#blekinge county

Forest (No. 177)

Ronneby, Sweden (six pics)

Efterårsferie Okt. '23 (2) (3) by Bo Helsted

Via Flickr:

Doors, Gates and Windows (No. 53)

Karlskrona, Sweden (No. 4)

The island on which Karlskrona was built, Trossö, 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 before Blekinge 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 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 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, the name being inspired by the name of the city Landskrona.

In 1682, bridges were built that connected the city center with the mainland. The first city plan, drawn up in 1683 by Erik Dahlbergh, Hans Wachtmeister 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 and Stockholm.

Karlshamn, Sweden (No. 1)

Karlshamn is a locality and the seat of Karlshamn Municipality in Blekinge County, Sweden. It had 13,576 inhabitants in 2015, out of 31,846 in the municipality.

Karlshamn received a Royal Charter and city privileges in 1664, when King Charles X Gustav, in Swedish Karl, realized the strategic location near the Baltic Sea. In 1666 the town was named Karlshamn, meaning Karl's Port in honour of the Swedish king.

Karlshamn attracts visitors to the salmon fisheries in "Mörrumsån", to the rocky coastline and the Hällaryd archipelago and to the wooded hinterland. East of the city centre the famous Eriksbergs Viltpark is located. It is an old farmstead with surrounding land now host to a variety of native animals such as European Bison, Crown Deer, Moose and wild boar amongst others. Tourism peaks in June–August, when there is regular boat connection and accommodation service to islands like Tärnö.