History

of Karlshamn (Karl´s harbour). The city was founded in the 1660´s, after the peace treaty in Roskilde 1658, when the southwestern parts of today´s Sweden were conquered from Denmark. The Swedish kings (most of them named Carl in those days) wanted a deep naval port, with better access to the Baltic Sea, than the Stockholm harbour. The war with the Danes continued for several years and the small fortress in the harbour was besieged twice and capitulated to both Danes and Swedes. However, after the city was founded, the admirals of the navy decided that they wanted better protection behind islands, so they built a new city and a new naval port in Karlskrona.

In the early 19th century, during the Napoleon wars, the Royal Navy campaigned in the Baltic. Nelson´s Victory spent a lot of time here with the rest of the fleet, off the island of Hanö, and in the Karlshamn area. Hundreds of commercial vessels gathered each month at Matvik and were escorted to the North Sea and the British isles

Since then Karlshamn has been a peaceful center of trade and commerce. The population is around 30 000 in Karlshamn and its surrounding minor villages.