Karlskrona facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Karlskrona
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Clockwise from top: Aerial view of Karlskrona; Fredrik Church; Fiskbron; Trinity Church
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 Karlskrona
Location in Blekinge
Karlskrona
Location in Sweden
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| Country | Sweden | |
| Province | Blekinge | |
| County | Blekinge County | |
| Municipality | Karlskrona Municipality | |
| Charter | 1680 | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 21.72 km2 (8.39 sq mi) | |
| Elevation | 16 m (52 ft) | |
| • Density | 1,621/km2 (4,200/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) | |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) | |
| Postal code |
371 xx
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| Area code(s) | (+46) 455 | |
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | ||
| Official name | Naval Port of Karlskrona | |
| Includes |
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| Criteria | Cultural: (ii)(iv) | |
| Inscription | 1998 (22nd Session) | |
| Area | 320.417 ha (1.23714 sq mi) | |
| Buffer zone | 1,105.077 ha (4.26673 sq mi) | |
Karlskrona is a city in Sweden. It is the main town of Karlskrona Municipality in Blekinge County. About 66,675 people lived there in 2018. Karlskrona is special because it's Sweden's only city built in the baroque style. It also has Sweden's biggest naval base and is home to the Swedish Coast Guard.
Long ago, some German and Jewish people lived in Karlskrona. In 1998, parts of the city, including its naval base, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This means it's a very important place for the world to protect.
Contents
History of Karlskrona
How Karlskrona Was Founded
The island where Karlskrona is built, called Trossö, was once just farmland. In the 16th century, a farmer owned it. Nearby, on the mainland, was an older town named Lyckeby. In 1599, the King of Denmark, Christian IV of Denmark, founded a new town called Kristianopel. Lyckeby lost its special town rights, and its castle was torn down.
Later, in 1658, the area became part of Sweden. The Swedish government wanted to move its navy from Stockholm. Stockholm's port often froze in winter. They needed a better, ice-free place for their ships. Karlskrona was chosen because it was in a new Swedish area and was a good spot to defend against Denmark.
The Swedish King Charles XI decided to build a new naval base and city on Trossö. The island was perfect for defense. It was surrounded by smaller islands where forts could be built. In 1679, the king bought the island from a farmer. Work then began to move the navy here.
The city of Karlskrona was officially founded on August 10, 1680. Its name means "Karl's Crown," honoring King Charles XI. People from a nearby town, Ronneby, were asked to move to Karlskrona. The new city also got special tax breaks for several years. Shipbuilders came from other parts of Sweden to work on the new naval base.
Growth and Challenges
By 1682, bridges connected the city center to the mainland. The city was planned to be a strong fortress. It quickly grew, and by 1750, about 10,000 people lived there. Karlskrona became one of the largest cities in Sweden. Many of its beautiful baroque buildings from this time are still standing today.
The shipyard in Karlskrona started almost at the same time as the city. It was very important for building and repairing navy ships. In 1711, it was Sweden's largest industrial workplace, with 1,100 workers. The oldest dock, called the Polhem dock, is carved into the rock and is still used today. There is also a historic rope-making factory.
Karlskrona grew fast, but it faced tough times in the 1700s. Wars and diseases, like the plague, caused many people to die. The city lost some of its importance as Sweden's power changed. However, it always remained a key naval base. Karlskrona was designed to be a grand capital city. Its large main square, with churches and government buildings, shows this grand plan.
The city's streets are laid out in a grid pattern. This means the wind from the sea can blow right through the city. Parts of Karlskrona, especially the Naval Port, are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Geography of Karlskrona
Karlskrona is spread out over 30 islands in the eastern part of the Blekinge archipelago. Trossö is the main island. Other islands where people live include Saltö, Sturkö, Hästö, Långö, and Aspö. The small island of Stumholmen used to belong to the Navy. Today, it is home to the National Naval Museum.
The Karlskrona archipelago is the southernmost group of islands in Sweden. Many islands are connected to the city by ferries.
