direct wireless exchange of vehicle-to-everything (V2X) and other intelligent transportation systems (ITS) data between vehicles, other road users (pedestrians, cyclists, etc.), and ...
transponders were used to identify vehicles, and opting to use one was a precondition for using direct debit for the payment of the tax. The Road Administration have claimed that traffic passing in and out of the cordon reduced by between 20 and 25% during the period of the trial, and that air quality improved; after the trial, traffic volumes built up again. 96% complied with paying the tax on time, which raised 399 m SEK during the period.


Referendum

Local consultative
referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...
s regarding whether to permanently implement the congestion tax were held in
Stockholm Municipality Stockholm Municipality () or the City of Stockholm () is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. It has the largest population of the 290 municipalities of the country, but one of the smallest areas, making it the second most ...
and several other municipalities in Stockholm County on 17 September 2006. It was only the referendum in Stockholm Municipality that the at the time reigning government would use as a basis for the decision. The municipalities surrounding Stockholm in Stockholm County, especially those that are part of the city of
Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
, showed discontent with the fact that the people of those municipalities get no say whether the congestion taxes will be implemented permanently. A substantial number of the inhabitants of the nearby municipalities travel to and from work through the congestion tax area. Therefore, several of these municipalities decided also to have local referendums. A municipality is allowed to hold a consultative referendum at any time, but as the congestion tax had to be decided at the national parliament level it was unclear how the results would be interpreted if the government there changed after the 2006 general election, which was held the same day as these referendums. In Stockholm the question asked on the ballots was (translated from Swedish): :sv:Trängselskatt i Stockholm#Fördelning och demokrati
''Environmental fees/congestion tax means that fees will be charged in road traffic with the purpose to reduce queuing and improve the environment. The income will be returned to the Stockholm region for investments in public transport and roads.''
In the other municipalities the question on the ballots were (translated from Swedish):
''Do you believe that congestion tax should be permanently introduced in Stockholm?''


Results

Results from the referendums. The figures and percentages do not include blank and invalid votes.


Interpretation of the results

Prior to, and a short while after, the election day it was not clear how big of an effect the results of the municipal referendums would have, especially for the referendums held in the municipalities other than Stockholm. The
Social Democratic Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...
government prior to the 2006 general election ( cabinet Persson) stated that they would only take into consideration the results of the referendum held in Stockholm Municipality, while the opposition parties (
Alliance for Sweden The Alliance (, from 2004-10 the ''Alliance for Sweden,'' ), was a Centre-right politics, centre-right liberal-conservative political alliance in Sweden. The Alliance consisted of the four centre-right list of political parties in Sweden, politic ...
) stated that they would take into consideration the results of referendums the other municipalities as well if they won the election. The opposition parties won the election and before they formed a government ( cabinet Reinfeldt) their party leaders announced on 1 October 2006 to implement the congestion tax permanently, and that the revenue would go entirely to new road constructions in and around Stockholm instead of entirely to
public transport in Stockholm Transport in Stockholm consists of an extensive and well-developed transport network, integrating both public and private services across the city and surrounding county. Stockholm regularly ranks as having one of the best public transport system ...
as it was during the trial period. The
Riksdag The Riksdag ( , ; also or , ) is the parliament and the parliamentary sovereignty, supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members (), elected proportional rep ...
approved the congestion tax on 20 June 2007, for reintroduction on 1 August 2007.


Effects

From 2006 to 2012, despite a reduction in traffic and increase in favorable public opinion congestion in Stockholm increased by five percent.


Criticism


Automatic number plate recognition

The
automatic number-plate recognition Automatic number-plate recognition (ANPR; see also #Other names, other names below) is a technology that uses optical character recognition on images to read vehicle registration plates to create vehicle location data. It can use existing clos ...
has its shortcomings. Number plates from Finland,
Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
and
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
have a similar format compared to Swedish number plates, with three letters and three digits. The system can't see the difference, and a Swedish owner might falsely be charged.Trängselskatt – var inte ens i Göteborg
/ref> Also stolen and forged plates have caused false payment demand on innocent people. All vehicles are photographed so people who notice the false charging and object will have the charge waived.


See also

*
Road pricing Road pricing are user charge, direct charges levied for the use of roads, including Toll road, road tolls, distance or time-based fees, congestion pricing, congestion charges and charges designed to discourage the use of certain classes of ve ...
*
Congestion pricing Congestion pricing or congestion charges is a system of surcharging users of public goods that are subject to congestion through excess demand, such as through higher peak charges for use of bus services, electricity, metros, railways, tel ...
*
Electronic toll collection Electronic toll collection (ETC) is a wireless system to automatically collect the usage fee or Road pricing, toll charged to vehicles using toll roads, HOV lanes, toll bridges, and toll tunnels. It is a faster alternative which is replacing Tol ...
Specific congestion pricing schemes: *
Congestion pricing in New York City Congestion pricing in New York City, also known as the Central Business District Tolling Program or CBDTP, began on January 5, 2025. It applies to most motor vehicular traffic using the central business district area of Manhattan south of 6 ...
*
Electronic Road Pricing (Singapore) The Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system is an electronic toll collection scheme adopted in Singapore to manage traffic by way of road pricing, and as a usage-based taxation mechanism to complement the purchase-based Certificate of Entitlemen ...
*
Gothenburg congestion tax The Gothenburg congestion tax (), also referred to as the Gothenburg congestion charge, is a congestion pricing system implemented as a tax levied on most vehicles entering and exiting central Gothenburg, Sweden, as well as some main roads passin ...
*
London Congestion Charge The London congestion charge is a fee charged on most cars and motor vehicles being driven within the Congestion Charge Zone (CCZ) in Central London between 7:00am and 6:00pm Monday to Friday, and between 12:00noon and 6:00pm Saturday and Su ...
*
Manchester congestion charge The Greater Manchester Traffic congestion, congestion charge was part of a bid to the Government's Transport Innovation Fund for a Pound sterling, £3-billion package of transport funding and the introduction of a road congestion pricing, congest ...
*
Milan Area C Area C is a congestion charge active in the city center of Milan, Italy. It was introduced in 2012, replacing the previous pollution charge Ecopass and based on the same designated traffic restricted zone. The area is about with 77,000 residen ...
*
San Francisco congestion pricing San Francisco congestion pricing is a proposed traffic congestion user fee for vehicles traveling into the most congested areas of the city of San Francisco at certain periods of peak demand. The charge would be combined with other traffic reducti ...
*
Singapore Area Licensing Scheme The Singapore Area Licensing Scheme (ALS) () was a road pricing scheme introduced in Singapore from 1975 to 1998 that charged drivers who were entering downtown Singapore. This was the first urban traffic congestion pricing scheme to be successf ...


References


Further reading

*


External links

* Swedish Transport Agenc
Congestion tax in Stockholm
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stockholm Congestion Tax Local taxation Transport in Stockholm Electronic toll collection Urban planning in Sweden Road congestion charge schemes Vehicle taxes Taxation in Sweden Car costs Driving in Sweden