#kalmarsund

Byrums Raukar, Sweden (No. 1)

Byrums raukar are a geological formation of a group of rauks (Swedish term for stacks) on the western shore in the north of Öland, Sweden (the island forming the Kalmar Strait with the Swedish mainland) near the village of Byrum. The group consists of about 120 limestone stacks, rich in fossils, of up to 4 m (13 ft) high on a 600 m (2,000 ft) stretch of beach. The area is about 3 hectares, is a Natural Monument III and a nature reserve since 1935.

Kalmar Strait, Sweden (No. 4)

Färjestaden is a settlement in Torslunda parish (to a small extent also in Algutsrum parish ) in Mörbylånga municipality on the west coast of Öland, which connects to Kalmar on the mainland with the Öland Bridge. With its roughly 6,000 inhabitants (the central part), Färjestaden is the largest urban area on Öland, larger than the two central areas of Borgholm and Mörbylånga. Statistics Norway has demarcated for the development in the town a built-up area making up the main part of the town, and a separate small town before 2015 for development in the south-western part, which was named Färjestaden (south-western part) and which in 2015 amounted to the urban area. The ferry town is growing in area and today the areas of Saxnäs , Björnhovda, Runsbäck and Eriksöre are also more or less connected to the town.

Already during the 14th century, the place was an important connection between the mainland and Öland. In connection with the intense wars around Öland and Kalmar during the 17th century, Kråkeskär's Skans was built to fortify the place. At the same time, the mainland connection had been established with a permanent ferry organization, and a community began to emerge with, among other things, a courthouse, an inn and a tannery. The first ting was held in 1644 for Öland's southern mot. A courthouse was built in the early 18th century, and was replaced in 1811 by the building that is today Hotell Skansen's main building.

Until the beginning of the 20th century, Färjestadens gård owned both the harbor and the inn, as well as significant land in the area. In 1903, the port was sold to the neighboring country municipalities, which began an extensive expansion of the port area and the construction of a pier, marina and ferry berths. Previously, the harbor had only consisted of a simple wooden jetty. In 1909, Södra Öland's Railway connected a railway line between Färjestaden and Borgholm around the new ferry berths , and a locomotive workshop and storage for the shipment of goods arose in the harbor area. In the early 1920s, a timber trade was established, which increased construction and population growth in the following decades. The development was for a long time concentrated around the main street, which is today Storgatan.

In connection with the decision to build the Öland Bridge in the 1960s, the community entered a long-term phase of expansion. When the bridge was inaugurated in 1972, the regular ferry traffic ceased and the ferries were sold. One of the old ferries, Kalmarsund VIII, was bought back to Färjestaden in 1999 and is now moored in the harbour.

Kalmar Strait, Sweden (No. 3)

Färjestaden is a locality situated in Mörbylånga Municipality, Kalmar County, Sweden with 5,018 inhabitants in 2010. It is located in the southern part on the island of Öland, on the Kalmar Strait-side of the island, south of Borgholm. Färjestaden, literally The Ferry Town, is named after the ferries that used to be the only connection to the mainland. Nowadays the car-bridge Ölandsbron connects the mainland with the island, and Färjestaden has had an impressive population increase, making it several times bigger than the town Mörbylånga.

In the city center of Färjestaden there is a shopping mall with, among other things, a pharmacy, grocery store and local library.

FBC Kalmarsund is based in the town.

Kalmar Strait, Sweden (No. 2)

Kalmar Sound is the waterway and water between mainland Sweden and the Swedish island of Öland in the Baltic Sea . In the middle of the northern Kalmar Sound lies the island of Blue Virgin . The minimum distance between Öland and the mainland is approximately 3 kilometers.

A well-known lighthouse adjacent to the Kalmar Sound is Långe Jan on Öland's southern cape. Utgrundet's lighthouse is located on Utgrundet, where there used to be a lighthouse. Garpen lighthouse is located at the approach to Bergkvara and north of Kalmar but south of Blå Jungfrun is Dämmans lighthouse towards the mainland. Långe Erik is located at Öland's northern headland.

Based on a royal edict from the 16th century , the Kalmar Sound is the limit for the designations herring (to the south) and strömming (to the north) for the fish Clupea harengus.

The oldest evidence for the name is from the 11th century and is found on the Södermanland runestone Sö 333, according to which someone was killed in the Kalmarna sundum. "Kalmarsund" is considered to be secondary to the place name Kalmarnar, now Kalmar , which in turn has as its prefix the south-east Swedish dialect word kalm which means heap of stones or accumulation of stones. 

Kalmar Strait, Sweden (No. 1)

The Kalmar Strait (Swedish: Kalmarsund) is a strait in the Baltic Sea, located between the Swedish island of Öland and the province of Småland of the Swedish mainland. The strait is about 130 kilometres (81 mi) long and between 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) and 25 kilometres (16 mi) in width.

There is a road bridge across the strait, the Öland Bridge, opened in September 1972.

The areas along the Kalmar Strait have a heritage of Neolithic and Bronze Age habitation; moreover, Mesolithic peoples crossed the strait on an ice bridge in the early Holocene period as glaciers began to recede from Öland. A place where early Mesolithic settlement of the island of Öland occurred is Alby, whose people migrated across the Kalmar Strait approximately 6000 BC, and established one of the oldest known Mesolithic villages in Northern Europe.

Neptune's Fields, Sweden (No. 5)

Öland’s northernmost burial site

On the beach to the south of Neptuni åkrar there is a Viking burial ground called Forgallaskeppet. According to legend, a major sea battle took place off the coast here. The enemy ship, Forgalla, foundered in the shallows that came to be called Forgalla. After the battle, the dead were placed in coffins that were covered with stone. Archaeologists have found, however, that the site contains men, women and children with grave goods from the Viking Age. There is a raised stone located to the south of the burial site, which is called Höga flisa (High sliver). According to tradition, this was a Christian prayer site for the fisherpeople in Byxelkrok.

Facts:

Size: 20 ha, (49 acres)

Year of creation: 1975

Purpose: To protect the scenic, undulating beach and the shingle embankments, which have exceptionally high geoscientific value and which are of fundamental importance for outdoor recreation purposes.

Byrums Raukar, Sweden (No. 2)

Byrums Raukar is a protected natural monument on the west coast of the island of Öland, about 2 kilometers southwest of the town Byrum. It consists of numerous bizarrely shaped chalkstone pillars, the so-called raukar.

The 3-hectare nature reserve Byrums Raukar stretches along the coast for over a length of approximately 600 meters and is home of about 120 bizarre limestone formations. The largest rauks are located in the southern section of the area, reaching heights of up to four meters, while they are smaller in the northern part.

Ottenby Nature Reserve, Sweden (No. 1)

Ottenby is a nature reserve on the Swedish island Öland. It is one of Sweden's largest and most famous places for birdwatchers. The bird watch station Ottenby fågelstation was founded in 1946 together with the Sveriges Ornitologiska Förening. the ringing of birds is one of the main tasks of Ottenby fågelstation.

The goal of the ringing is to view migration routes of birds. Also the spreading of the Avian influenza is viewed at the station.