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KALMAR |
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Bright KALMAR had much to do with Sweden's medieval development. It
was the scene of the first meeting of the Riksdag called by failing king
Magnus Eriksson in the mid-fourteenth century, and played host to the
formation of the Kalmar Union, the 1397 agreement uniting Sweden, Norway
and Denmark - a history manifest in the surviving castle, Kalmar Slott (April-Sept
10am-4/6pm; Oct-March 11am-4pm; 60kr), beautifully set on a tiny island
a few minutes' walk away from the bus and train stations. Defended by a
range of steep embankments and gun emplacements, the fourteenth-century
buildings survived eleven sieges virtually unscathed, a record not
respected by King Johan III who rebuilt the structure in the late
sixteenth century. The castle is now a storybook confection, with
turrets, ramparts, moat and drawbridge. The spruce interior repays a
long dawdle; highlights include the intricately panelled Lozenge Hall
and a dark dungeon.
If the castle seems to defend nothing in particular it's because the
town was shifted to Kvarnholmen, an island to the north, in the mid-seventeenth
century following a fire. This is modern Kalmar, a graceful,
straightforward grid settlement which centres on the Baroque Domkyrkan (daily
10am-6pm) on Stortorget. Time is best spent wandering the streets around
Lilla Torget : there's not a great deal left - some seventeenth-century
buildings and city walls - but what remains is authentic and atmospheric
enough. The one place really worth making a beeline for is the Kronan
Exhibition , the main attraction of the Länsmuseum , Skeppsbrogatan (daily:
mid-June to mid-Aug 10am-6pm; rest of year 10am-4pm; 50kr). The Kronan
was one of the three biggest ships in the world - twice the size of the
Vasa - when it went down after an explosion in the gunpowder magazine in
1676, lying undisturbed until 1980. There's an inventive walk-through
reconstruction of the gun decks and admiral's cabin, as well as a swag
of gold coins, clothing, sculpture, jewellery and weapons - in fact, a
complete picture of seventeenth-century maritime life and a remarkable
insight into a society at the height of its political powers.
The tourist office at Larmgatan 6 (early June & late Aug daily 9am-9pm;
mid-June to mid-Aug daily 9am-8pm; rest of year Mon-Fri 9am-5pm; tel
0480/153 50, info@turistbyra.kalmar.se ), 100m from the train station
and bus terminal , doles out a decent map of Kalmar and arranges private
rooms from around 300kr a double or 190kr for a single. Or stay at the
youth hostel at Rappegatan 1c (tel 0480/129 28; £10-15/$16-24), 1500m
away on Ängo, the next island north. The Sjöfartsklubben on
Skeppsbrogatan (a seaman's mission but open to all) has doubles for
270kr and cheaper dorm accommodation, while there's a campsite on Stensö
island, 3km from the centre, with a few cheap cabins. For food , most
places centre around Larmtorget, where you can get a tasty and filling
lunch for around 50kr. For an atmospheric café, try the elegant
Kullzenska Caféet , upstairs at Kaggensgatan 26. The hippest eaterie
though is T & T , Unionsgatan 20, where you can down delicious and
unusual pizzas and a good range of wines (Mon-Thurs 11am-midnight, Fri &
Sat noon-1am, Sun noon-midnight).
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