• News
  • Lake Facts
  • About

Lake Scientist

Sweden’s Lake Vanern is Largest in European Union

1
  • by Daniel Kelly
  • — April 22, 2014

Sweden’s coastal islands, sweeping hills and tiny towns enhance its extensive natural beauty. Much of the country’s idyllic landscape was shaped by retreating ice at the end of the last ice age, leaving behind meltwater that dotted the country with lakes.

Sweden has more than 97,000 lakes, including its largest lake and the biggest of the European Union: Lake Vänern. Sitting at 2,183 square miles, it is the third largest lake in all of Europe, behind Russian Lakes Ladoga and Onega.

Vänern

Lake Vanern, August 2012. (Credit: Wikimedia Commons User Oyvind Holmstad)

Lake Vänern supports several endemic species, including Vänern salmon. Unlike other salmon species, who mature to adulthood in the ocean, Vänern salmon are known to never enter the sea during their life cycles. They have developed solely in the lake for an estimated 9,000 years.

Most all common freshwater fish species can be found in Lake Vänern, the most prominent of which are trout and zander fish. Vänern also supports five species of whitefish.

Sail boats on Lake Vanern, August 2007. (Credit: Flickr User Martin from Tyrol via Creative Commons)

Creatures living in the lake encounter good water quality, which has held steady over the years. Recent monitoring efforts found a small decrease in visibility due to more algae in the lake’s water, but this has come under control with regulations controlling nitrogen levels.

Historically speaking, Lake Vänern is believed to have been described in the Old English story of Beowulf as the site of an icy battle for the throne of Sweden. A viking ship was found at its bottom in 2009, which may or may not confirm the battle’s occurrence.

Share

You may also like...

  • Ohio farmers export tons of manure using federal dollars
  • Ice covering the Great Lakes Buffalo State’s Great Lakes Center monitors ice from beneath
  • Toxic algae continues to defile water quality in the Buckeye State
  • Lake Malawi cichlid tank Lake Malawi Cores Hold Clues To Cichlid Diversity

1 Comment

  1. 20 Largest Lakes in the World by Continent (For Your World Travel Bucket List) says:
    October 24, 2023 at 8:28 PM

    […] has nearly 100,000 lakes, and the biggest one of all is Lake Vänern (which is also considered the largest lake in the European Union). It encompasses over 2,180 […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Time limit is exhausted. Please reload CAPTCHA.

BUY AT FONDRIEST.COM
New NexSens XB200 Data Buoy
  • Recent Posts

    • Pushing Lake Science Upstream: Agriculture and Algal Blooms at Lake ErieJuly 14, 2025
    • The waves of Lake Erie in Point Pelee National Park.Research Brief: Evaluating Surface Wave Models in Lake ErieJuly 14, 2025
    • Honghu Lake which was the study site for the endogenous pollution study.Research Brief: Understanding the Negative Impacts of Endogenous Nutrient Releases in a Shallow LakeJuly 7, 2025
    • From Paddles to Phytoplankton: Studying Vermont’s Wildest LakesJuly 7, 2025
    • Monitoring New Hampshire’s Aquatic Ecosystems: Continuous Data Collection in the Lamprey River WatershedJune 30, 2025
  • Popular Tags

    Great Lakes research summary research research brief pollution Lake Erie Algae invasive species Product Spotlight lake research lake science climate change runoff nutrient-loading Lake Michigan dissolved oxygen international temperature Ohio eutrophication EPA toxic waters ice phosphorus blue-green algae

©2025 Fondriest Environmental Inc. | Questions? Call 888.426.2151 or email customercare@fondriest.com