Anten, Lake in Alingsås Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden
Anten is a lake of about 18 km² and roughly 30 metres deep in Alingsås Municipality, Västergötland, almost entirely enclosed by Långareds socken. It drains south into Åsjön and on to Mjörn. Gräfsnäs lies on the north-western shore, and the island Loholmen is a natural monument. The photo shows rippled open water behind a grassy bank, a tree-lined far shore and a metal ladder frame on the grass.
Anten is a lake in Västergötland, northwest of Alingsås, about 18 km² in area and roughly 30 metres deep, drained southward to Ålandasjön and on to Mjörn. In the Middle Ages a church-boat tradition served the western shore: boats holding 20 people, rowed with three pairs of oars, left from boathouses at Sjöbäcken, Arelid and two at Kvarnabo. The tradition died out when Antens kapell was built in 1915. Antens Båtförening, founded in 1906, ran a motorboat with a barge between jetties at Loo, Attholmen, Möjnäs, Hällnäs, Kvarnabo and Västgötabanan; the boat was cut up in 1927, and passenger traffic ceased in 1929 as cars took over.
The lake's name comes from an old word for swan. A local legend tells of the knight Gomer on Loholmen and the lake nymph Anta; at a shore stone called Gomers sten, local custom says passers-by should lift their hats for good wind and fishing luck. Since 2003 a church boat built on Sollerön has been rowed between Kvarnabo and Långared.
Anten has its outlet in the south toward Åsjön and on to Mjörn, and the lake is almost entirely enclosed by Långareds socken. The museum railway Anten–Gräfsnäs Järnväg runs from the station at Ålanda by the lake's southern end. The lake reaches about 30 metres deep and covers 18 km².
The name Anten comes from an old word for swan. A local legend tells of the lake nymph Anta, who drowned the knight Gomer's castle on the island of Loholmen; at a shoreline stone called Gomers sten, custom says passers-by should lift their hat for good wind and fishing luck.
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