Sommen is one of Swedens largests lakes with a surface area of 132 km².
Lake sommen is located in southern Sweden on the border between Östergötland and Småland, but the largest part of the lake is in Östergötland.
The largest towns near the lake are Tranås, Malexander and Sommen. Other than that, the area surrounding the lake is mostly a wild, wooden landscape.
The lake is located in deep forests and is surrounded by a mountainous landscape, which gave the lake an irregular shape with many bays and nearly 350 islands.
Because of the archipelago characteristics, with several narrow straits, shallow bays, large pelagic areas, deeps and different nutritional status in the eastern and western basin, there is room for many fish species - i.e. many potential niches. The lake is nutrient poor, which is why it lacks most carp species (The cyprinids).
Over the years, the lake has been trafficed by several old steamboats, one of which still remain in service - the old wood-powered "Boxholm II", which has been sailing on the lake since 1904.
There are several ancient legends surrounding the lake, one of which is about Urkon, also called the 'Sommakoa'. It is said that there was an old angry cow that kicked and scratched up a big hole. Later on, it was filled with water and then became the lake Sommen.
