Kalmar Things to Do

Kalmar castle was originally built in the 12th century. The central building is surrounded by a wall and a moat. It is also located on the coast.

There is an entrance fee to get into the main building and it is well worth visiting.

The lans museet in Sweden vary in size and contents. I think we visited every lans museet in every city we visited.
This was certainly one of the nicest. Located on the harbourside in a big old warehouse.

It has a varied, colorfull display of its local history dating from prehistoric times to the turn of the last century. Very much the usual things but displayed in such a way that it was fun to look at.
A big part of this museum is the resurrection history of the Kronan. A war ship that sunk in the Baltic Sea. It shows the history from that period, the treasures they found, a scale model etc.

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I had planned to Kalmar the visit of the castle, referred in my guide as an impressive construction from the 12th century, rebuilt in the 16th to transform it in a palace.

Bad luck, we arrived too late, and only could admire it from outside. But even in the dusk, we could notice the strenght of the fortification and the harmony of the whole.

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The Kalmar Castle is probably the most famous sight-seeing spot in this city. Its magnificent and beautiful. You must visit. Its nice to walk around the exterior banks and take pictures. The castle used to be Sweden's most important strategic fort during13-17 centuries.

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Once the longest bridge in Europe this bridge takes you across the sea to the 150 km long but narrow island of Oland. The bridge connects from close to the city centre but if you are driving follow the numerous signs giving directions to the bridge which takes you out onto the motorway that circles the town centre and then onto the bridge.

There is no toll or charge to cross this bridge with 2 lanes in each direction but clear speed limit signs and speed cameras quite visible to ensure that there is no speeding.

Once on the island you have about 400 windmills, lighthouses at each northern and southern tip, historical sites such as the remains of the huge castle at Borgholm, the 'capital' of Oland, numerous swimming areas with holiday and camping resorts, amusement park and zoo. There are buses that connect all main towns from Kalmar.

Kalmar castle was built to protect the people that lived around it from enemies that tries to enter the land acrossed the water. Later on several kings lived in the castle like Charles XI.

The castle can be seen from the inside and outside. Outside you can walk around it and take a walk 'high' and 'low'. High is at the surrounding walls and low is at the ground. Inside you can take a look at the chapel, the bedroom of the king and other nice rooms.

Kalmar Castle, located near the site of Kalmar's medieval harbor, has played a crucial part in Swedish history since its initial construction as a fortified tower in the 12th century. King Magnus Ladulås ordered the construction of a fortress around the tower in the 1280s, and was further expanded in the centuries that followed.

One of the most significant political events took place at Kalmar Castle in 1397, when the Kalmar Union was formed - a union of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, organized by Queen Margaret I of Denmark.

The fortress was improved during the 16th century under the direction of King Gustav Vasa and his sons Eric XIV and John III, who turned the medieval fortress into a castle fit for a renaissance king. Today, it is one of Sweden's best preserved renaissance castles.

It huge, you can see it from afar dominating this town. A tour will show why it is so big, and explain about its most important habitants of this castle and the Treaty of Kalmar. A peace treaty between Sweden and Denmark.

When i was there, the big hall was reserved for a modern art gallery. Mostly glass works. No wonder i think because the main glas make area (Glassrikett) is further in land.