Motala, a town of Sweden, in the district (l n) 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 1880, 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, railway locomotives, iron bridges, machinery, &c., are built; the company has branches in Norrkoping, Gothenburg, and elsewhere.
Motala
