History

The 16th century
Karlskrona didn’t exist at this point. A farmer named Offe Månsson owned the Island Trossö, which now is a big part of Karlskrona. Many Danes lived nearby, especially in the mainland. Blekinge was then the piece of land that separated Denmark and Sweden.

The 17th century
Blekinge became part of Sweden in 1658, after the Treaty of Roskilde. By then, Sweden was a powerful country. Estonia, Latvia, Finland and some parts in the north of Germany belonged to Sweden. The navy was used to control all this land. Karl XI founded Karlskrona as Sweden’s naval base in 1680. Fortifications were built to protect the naval base, and bridges were built to connect Trossö with the mainland. More people moved to Karlskrona, and the population grew.

The 18th century
The population exceeded 10 000, and at the same time Karlskrona’s architecture, ships and defence became known in Europe. 1782-1791 was a good period for the Swedish navy, with Fredric Henric af Chapman in charge. During the 18th century Karlskrona was an important commercial city, both in domestic and foreign trade.

The 19th century
Karlskrona and the navy were getting behind. Other countries had new and powerful ships, while Sweden still had a form of sailing ships. However, in the end of the 19th century Karlskrona also developed new technology. In 1850 Karlskrona had 14 000 citizens. Railways were built, and many industries were established.

The 20th century
Around 1930 Karlskrona became more industrialized, and lots of industries were established. Lately, information technology and other forms of technology have become the most important ones. Karlskrona has since 1998 been on the World Heritage List of UNESCO, the list which was created in 1972 to protect places with unique cultural or historical environment.