Avaskär is a village, with chapel and cemetery, in Kristianopel parish in eastern
Blekinge in
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 ...
.
The city is mentioned first in 1350 and existed until 1600, when the city together with
Lyckå lost its city charter in favor of the newly fortress city
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 ...
. During the 14th century, the Danes re-conquered Blekinge. Avaskär's history is not very well known since the King
Valdemar IV of Denmark (1320–137) is said to have destroyed all the documents from this period.
During the Middle Ages, Avaskär was one of Denmark's smallest cities, located only six kilometers from the Swedish border. The city suffered from numerous depredations and fires during the regular Swedish-Danish wars of the 15th and 16th centuries.
In 1451, King
Charles VIII of Sweden (1408-1470) and King
Christian I of Denmark (1426–1481) met in Avaskär to resolve a conflict. Denmark and Sweden had been at war since 1449 over which country had the right to
Gotland
Gotland (, ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a province, county, municipality, and diocese. The province includes the islands of Fårö and Gotska Sandön to the ...
. No significant resolve was reached as a result of this meeting.
During the
Nordic Seven Years' War
The Northern Seven Years' War (also known as the ''Nordic Seven Years' War'', the ''First Northern War'' or the ''Seven Years War in Scandinavia'') was fought between the Kingdom of Sweden and a coalition of Denmark–Norway, Lübeck, and Polan ...
, the town was burned down by Swedes on 15 September 1563. The city was rebuilt, but its heyday was over.
In 1598,
Sigismund III Vasa (1566–1632) arrived with his fleet to Avaskär and traveled from there to
Kalmar to assert his right to the throne of Sweden (see
War against Sigismund). The following year, King
Christian IV of Denmark decided to found a better fortified town named Kristianopel, and the name Avaskär receded from history.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Avaskar
Populated places in Karlskrona Municipality