Karlskrona (, , ) is a
locality
Locality may refer to:
* Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England
* Locality (linguistics)
* Locality (settlement)
* Suburbs and localities (Australia), in which a locality is a geographic subdivis ...
and the seat of
Karlskrona Municipality
Karlskrona Municipality (''Karlskrona kommun'') is a Municipalities of Sweden, municipality in Blekinge County in South Sweden in southern Sweden. It borders to Emmaboda Municipality, Torsås Municipality and Ronneby Municipality. The city of Karl ...
,
Blekinge County
Blekinge County ( sv, Blekinge län) is a county or '' län'' in the south of Sweden. It borders the Counties of Skåne, Kronoberg, Kalmar and the Baltic Sea. The capital is Karlskrona. It is the smallest of the present administrative countie ...
,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
with a population of 66,675 in 2018.
It is also the capital of
Blekinge County
Blekinge County ( sv, Blekinge län) is a county or '' län'' in the south of Sweden. It borders the Counties of Skåne, Kronoberg, Kalmar and the Baltic Sea. The capital is Karlskrona. It is the smallest of the present administrative countie ...
. Karlskrona is known as Sweden's only
baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
city and is host to Sweden's largest naval base and the headquarters of the
Swedish Coast Guard
The Swedish Coast Guard ( sv, Kustbevakningen) is a Swedish civilian government agency tasked with:
* maritime surveillance and other control and inspection tasks as well as environmental cleanup after oil spills at sea.
* co-ordinate the civil ...
.
Historically, the city has been home to a
German minority, thus enabling the formation of a
German Congregational church. It also counted
Jewish people
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
in its population.
In 1998, parts of the city, including the
Karlskrona naval base
The Karlskrona naval base ( sv, Karlskrona örlogsbas) is the largest naval base of the Swedish Navy. Located in Blekinge in southern Sweden, the base has close ties with the city of Karlskrona. It has an exceptionally well-sheltered location: arc ...
, was declared a
UNESCO World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
.
History
![Karlskrona founding fathers](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Karlskrona_founding_fathers.jpg)
The island on which Karlskrona was built,
Trossö
Trossö is an island in Blekinge County, southern Sweden. It is situated within the Karlskrona archipelago. The main road, Osterleden ( E22), connects the island to the mainland. The city of Karlskrona is spread over 30 islands, the main one being ...
, was owned during the 17th century by the farmer Vittus Andersson. Under Danish rule, there was another, older town called Lyckå on the mainland a couple of kilometers away. A little further away, the Danes had started to build
Kristianopel
Kristianopel () is a village in Karlskrona Municipality in the southeastern Swedish region of Blekinge. In 2015 it had a population of 88.
History of the town
Flint finds have been made at the site, which indicates that there have been Stone Age ...
before
Blekinge
Blekinge (, old da, Bleking) is one of the traditional Swedish provinces (), situated in the southern coast of the geographic region of Götaland, in southern Sweden. It borders Småland, Scania and the Baltic Sea. It is the country's second ...
fell under Swedish rule in 1658. Until 1679, the island and the nearby islets were owned by the farmer Vittus Andersson; he was now forced to sell his properties to the Swedish crown. That same year, plans were begun to base most of the kingdom's fleet on Trossö.
The city was founded on 10 August 1680 when the
Royal Swedish Navy
The Swedish Navy ( sv, Svenska marinen) is the naval branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet () – as well as marine units, the Amphibious Corps ().
In Swedish, vessels o ...
was relocated from the Stockholm area to Trossö, which had up until then been used chiefly for farming and grazing. At the time Sweden was the dominant military power in the Baltic Sea region, but needed a better strategic location against Denmark, since southern parts of Sweden had been conquered only a few decades before (see the
Torstenson War
The Torstenson war, Hannibal controversy or Hannibal War ( no, Hannibalsfeiden) was a short period of conflict between Sweden and Denmark–Norway from 1643 to 1645 towards the end of the Thirty Years' War. The names refer to Swedish general L ...
). The Swedish fleet tended to get stuck in the ice during winter while located close to Stockholm and was therefore moved south. The island had a very strategic position with short sailing distances to the German and Baltic provinces. The city name means ''Karl's Crown'' in honour of King
Karl XI of Sweden
Charles XI or Carl ( sv, Karl XI; ) was King of Sweden from 1660 until his death, in a period of Swedish history known as the Swedish Empire (1611–1721).
