The king took the opportunity to quote a few stanzas from Tage Danielsson’s poem about the canal construction: “Winter came with its cold. They were not allowed to go numb. Summer came with its heat. They were not allowed to fall asleep. the hands that dug on the Göta Canal “.
The poem is about the 58,000 men who built the canal and whom the king also praised in his speech.
“Let us send a grateful thought to these hard-working people. Those who dug and blasted their way through the landscape, those who built locks and built bridges,” the king continued.
The spectator line was crowded when King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia arrived to celebrate the 200th anniversary at Berg’s locks.