Editing Øresund (section)

==History==
{{Main|Sound Dues}}

Political control of Øresund has been an important issue in Danish and [[Sweden|Swedish]] history. Denmark maintained [[military]] control with the [[coast]]al [[fortress]] of [[Kronborg]] at [[Elsinore]] on the west side and [[Kärnan]] at [[Helsingborg]] on the east, until the eastern shore was ceded to Sweden in 1658, based on the [[Treaty of Roskilde]]. Both fortresses are located where the strait is 4 kilometres wide.

In 1429, King [[Eric of Pomerania]] introduced the [[Sound Dues]] which remained in effect for more than four centuries, until 1857. Transitory dues on the use of waterways, roads, bridges and crossings were then an accepted way of taxing which could constitute a great part of a state's income. 
The Strait Dues remained the most important source of income for the Danish Crown for several centuries, thus making Danish kings relatively independent of Denmark's [[Privy Council of Denmark|privy council]] and [[aristocracy]].

To be independent of the Øresund, Sweden carried out two great projects: the foundation of [[Gothenburg]] in 1621 and the construction of the [[Göta Canal]] from 1810 to 1832.

The [[Copenhagen Convention of 1857]] abolished the Dues and made the Danish straits an [[international waterway]].

A fixed connection was opened across the strait in 2000, the [[Øresund Bridge]].