He was the only son of King Charles X Gustav of Sweden and Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-G ...
, the name being inspired by the name of the city
Landskrona
Landskrona (old da, Landskrone) is a town in Scania, Sweden. Located on the shores of the Öresund, it occupies a natural port, which has lent the town at first military and subsequent commercial significance. Ferries operate from Landskrona t ...
.
In 1682, bridges were built that connected the city center with the mainland. The first city plan, drawn up in 1683 by
Erik Dahlbergh
''
Count Erik Jönsson Dahlbergh (10 October 162516 January 1703) was a Swedish military engineer, Governor-general and Field marshal. He rose to the level of nobility through his military competence. As an architect and draftsman, he was renow ...
,
Hans Wachtmeister
Hans Wachtmeister af Johannishus, ( – ) was admiral general of the Swedish Navy and advisor to King Charles XI of Sweden and King Charles XII of Sweden. He served in the Scanian War of 1675–1679 and during the following twenty years of p ...
and Carl Magnus Stuart, shows Karlskrona as a pure fortress. The 1694 plan by Erik Dahlberg, which was later followed, also provided space for urban development.
The city grew quickly and by 1750 Karlskrona had about 10,000 inhabitants. It was then one of the biggest cities in the country. Most of the baroque buildings from this era are still standing, which is why the city centre is architecturally uniform.
Karlskrona soon became the kingdom's third largest city, after
Riga
Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
and
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
.
The shipyard in Karlskrona was established almost at the same time as the city. It was a necessity because of the heavy losses the Swedish navy had suffered in 1659. In 1711, the shipyard was Sweden's largest industrial employer with 1,100 workers. The oldest dock, the Polhem dock, is cut in the cliff itself and is still in use. It got its name from
Christopher Polhem
Christopher Polhammar (18 December 1661 – 30 August 1751) better known as Christopher Polhem (), which he took after his ennoblement in 1716, was a Swedish scientist, inventor and industrialist. He made significant contributions to the economi ...
("The Swedish da Vinci", a famous scientist with several inventions still in use). There is also a historical rope making factory,
Repslagarbanan, that is now open for guided tour.
Karlskrona developed rapidly, but in the early 18th century stagnation occurred due to war and plagues. 1701 — 1711 died about 7,000 people when the plague struck the city. In 1741 and 1789, the city was again hit by plagues, each claiming 6,000 lives.
When Karlskrona, as a military-closed port city, slowly withered away in step with the Swedish great power, the growth slowed, with the city losing much of its former glory, but it has nevertheless retained its position as a strong
naval base
A naval base, navy base, or military port is a military base, where warships and naval ships are docked when they have no mission at sea or need to restock. Ships may also undergo repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that us ...
. That Karlskrona was intended as a future capital of a great power is noticeable mainly in its central parts where Stortorget follows the ideals of the time for what Europe's great power cities would look like. With its large open
piazza
A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...
where the church, town hall and state administration are located in the outer edges of the square, it follows the baroque pattern. The number of churches and state administration castles also shows the city's intended task. The large military area and the shipyard show that Karlskrona, as the kingdom's southern gate, was long considered a very important city to defend. Even today, operations are conducted at Karlskronavarvet. Karlskrona was thus intended to take over
Stockholm's place as the kingdom's capital, but these plans were never realized.
During the years 1910 — 1949, there was electric tram traffic from Amiralitetsgatan in the south to Bergåsa in the north.
The city has kept its street structure since its foundation. Since the streets all follow a grid pattern the winds can blow freely from the sea right into the heart of the city.
Parts of the city (mainly the Naval Port) have been declared a
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
.
In October 1981 the
Whiskey-class Soviet submarine ''S-363'' (known as "U137" in Sweden) ran aground in the archipelago near Sturkö just outside Karlskrona. The media characterized it as the "Whiskey on the Rocks" affair. The incident caused a temporary rise in tensions between Sweden and the Soviet Union. While the submarine's grounding was inadvertent, and likely the result of inebriation among the crew, the submarine almost certainly was engaged in an unspecified covert mission at the time.
Geography
The city of Karlskrona is spread over 30 islands in the eastern part of
Blekinge archipelago
Blekinge archipelago is an archipelago in the Baltic Sea, located in Blekinge in the south of Sweden.
