MOTALA  , a

town of Sweden, in the district (fan) of Ostergotland, on the east side of Lake Vetter at the outflow of the river Motala, 175 M . S.W. by W. of Stockholm by rail . Pop . (1900), 3047 . It is on the Gota canal route (q.v.) . The town was founded in 188o, but the Motala mechanical works, 2 M. east, were founded in 1823 by the Gota Canal Company under the direction of Daniel Fraser, an Englishman . Iron war-ships, rail-way locomotives, iron bridges, machinery, &c., are built; the company has branches in Norrkoping, Gothenburg, and elsewhere .