Karlskrona is a tiny patchwork of land and the Baltic Sea, in the southeastern corner of Sweden. Until the end of the 17th century, it was Danish territory, as was almost everything south of Kalmar, which I have already told you about. From the moment of its fortunate acquisition by Sweden, the king decided that a more suitable headquarters for the national fleet would be some southern port rather than Stockholm, which resulted in a series of sea fortifications, restricted areas, an entire industry to service the needs of the fleet and – relatively recently – the Maritime Museum.
To get an idea of the Karlskrona area, the best way is to board one of the boats offering shorter or longer tours of the archipelago. We ourselves voted in favor of the UNESCO Sites Tour, and I may have missed to mention that the entire seaport area was included in the World Heritage List in 1998. Unfortunately, the good hosts did not offer advance bookings for the boat tours, they used the principle is “first come, first served”. Well, we managed to board.
The boat trip around the southern Baltic at the end of August was pleasant, but the tour itself was a bit disappointing. For most of the time, there was a recording in several languages going, basically saying “Please do not take pictures here, this is a military site”. And when they say “here”, you can’t excuse yourself for not understanding exactly what they’re talking about, as they’ve put up huge yellow signs with camera icons crossed out. What’s left for a person to do but take pictures of the fountain they’ve built in the middle of the bay.
The tour took us past the two oldest fortifications that have guarded the approaches to Karlskrona since 1680 – Drottningskar and Kungsholm. They are located on two small islands a stone’s throw from each other and the second is still a military site. Of the ones with the big yellow signs. That’s why I don’t have a photo of it, although it is the more interesting of the two, with an inner circular harbor, similar to that of ancient Carthage. Drottningskar, on the other hand, is even open to visitors, although clearly not for users of boat tours that stop for only 5 minutes.
We decided to focus our efforts on the Maritime Museum, which is said to be one of the best in Sweden. It is located on the island of Stumholmen – a production and food base for the Swedish Navy from 1683 to the 1980s. A hall for the submarines of Neptune and Hajen has been added to the central building in 2014. Several ships are moored at the outer pier, which visitors can calmly walk along, and to the side is the old repair dock with an exhibition of various sea vessels, where the museum’s ship exhibits are still cared for today.
The museum told personal stories of people connected with the navy. For example, the famous artist Per Cedergren, who his poor parents could not support and “gave” to the Boy Seamen Corps at an early age. There he did not live better, but at least he was fed and learned about ships everything he needed for his later artistic career. Or the housewife Stina Werner from Karlskrona, a multiple winner of the title “Best Lotta” for her services to the women’s naval corps of Lotta, who was responsible for important things such as telephone communications and the repair of kitchen utensils.
The Maritime Museum had many useful things for visitors – such as lessons in tying nautical knots or the opportunity to try out what it was like to be a ship’s oarsman. The invitation to enter a real submarine was undoubtedly one of the hit museum experiences. I personally remembered how oppressive it can be inside a submarine from the Koç Museum in Istanbul, and how space is reduced to a minimum. I don’t know how a person gets used to sleeping on top of a huge warhead, but apparently they manage somehow, having no choice.
In the repair dock we got acquainted with several interesting specimens from the navy collection. Like the rescue sledge for accidents on ice or the Carly life raft, named after its inventor. Carly was made of copper, covered with cork and waterproof fabric. It was widely used in the navy between the 40s and 50s of the 20th century. How exactly, can be seen in the diagram at the background of the photo below. The whole thing does not seem at all reliable to me; you will probably say that it is better than nothing.
It’s time to take a look at the central part of Karlskrona. As befits a century-old home of the Swedish Navy, it gave off a feeling of space and grandeur. The public buildings in the center were impressive, as were the streets and squares. The houses were colorful, and at the end of August the gardens were also something. There were a few more museums that we didn’t have time for, being on a short tour throughout southern Sweden. However, we didn’t miss the pastries, and the result was worth it.
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