Geography
Blekinge archipelago stretches among almost the entire coastline of Blekinge, from west to east. It covers some including water; the ...
,
Trossö
Trossö is an island in Blekinge County, southern Sweden. It is situated within the Karlskrona archipelago. The main road, Osterleden ( E22), connects the island to the mainland. The city of Karlskrona is spread over 30 islands, the main one being ...
being the main one.
Other populated mentionable islands are
Saltö,
Sturkö,
Hästö,
Långö and
Aspö
Aspö is a small village on the Aspö Island in Väståboland, Finland. Until 2009 it belonged to the municipality of Korpo. Its Finnish-language name is Haapasaari, although this name is seldom used. The village is known for its white limestone ...
. The islet of
Stumholmen was formerly property of the Navy and today it houses the National Naval Museum (
Marinmuseum
Marinmuseum (previously: Shipyard Museum, ''Varvsmuseet''; alternate: Naval Dockyard Museum; translation: Naval Museum) is a maritime museum located on Stumholmen island, in Karlskrona. It is Sweden's national naval museum, dedicated to the Swedis ...
). Outside the city lies the archipelago of Karlskrona, the most southern of the Swedish archipelagos. Several islands are connected to the city by ferries.
Culture and heritages
The most important day in Karlskrona is the day before midsummer's eve. On that day a big fair takes place and attracts tens of thousands to visit Karlskrona. The fair is called ''Lövmarknaden'' (The Leaf Fair) and is very popular among the locals.
The main square of Karlskrona is the biggest in Scandinavia.
Every year in late July/early August a popular festival called ''The Sail'' takes place in the harbor of Karlskrona. Usually it is a place where families go to have something to eat and drink, and perhaps watch the sailing boats lined up at the pier. During the sail, the seascouts of Karlskrona will row a boat carrying torches along the docks while playing the national anthems for the visiting ships.
Lately The Sail has been replaced with a festival called
Skärgårdsfest
Karlskrona Skärgårdsfest is a festival where the unique history
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered pre ...
.
The old architecture together with the naval installations comprise the major tourist attractions of Karlskrona. The city has a pleasant atmosphere and is one of the highlights of south-east Sweden.
Architectural Heritage
Karlskrona has preserved its buildings and its layout virtually intact since its foundation.
When the city was founded in 1680, it was primarily thought of as a military city, with many defenses and fortifications exploiting the particular topography of the city. Some fortifications were located on the main island (Trossö) such as the Bastion Aurora, built at the beginning of the 18th century, but much of it was located on the nearby islands (Ljungskär, Mjölnareholmen, Godnatt, Koholmen and Kurrholmen) or more distant, such as the islands closing the bay, with in particular the important fortress of Kungsholmen and its circular port.
File:Bastion Aurora 1.JPG, Bastion Aurora
File:Västra kruthuset, Borgmästarfjärden.JPG, Västra kruthuset
File:Kungsholms fort - donjon.JPG, The Kungsholmen fort
File:Kungsholms fort 030.JPG, The circular harbor of Kungsholmen
But the civil part of the city was also carefully planned. It has a rectangular grid plan, with however some diagonal streets, created because of the relief of the city center.
Nicodème Tessin l'Ancien was responsible for the design of the buildings, and he gave the city a very uniform
baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
style.
The central building of the city is the Fredrikskyrkan church, built in the 1690s, On the main square, which is also the highest point of the island. Several other churches are located in the city, such as the Church of the Holy Trinity, built for the Germans of the city in 1709, or the Amiralitetskyrkan, consecrated in 1685
[.]
File:Fredrikskyrkan_Karlskrona.jpg, The Fredrikskyrkan Church
File:Church of Holy Trinity Karlskrona.jpg, Church of the Holy Trinity
File:Amiralitetskyrkan. s.w.JPG, Amiralitetskyrkan
In front of the Amiralitetskyrkan church is the statue of Rosenbom, made famous by the children's book of Selma Lagerlöf, ''
The Wonderful Adventures of Nils
''The Wonderful Adventures of Nils'' ( sv, Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige, literally ''Nils Holgersson's wonderful journey across Sweden'') is a work of fiction by the Swedish writer Selma Lagerlöf, the first woman to receive th ...