| Climate data for Karlskrona, 2015-2020 Extremes 2015-2020, Sunshine 2018-2023 | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 9.4 (48.9) |
13.8 (56.8) |
12.8 (55.0) |
18.5 (65.3) |
26.4 (79.5) |
28.7 (83.7) |
29.2 (84.6) |
29.4 (84.9) |
25.0 (77.0) |
17.7 (63.9) |
15.2 (59.4) |
10.9 (51.6) |
29.4 (84.9) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 4.0 (39.2) |
4.3 (39.7) |
7.0 (44.6) |
11.8 (53.2) |
16.6 (61.9) |
21.0 (69.8) |
22.0 (71.6) |
22.9 (73.2) |
18.7 (65.7) |
13.2 (55.8) |
8.5 (47.3) |
6.2 (43.2) |
13.1 (55.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 2.0 (35.6) |
2.2 (36.0) |
3.6 (38.5) |
7.3 (45.1) |
12.1 (53.8) |
16.5 (61.7) |
17.8 (64.0) |
18.9 (66.0) |
15.0 (59.0) |
10.4 (50.7) |
6.5 (43.7) |
4.4 (39.9) |
9.7 (49.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 0.3 (32.5) |
0.1 (32.2) |
0.1 (32.2) |
2.8 (37.0) |
7.6 (45.7) |
12.0 (53.6) |
13.8 (56.8) |
15.0 (59.0) |
11.3 (52.3) |
7.4 (45.3) |
4.5 (40.1) |
2.6 (36.7) |
6.3 (43.3) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −10.2 (13.6) |
−8.9 (16.0) |
−6.1 (21.0) |
−1.1 (30.0) |
2.1 (35.8) |
7.5 (45.5) |
10.6 (51.1) |
9.8 (49.6) |
4.4 (39.9) |
0.8 (33.4) |
−4.1 (24.6) |
−4.9 (23.2) |
−10.2 (13.6) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 43.3 (1.70) |
25.9 (1.02) |
32.9 (1.30) |
31.0 (1.22) |
34.8 (1.37) |
39.7 (1.56) |
58.3 (2.30) |
42.7 (1.68) |
51.5 (2.03) |
46.4 (1.83) |
52.9 (2.08) |
44.0 (1.73) |
503.3 (19.81) |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 48.5 | 98.6 | 167.5 | 275.5 | 323.0 | 356.6 | 317.3 | 265.8 | 199.1 | 128.5 | 33.1 | 31.3 | 2,244.8 |
| Mean daily daylight hours | 7.7 | 9.6 | 11.9 | 14.3 | 16.4 | 17.6 | 16.9 | 15 | 12.7 | 10.4 | 8.2 | 7 | 12.3 |
| Average ultraviolet index | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Source: Weather Atlas(daylight) Nomadseason(UV) | |||||||||||||
| Climate data for Karlskrona | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average sea temperature °C | 2.8 |
2.3 |
2.3 |
4 |
8.2 |
14.1 |
17.5 |
18.1 |
16 |
12 |
8.6 |
5.3 |
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| Source: Weather Atlas | |||||||||||||
Culture and Heritage
Festivals and Events
A very important day in Karlskrona is the day before Midsummer's Eve. A large fair called Lövmarknaden (The Leaf Fair) takes place. It brings thousands of visitors to the city and is very popular with local people.
Karlskrona's main square is the largest in all of Scandinavia.
Every year in late July or early August, there's a popular festival called The Sail. It happens in the harbor. Families go there to eat, drink, and see sailing boats. During this festival, sea scouts row a boat with torches. They play national anthems for the visiting ships. Recently, The Sail has been replaced by a festival called Skärgårdsfest.
The old buildings and naval sites are big tourist attractions. The city has a nice feeling and is a highlight of southeast Sweden.
Architectural Heritage
Karlskrona has kept its buildings and city plan almost exactly as they were when it was founded. When the city started in 1680, it was mainly a military city. It had many defenses and forts. Some forts were on the main island, Trossö, like Bastion Aurora. Many others were on nearby islands like Ljungskär and Kungsholmen.
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Bastion Aurora
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Västra kruthuset
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The Kungsholmen fort
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The circular harbor of Kungsholmen
The non-military part of the city was also carefully planned. It has a grid pattern of streets. However, some streets are diagonal because of the hilly land. Nicodème Tessin l'Ancien designed the buildings. He gave the city a very consistent baroque style.
The main church is Fredrikskyrkan, built in the 1690s. It stands on the main square, which is the highest point on the island. Other churches include the Church of the Holy Trinity, built for the German community in 1709. The Amiralitetskyrkan was finished in 1685.
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The Fredrikskyrkan Church
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Church of the Holy Trinity
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Amiralitetskyrkan
In front of the Amiralitetskyrkan church is a famous statue of Rosenbom. It became well-known from the children's book The Wonderful Adventures of Nils. The statue holds text that asks people to put a penny in a slot after lifting its hat. It says, "Blessed are those that care for the poor."
Near the church is also the Admiralstorn Tower. It dates from 1699. It used to tell shipyard workers the time. Since 1909, it has been the church tower.
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The statue of Rosenbom
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Admiralstorn
The city also has newer buildings. The model room used to hold boat models from 1780 to 1920. These models are now at the Marine Museum. The town hall was built after a fire in 1790. The county residence was built between 1909 and 1911.
