VänernThe largest lake of Sweden and the whole EU
The largest lake in the European Union.
- Surface area
- 5,655 km²
- Water volume
- 153 km³
- Max depth
- 106 m
See its true size
One shared area scaleBoth outlines share one area scale. The bars compare water volume.
Reference data: Encyclopædia Britannica: jezioro Bajkał (2024).
Simplified outlines: Natural Earth (public domain), reprojected to one shared scale.
among the 18 lakes in this section
Vänern is the largest lake in the European Union, but Baikal holds more than 150 times as much water. The meaning of a record depends on the area being compared.
The map intuition
The largest lake in the EU, so a European giant.
About the lake
Vänern is the largest lake in Sweden and in the whole European Union: 5,655 km², its shore ragged with thousands of skerries and islets. It formed after the ice sheet retreated and is part of the Göta Canal waterway linking Stockholm and Gothenburg.
On a European scale it is the third largest lake, after Russia's Ladoga and Onega. Up to 106 m deep, it holds about 153 km³ of water.
- Mean depth
- 27 m
- Surface elevation
- 44 m a.s.l.
- Location
- Sweden
- Type
- glacial lake
Where the lake is
Vänern: Questions
No. Russia's Ladoga and Onega are larger. Vänern is the largest lake in the European Union and the third largest in Europe.
They are thousands of low, rocky islets smoothed by glacial ice. Together they give the lake its distinctive broken shoreline.
About 153 km³, over 5,655 km² and up to 106 m deep.
Sources and data year
Outline: Natural Earth, public domain. Simplified and reprojected.