'', in which the statue tells the story of the church. Near the church is also the Admiralstorn Tower, dating from 1699, originally used to indicate the time for the shipyard workers but used since 1909 as the church tower The ma is seen holding some text in Swedish. The English translation of that text is "I humbly beg of you, even though my voice may be weak, come and put a penny in but first lift my hat. Blessed are those that care for the poor." which is the last sentence in the bible. Nearby, there is paper with the translation of that text, the translated languages are English, German, Polish, Danish, Norwegian, and Finnish. The English translation is written by Gorge Hopkins.
File:Karlskrona Rosenbom.jpg, The statue of Rosenbom
File:Admiralstorn karlskrona väst.jpg, Admiralstorn
Finally, the city has some more recent buildings, such as the model room, having hosted between 1780 and 1920 models of boats, Now transferred to the Marine Museum, or the town hall built after the fire of 1790. Finally, the county building (Länsresidenset) built between 1909 and 1911.
File:Karlskrona marinbas - Mönster och modellsalsbyggnaden.JPG, The model room
File:Karlskrona town hall Dec 2008.jpg, City Hall
File:Länsresedenset Karlskrona.JPG, Länsresidenset
Museums
![Marinmuseum karlskrona dag](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Marinmuseum_karlskrona_dag.jpg)
The most visited museum of the city is the
Naval Museum
A maritime museum (sometimes nautical museum) is a museum specializing in the display of objects relating to ships and travel on large bodies of water. A subcategory of maritime museums are naval museums, which focus on navies and the milita ...
, with around 250,000 visitors a year. About half of those visitors are Swedish, the other half from other countries. The Naval Museum is Sweden's national museum for the history of the Swedish Navy. Along with exhibitions, the museum contains object collections, a drawings archive, photographic archive and a library. The museum is also involved in research.
The present museum building on Stumholmen in Karlskrona was opened in 1997 by the present king Carl XVI Gustaf. Before that the museum lay in the former cadet barracks in the naval harbour, Örlogshamnen, and until 1963 was known as the Shipyard Museum (Varvsmuseet).
The museum is based on the "model room" created in 1752 by
King Adolf Frederick of Sweden, in which several boat models were stored in order to test different types of structures.
[.] Nowadays, these models still form the core of the museum's collection, but the museum also traces the history of the Royal Swedish Navy.
The city is also home to the Blekinge Museum, with visitors in 2008.
[.]
Economy
Some of the biggest employers in Karlskrona are Telenor, Ericsson and
Roxtec
Roxtec is a company specialising in the development and manufacture of cable and pipe seals (sometimes known as multi cable transits). Roxtec's products are designed to seal cable and pipe penetrations in order to protect from multiple hazards i ...
. The city has an overall strong presence in information technology based industries.
Transport
The city is positioned at the south east corner of Sweden with excellent connections to the other side of the Baltic Sea. There is a ferry line to
Gdynia
Gdynia ( ; ; german: Gdingen (currently), (1939–1945); csb, Gdiniô, , , ) is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With a population of 243,918, it is the List of cities in Poland, 12th-largest city in Poland and ...
in Poland transporting both goods and passengers provided by the ferry operator
Stena Line
Stena Line is a Swedish shipping line company and one of the largest ferry operators in the world. It services Denmark, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Sweden. Stena Line is a major unit of Ste ...
.
Most of the islands of Karlskrona are connected by roads. One of the bigger populated Islands
Aspö
Aspö is a small village on the Aspö Island in Väståboland, Finland. Until 2009 it belonged to the municipality of Korpo. Its Finnish-language name is Haapasaari, although this name is seldom used. The village is known for its white limestone ...
is connected with a small road ferry. Boats also travel between the archipelago's various islands during the summer months.
Truck transport
The city is close to the European Highway 22, connected by a small section of highway, part of the national road 28. The E22 connects the main cities of southern Sweden such as Malmö, Lund, Kristianstad, then climbs along the east coast towards Kalmar and Norrköping. The national road 28 connects the Karlstad to Emmaboda.
Rail transport
![Karlskrona järnvägsstation](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Karlskrona_j%C3%A4rnv%C3%A4gsstation.jpg)
The city being one of the most important in Sweden, with in particular a large shipyard, the need for railway was great.
