Around 1800, Vänersborg had a population of 1,500 inhabitants. Vänersborg was the point at which freight was transshipped from lake ships to below the Trollhättan Falls (and vice versa) where ships could continue unhindered to Gothenburg and beyond. In 1778, the King Karl Canal was opened between Vänersborg and Trollhättan, shortening the overland portage and in 1800, the new Trollhätte Canal and its locks allowed shipping to move between Vänern and the sea. The waterway between Vänern and Gothenburg enabled the town's importance to grow further.