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The model room
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City Hall
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County governor residence
Museums in Karlskrona
The most popular museum in Karlskrona is the Naval Museum. It gets about 250,000 visitors each year. This museum tells the story of the Swedish Navy. It has old objects, drawings, photos, and a library. The museum also does research.
The current museum building opened in 1997. Before that, it was in an old cadet building. The museum started from a "model room" created in 1752 by King Adolf Frederick of Sweden. This room stored boat models used for testing designs. These models are still a main part of the museum's collection.
Karlskrona is also home to the Blekinge Museum.
Economy
Some of the biggest employers in Karlskrona are Telenor Sverige, Ericsson, NKT A/S, and Roxtec. The city is strong in information technology industries.
Transport
Karlskrona is in the southeast of Sweden. It has good connections to the other side of the Baltic Sea.
Road and Ferry Travel
Most of Karlskrona's islands are connected by roads. One large island, Aspö, is reached by a small road ferry. Boats also travel between the different islands in the archipelago during summer.
The city is close to European Highway 22 (E22). This highway connects major cities in southern Sweden. It then goes up the east coast. National Road 28 also connects Karlskrona to other towns.
Train Travel
Because Karlskrona was an important city with a large shipyard, it needed trains. The first railway line came in 1874. It connected Karlskrona to Växjö. The shipyard got its own underground train line in 1888, but it closed in 1990. Today, Karlskrona is part of the Kust till Kust banan, a train line linking Göteborg and Kalmar. Another train line connecting Kristianstad to Karlskrona was built in 1889.
Sea Travel
There is a regular ferry service from Karlskrona to Gdynia in Poland. The company Stena Line operates this ferry, usually twice a day. Nearly 500,000 people use this ferry each year. The port of Karlskrona also serves the islands of the Blekinge archipelago.
Air Travel
The closest airport is Ronneby Airport, near Ronneby. It has flights to Stockholm. In 2009, over 191,000 people traveled through this airport.
Religion
There are three important churches in Karlskrona. Fredrikskyrkan (The Frederick Church) was designed by Nicodemus Tessin the Younger. Its building started in 1720 and it opened in 1744. It is unusual for Swedish churches because of its orange color and two towers.
Trefaldighetskyrkan (Church of Holy Trinity) is also called The German Church. It was built between 1697 and 1709. It is also in the main market square. Its dome-shaped roof is rare for Swedish churches.
Karlskrona Admiralty Church (Amiralitetskyrkan) was built in 1685. It is made of red-painted wood and is one of Sweden's largest wooden churches. Outside this church is the famous statue of Rosenbom.
Parishes
- Karlskrona City Parish (since 1680)
- Karlskrona German Parish (1680 to 1846)
- Karlskrona Prisoner's Parish (1808 to 1866)
- The Mosaic Parish in Karlskrona (1785 to 1994)
- Royal Karlskrona Admiralty Parish (since 1681, a special parish for the navy)
There is also a Catholic Church, Our Lady of Fatima.
Education
Karlskrona is home to the main campus of Blekinge tekniska högskola. This is an Institute of Technology founded in 1989. It is one of the few university colleges in Sweden that can grant doctorates. About 600 people work there, and around 8,000 students attend.
Sports
Here are some sports clubs in Karlskrona:
- Karlskrona HK
- FK Karlskrona
- Hästö IF
- Pillagers HC
- FBC Karlskrona
- Carlskrona IF
Prominent People from Karlskrona
- Lars-Owe Carlberg - Film Producer
- Bengt Ernryd - Jazz Musician and composer
- Kerstin Nerbe - Conductor
- Stig Ahlgren - Writer
- Johannes Braun (1799-1859) - known as the Paul Revere of California
In Literature
In the book The Surgeon's Mate by Patrick O'Brian, Karlskrona is used as a base for the British Baltic fleet around 1813. In the story, Captain Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin start a mission from Karlskrona.
Images for kids
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The ruins of Lyckeby Castle in northeastern Karlskrona.
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Painting showing the Swedish King Charles XI pointing out the place for "Carls-Croona".
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Karlskrona around 1700. From Suecia antiqua et hodierna.
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Historic Map
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Aerial view of Karlskrona
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Karlskrona city public library
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Museum Lionardo da Vinci Ideale
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Kapellparken
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Admiralstorn (bell tower)
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Gunpowder House
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The shipyard Karlskronavarvet with the old crane
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Fiskbron, the old harbour in centre of Karlskrona
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Bastion Aurora
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Bath-house in Karlskrona
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Milestone in Karlskrona
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Nils Holgersson, statue made by Ralf Borselius
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Statue of King Charles XIII
See also
In Spanish: Karlskrona para niños
