Torsö

Torsö (Thor's Island^[2]) is the biggest island of the lake Vänern, area 62.03 km². Torsö is located in Mariestad Municipality. Torsö formerly consisted of two islands (Torsö and Fågelö), but around 1930 the water in between was pumped out, and the former lakebed is now used for growing crops.

Torsö

The bridge from the east side of Lake Vänern to Torsö
Geography
Location	Vänern
Coordinates	58°48′06″N 13°49′34″E
Area	62.03 km2 (23.95 sq mi)[1]
Administration
Sweden
County	Västra Götaland
Municipality	Mariestad

Torsö has around 550 families living year round, and around thrice that amount during summers. In 1994 a bridge, "Torsöbron", was opened between the mainland and the island. It is around 900 m long.

Due to the size of lake Vänern, the island has a more maritime climate (with milder winters) and more sun hours compared to the mainland.^[3]

References

1. "Statistisk årsbok 2011" (PDF) (in Swedish). Statistics Sweden. p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 January 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
2. Mats Wahlberg, red (2003). Svenskt ortnamnslexikon. Uppsala: Institutet för språk och folkminnen. Libris 8998039. ISBN 91-7229-020-X
3. SMHI. "Sveriges landskapsklimat [climate of the Swedish landscapes]" (PDF). SMHI.