Karlshamn
Karlshamn (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈkɑ̂ːɭshamn])[2] is a locality and the seat of Karlshamn Municipality in Blekinge County, Sweden. It had 13,576 inhabitants in 2015,[1] out of 31,846 in the municipality.[3]
Karlshamn
Sweden
1664
13.48 km2 (5.20 sq mi)
19,075
1,415/km2 (3,660/sq mi)
Karlshamn received a Royal Charter and city privileges in 1664, when King Charles X Gustav, in Swedish Karl, realized the strategic location near the Baltic Sea. In 1666 the town was named Karlshamn, meaning Karl's Port in honour of the Swedish king.
Education[edit]
University
In Karlshamn a branch of the Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH) was established in 2000. It focuses on media technology, such as digital games, digital visual production, digital audio production and interactions with web technologies.
Secondary Schools
The upper secondary school (grade 10 to 13) is Väggaskolan in Karlshamn. There are many primary schools (grade 0-9) in the boroughs.
Culture[edit]
Performing arts[edit]
The theatre association is named "Teatersmedjan" and draws members from all ages, although the youth dominates. They have rehearsal and venues in a converted locomotive workshop called "Lokstallarna", this is also the venue for young musical bands - "Musikforum", which was saved economically by the music producer Johan "Shellback" Schuster, who comes from Karlshamn, in 2014.[7] There are several vocal choirs. The most notable secular choirs are "Karlshamn Chamber Choir" and "ABF-kören". The parishes also have choirs. Classical music is performed by "Karlshamns musiksällskap". "Karlshamns musikkår" is a concert band of wind instruments marching through the city center regularly during the summer season. The jazz association "Munthe" invites musicians to play on restaurant "Gourmet Grön". A musical outdoor fair "Östersjöfestivalen" is held in the town centre the third week of July each summer. There is a municipal music school.
Media[edit]
"Karlshamns Allehanda" is the name of the daily newspaper founded in the 19th century and since 2003 merged with the regional daily "Blekinge Läns Tidning", owned by "Gota media". The second newspaper covering the region is "Sydöstran". Radio and television has local agencies in the county main town Karlskrona.
Karlshamn is the port where Karl Oskar and Kristina Nilsson and their family departed for America in 1850 in the well-known historical novel The Emigrants by Vilhelm Moberg.
Buildings and structures[edit]
Near Karlshamn, in the village of Gungvala, you can find Gungvalamasten, a 335 metre tall guyed mast for FM- and TV-transmission. It is together with three other guyed masts, of same height, the tallest structure in Sweden. At Karlshamn, there is Stärnö Power Station with its three chimneys and the static inverter of HVDC SwePol, the power cable to Poland.
Tourism[edit]
Karlshamn attracts visitors to the salmon fisheries in "Mörrumsån", to the rocky coastline and the Hällaryd archipelago and to the wooded hinterland. East of the city centre the famous Eriksbergs Viltpark is located. It is an old farmstead with surrounding land now host to a variety of native animals such as European Bison, Crown Deer, Moose and wild boar amongst others. Tourism peaks in June–August, when there is regular boat connection and accommodation service to islands like Tärnö.
The following sports clubs are located in Karlshamn:
Transport[edit]
The bikepath network of Karlshamn is gradually expanding, connecting the localities Mörrum-Svängsta-Asarum-Karlshamn. The road network is mostly covered by tarmac. The European trunk road E22 transverses the municipality, and the national road 29 connects the port to the province Småland in the north. The railroad "Blekinge kustbana", electrified in 2006, connects the towns of the region with trains every hour. The port in Stilleryd is number six in Sweden as related to tonnes of cargo, is the largest and deepest in southeast Sweden and has a regular ferry service with Klaipėda in Lithuania.