[.] The city received its first railway line in 1874, connecting it to Växjö, which itself was connected since 1865 to the main line Södra stambanan.
[ The line then came to the north of the city center of Karlskrona. The shipyard, further south, was connected in 1888, thanks to an underground line of 2 km, but the line closed in 1990.][ This line is now part of the Kust till Kust banan, linking Göteborg and Kalmar. The town received a new railway line in 1889 when the future Blekinge kustbana, linking Kristianstad to Karlskrona, was built.
]
Maritime transport
There is a regular ferry service from Karlskrona to Gdynia
Gdynia ( ; ; german: Gdingen (currently), (1939–1945); csb, Gdiniô, , , ) is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With a population of 243,918, it is the List of cities in Poland, 12th-largest city in Poland and ...
in Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
, operated by Stena Line
Stena Line is a Swedish shipping line company and one of the largest ferry operators in the world. It services Denmark, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Sweden. Stena Line is a major unit of Ste ...
, with an average of two return trips per day. This line carries nearly 500,000 people a year.[.] The port of Karlskrona also serves the archipelago of Blekinge.[
]
Air transport
The nearest airport to the city is Ronneby Airport, near Ronneby, with scheduled flights to Stockholm (Bromma and Arlanda). 191,168 people transited through this airport in 2009.
Religion
There are three important churches in Karlskrona. Fredrikskyrkan (The Frederick church) was designed by Nicodemus Tessin the Younger
Count Nicodemus Tessin the Younger (May 23, 1654 – April 10, 1728) was a Swedish Baroque architect, city planner, and administrator.
The son of Nicodemus Tessin the Elder and the father of Carl Gustaf Tessin, Tessin the Younger was the middle ...
, who was influenced by Italian architecture. The foundation of that church was laid in 1720, and it was inaugurated in 1744. It differs from usual Swedish churches in its orange color, adornment and its two towers despite not being a bishop's church.
Trefaldighetskyrkan (Church of Holy Trinity), also called ''The German Church'', was built between 1697–1709, following Tessin's drawings. It is likewise located at the market square in the centre core. The dome-shaped roof also takes its influence from Italian architecture and is rarely seen on Swedish churches.
Karlskrona Admiralty Church
The Karlskrona Admiralty Church ( sv, Karlskrona amiralitetskyrka) is a church in Karlskrona, Sweden. The church is also known as the Ulrica Pia in honor of Queen Ulrike Eleonora of Denmark, Queen consort of King Charles XI of Sweden ('pia' i ...
(Amiralitetskyrkan) was built in 1685 in red-painted wood and is one of Sweden's largest wooden churches. Outside the church there is a well-known statue called Rosenbom Old Rosenbom in front of the church
The original inside the church
In front of the Karlskrona Admiralty Church, in Sweden, the popular wooden figure of Gubben Rosenbom (''Old Man Rosenbom'') has been standing since the mid 18th century. In 1956 t ...
.
Parishes
* Karlskrona City Parish (from 10 August 1680)
*Karlskrona German Parish
Karlskrona (, , ) is a locality and the seat of Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with a population of 66,675 in 2018. It is also the capital of Blekinge County. Karlskrona is known as Sweden's only baroque city and is host to Sw ...
(from 10 August 1680 to 1 November 1846)
*Karlskrona Prisoner's Parish
Karlskrona (, , ) is a urban areas of Sweden, locality and the seat of Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with a population of 66,675 in 2018. It is also the capital of Blekinge County. Karlskrona is known as Sweden's only baroque c ...
(from 1808 to 4 July 1866)
*The Mosaic Parish in Karlskrona
The Mosaic Parish in Karlskrona, ', founded in 1785, was the fourth Jewish parish in Sweden. In 1994 it was placed in a resting mode.
Background
Jews were not allowed to reside in Sweden prior to 1779 and when, in the reign of Gustav III, the fi ...
(1785 to 1994)
*Royal Karlskrona Admiralty Parish
The Royal Karlskrona Admiralty Parish ( sv, Karlskrona amiralitetsförsamling) in Karlskrona, Sweden, is a non-territorial Lutheran parish for navy personnel and their families, which has existed in Karlskrona since 1685. Its church is the woode ...
