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Kalmar

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

**Kalmar**
	City arms

	Charter	1100
	Municipality	Kalmar Municipality
	County	Kalmar County
	Province	Småland
	Population	Metropolitan: 34,000 Municipal: 60,000

Kalmar is a city in Småland in south east Sweden, situated by the Baltic Sea. It has 34,000 inhabitants, and is the seat of Kalmar Municipality with a total of 60,000 inhabitants. It is also the capital of Kalmar County, which is comprised of 12 municipalities with in total 236,000 inhabitants.

From the thirteenth to the seventeenth centuries, Kalmar was one of Sweden's most important cities. Between 1602 to 1913 it was the capital of Kalmar Diocese, with a bishop, and the Kalmar Cathedral from 1702 is still a fine example of classicistic architecture. It became a fortified city, with the still mighty Kalmar Castle as the center. After the Treaty of Roskilde 1658 Kalmar's importance diminished, until the industry sector was initiated in the 19th century.

Geographically Kalmar is the main route to the island of Öland thanks to the Öland Bridge.

1 History
- 1.1 Today
2 Gallery
3 Notable natives
4 Sister Cities
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

Seal of Kalmar, 13th century

The area around Kalmar has been inhabited since ancient times. Diggings have found traces of stone age gravefields. The oldest sources of there being a town are however from the 11th century. According to a medieval folk tale, the Norwegian patron Saint Olav had his ships moved to the Kalmar Strait in 1027. Written contemporary records are scarce, but on a runestone from the 11th century, there is a mention of the same strait. Whether Kalmar was a town or just a small settlement adjacent to the Kalmar Strait is debatable. So is also the origin of the name Kalmar -- the most likely explanation is that it is an old Swedish word for "stone banks". However, when Icelandic saga-writer Snorri Sturluson visited Kalmar in 1219, he referred to it as Kaupbær, which means merchant town. In the 13th century, Kalmar is known to have flourished as one of Sweden's wealthiest cities, thanks to rich merchants mainly from Germany.

The oldest city seal of Kalmar is from somewhere between 1255-1267, making it the oldest known city seal in Scandinavia.

In the 12th century the first foundations of a castle were established, with the construction of a round tower for guard and lookout. The tower was continuously expanded on in 13th century, and as such, Queen Margaret called an assembly there between head of states of Sweden and Norway, and on July 13, 1397, the Kalmar Union treaty was signed, which would last until 1523. Kalmar's strategic location, near the Danish border (at the time Terra Scania was part of Denmark), and its harbour and merchancy, also involved it into several feuds. There are two events independently labelled Kalmar bloodbath: The first in 1505, when King John of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden let execute the mayor and city council of Kalmar; the second in 1599 by command of Duke Charles, later to became King Charles IX of Sweden.

Kalmar Castle today

In the 1540s, first King Gustav Vasa, and later his sons Erik XIV of Sweden and John III of Sweden would organize a rebuilding of the castle into the magnificent Renaissance castle it is today.

Kalmar became a diocese in 1602, a position it held until 1903. In 1634, Kalmar County is founded, with Kalmar as the natural capital. In 1660, the Kalmar Cathedral was begun by drawings of Nicodemus Tessin the Elder. It would be inaugurated in 1702.

In 1611-1613, it suffered in the Kalmar War, which began with a Danish siege of Kalmar Castle. 1611 is mentioned as the darkest year of Kalmar's history, but by no means the only dark year; much blood has been shed in the vicinity of the castle. The last was during the Scanian War in the 1670s, leading its sieges to a total of 22 -- yet, the castle was never taken.

In 1658, the Scanian lands were annexed by Sweden, and the strategical importance of Kalmar gradually diminished as the borders were drawn to a southern latitude. In 1689, the King established his main naval base south in Karlskrona and Kalmar lost its status as one of Sweden's main military outposts.

In more recent times, Kalmar has been an industrial city with Kalmar Mekaniska Verkstad making steam engines and large machinery. It has a university with over 9,000 students (University of Kalmar) and a research facility for Telia Sonera.