Blekinge län
In the 1870s and 80s, Tjurkö was the centre of large-scale quarrying in Blekinge. Small private quarries were common but here on Tjurkö operations were run on an industrial scale early on. The man behind the industry was Franz Herman Wolff. A former German…
Much of Karlshamn’s history circles around events played out on the island of Boön. Besides the natural surroundings, there are many ancient monuments from past epochs. This was once the site of Karlshamn’s fortifications, later replaced by the Citadel on F…
The rock carvings at Möckleryd (Horsahallen) are unique with more than 150 figures carved into an area of 20×10 metres. Here you can see eighty-five ships, the soles of eighteen feet, ten animal figures, two human figures, three circular and about ten other…
Drottningskärs Kastell was mainly built in the last decades of the seventeenth century and is considered to be a prime example of Swedish fortifications, a complete and well-preserved defensive work from Sweden’s Age of Greatness. The fortress has a large d…
Many people come here for a barbecue, to walk the dog, see the animals or admire the beautiful historical buildings. Playground Wämöparken’s playground has something for most children. Here you can swing on a large swing, rock on a seesaw, climb into a hut,…
The lighthouse on Iberget was built in 1910 and is said to be the oldest wooden lighthouse in Sweden still in use. The lighthouse replaced a lighthouse on Drakaberget that was built in 1878.
Hjortahammar was a harbour and presumably an important marketplace as early as the Viking period, as we can tell from a system of underwater piles blockading access around the site dating from the late eleventh century. The oldest part of the grave field da…
The little town, formerly a city, of Kristianopel is framed by an impressive wall that in the early seventeenth century was one of the most modern in Europe. At times in the past, the fortifications were up to nine metres high. Many dramatic moments have pl…
After 300 years as a sealed-off naval area, in 1993, the island of Stumholmen in the centre of Karlskrona, was transformed to become part of the civilian town. Once used to provision the Swedish navy, the island lives and breathes history. History lives on…
The church was consecrated in 1685 and is one of the biggest wooden churches in Sweden. It was built as a provisional building for the admiralty parish. The admiralty church was shown on the first plan of the town and fortress in 1683. It is thought that th…
It is clear that Karlskrona was intended to be a future capital city. The main square, Stortorget, follows the ideal of the time of what a major city of a European power was supposed to look like. The square is one of the biggest paved squares in Europe, wi…
The first lighthouse was built here in 1883 and it was automated in 1919. The site was sold to the farmers on Utlängan, who in turn sold the house and other buildings surrounding the lighthouse to a sea captain named Ekwall. The house became a holiday home…
Code name Gruvan was a coastal surveillance radar station. Gruvan was one of the hidden rooms of the Swedish defence forces on Aspö and ceased operation in 1992. A ramp leads underground and the station was left exactly as it stood when it was in use.
Many people in Sweden have read Wilhelm Moberg’s popular series of novels The Emigrants. The protagonists Karl Oskar and Kristina left Sweden to seek their fortune in America and in the book, their ship embarks from Karlshamn. In memory of Karlshamn’s days…
Shipbuilder Fredrik Henrik af Chapman wanted a summer house by the sea and his best friend architect Carl August Ehrensvärd wanted “primitive people in the north” to discover the classical style of the ancient world. And this was the result, a Swedish woode…