(from 1681, a non-territorial parish)
There is also a Catholic Church, Our Lady of Fatima, at Södra Kungsgatan 1, 371 30 Karlskrona
Education
The city is the main campus of Blekinge tekniska högskola, an Institute of Technology founded in 1989,[.] which is one of the few högskolor (university colleges) in Sweden with the right to issue a doctorate,[.] thus having a status quite similar to that of a real university. The institute employs about 600 people and hosts about 8,000 students.[
]
Sports
The following sports clubs are located in Karlskrona:
* Karlskrona HK
Karlskrona HK is a Swedish ice hockey club located in Karlskrona, Sweden, established in 2001. They played three seasons in the top-tier Swedish Hockey League (SHL) between the 2015–16 and 2017–18 seasons. Their home arena is NKT Arena Karl ...
* FK Karlskrona
* Hästö IF
* Pillagers HC
Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war, natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting. ...
* FBC Karlskrona
In literature
In ''The Surgeon's Mate
''The Surgeon's Mate'' is the seventh historical novel in the Aubrey–Maturin series written by Patrick O'Brian, first published in 1980. The story is set during the War of 1812 and the Napoleonic Wars.
Buoyed by victory over an American ...
'' by Patrick O'Brian
Patrick O'Brian, Order of the British Empire, CBE (12 December 1914 – 2 January 2000), born Richard Patrick Russ, was an English novelist and translator, best known for his Aubrey–Maturin series of sea novels set in the Royal Navy during t ...
, Karlskrona is the base for the British Baltic fleet, approximately 1813, when the two nations were at peace with each other and allied against Napoleon. Captain Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin start an action to free a group of Catalan forces still in French service on a fictional island on the Pomeranian coast. The estimable Vice Admiral Sir James Saumarez
Admiral of the Red James Saumarez, 1st Baron de Saumarez (or Sausmarez), GCB (11 March 1757 – 9 October 1836) was an admiral of the British Royal Navy, known for his victory at the Second Battle of Algeciras.
Early life
Saumarez was born ...
is still in command of the Baltic fleet for the purpose of the novel.
Gallery
File:Stadsbiblioteket Karlskrona.jpg, Karlskrona city public library
File:Museum Lionardo da Vinci Ideale.jpg, Museum Lionardo da Vinci Ideale
File:Kapellparken in Karlskrona.jpg, Kapellparken
File:Admiralstorn karlskrona väst.jpg, Admiralstorn (bell tower)
File:Västra kruthuset, Borgmästarfjärden.JPG, Gunpowder House
File:Gamla mastkranen Karlskrona.JPG, The shipyard Karlskronavarvet with the old crane
File:Fiskbron - Karlskrona.JPG, Fiskbron, the old harbour in centre of karlskrona
File:Bastion Aurora 1.JPG, Bastion Aurora
File:Varmbadhuset Karlskrona.JPG, Bath-house in Karlskrona
File:Milsten Karlskrona.jpg, Milestone in Karlskrona
File:Nils holgersson karlskrona.jpg , Nils Holgersson, statue made by Ralf Borselius
File:Hoglands park Karl XIII.jpg, Statue of King Charles XIII
See also
* ''U 137''
*Swedish Coast Guard
The Swedish Coast Guard ( sv, Kustbevakningen) is a Swedish civilian government agency tasked with:
* maritime surveillance and other control and inspection tasks as well as environmental cleanup after oil spills at sea.
* co-ordinate the civil ...
*Workers Front for Indochina Workers Front for Indochina (in Swedish: ''Arbetarfront för Indokina'') was a political group in Karlskrona, Sweden. The group emerged as the Karlskrona FNL-Group broke away from the United FNL Groups (DFFG) in January 1973. The Karlskrona group ...
References
External links
Karlskrona Municipality - Official site
Photos from Karlskrona
(from online version of Nordisk familjebok
''Nordisk familjebok'' (, "Nordic Family Book") is a Swedish encyclopedia that was published in print from between 1876 and 1993, and that is now fully available in digital form via Project Runeberg at Linköping University. Despite their consi ...
)
*
{{Authority control
Municipal seats of Blekinge County
County seats in Sweden
Swedish municipal seats
Populated places in Karlskrona Municipality
World Heritage Sites in Sweden
Coastal cities and towns in Sweden
Populated places established in 1680
Ports and harbours of Sweden
Port cities and towns of the Baltic Sea
1680 establishments in Sweden
Cities in Blekinge County