Kalmar is a city on the coast in Swedish Småland. The city is one of Sweden’s oldest cities, and for centuries it was a border fortress with Denmark. In the 13th century, Kalmar traded with the Hanseatic League, and over the years a wall was constructed around the city. In 1397, the city rose to fame since the Kalmar Union between Denmark, Norway and Sweden was established at a meeting in Kalmar, and Erik of Pomerania was crowned king.

The Kalmar War was fought 1611-1613 between Denmark and Sweden, and in the decades after that the town was moved from the castle area to the island of Kvarnholmen to be more secure. With Sweden’s conquest of what is now Southern Sweden in 1658, things became more peaceful, but at the same time Kalmar lost its importance as a border fortress. The Swedish fleet was moved to Karlskrona, and the garrison was disbanded. In the 19th century, Kalmar began to grow again, and this time expansion was outside the old fortress town.

Today, Kalmar is beautifully situated by the sea, and you can see two cities within the city. West of Kalmar Castle is Gamla Stan, while the city’s current center is in the 17th-century town on Kvarnholmen. The city was laid out with right-angled streets and Stortorget formed the center. Kalmar Cathedral/Kalmar Domkyrka is the dominant building in the fine square. It was the castle architect Nicodemus Tessin the elder who designed the church in modified baroque, and it was built 1660-1703.

The church interior is beautiful, bright and with fine decorations, where you can, among other things, can see the altar section, the organ and the pulpit as highlights. On Stortorget, you can also see Kalmar’s town hall, which was erected 1684-1690 in Dutch Baroque, which is similar in style to many of Kalmar’s town houses. Next to the town hall is the Calmar Stadshotell from 1907. It is a hotel that was built in the Art Nouveau style of the time.

If you go for a walk on Kvarnholmen, you can go to the square Larmtorget, where the city guard resided until the 19th century. At the square you can see the Kalmar Theatre, which was designed by Bror Malmberg and inaugurated in 1863. Next to the theater is the Masonic House, which was opened in 1878 by the Freemasonry in Kalmar. To the south is the district’s third square, Lilla Torget, where you can see Kavaljersporten, Kalmar’s old city gate towards the harbor southeast of the city. The gate was built in 1697, and it is a preserved part of the 17th-century wall around the district on Kvarnholmen.

From Lilla Torget you can walk along the harbor to the east to the Government bastions, by which the Kalmar Maritime Museum is located, and Carolus Philipus. Between the bastions was Holmporten gate. If you continue around Kvarnholm, you come to the impressive Västerport, which was the western city gate towards the mainland. At Västerport you can see the 65-meter-high water tower, which was built 1887-1900, and from here you can walk along the Ravelinsbron, which leads to the Prins Carl ravelin, and which was the city’s only connection to the mainland.

On the mainland, the old Kalmar was located around Gamla Torget, before the city was moved to Kvarnholmen in the middle of the 17th century. From Gamla Torget you can walk along Gamla Kungsgatan, which gives the feel of historic Kalmar. You can also take a walk along the charming Västerlånggaten, where a rural idyll almost prevails.

Close to this is the beautiful Kalmar Castle, which is located on the island of Slottsholmen. The original castle was built around the year 1200 as a fortification, and the appearance of the current castle dates from the 16th century, when Gustav Vasa and his sons Erik XIV and Johan III rebuilt the medieval castle into a magnificent castle, which today stands as one of Sweden’s finest Renaissance structures. There are many fine interiors of the castle, such as the church and the Golden Hall from 1576. It was here at the castle that the Kalmar Union was formed in 1397, and with that Kalmar Castle entered the history books as one of Scandinavia’s important historical places.