Welcome to Kalmar

Holiday with sun and swimming, shopping and entertainment, art and culture. Kalmar offers the opportunities of a big city, while retaining the convenience and charm of a small town. You’ll find sandy beaches, parks, woods, meadows, cobblestoned streets, shops, museum cafes and galleries, all a walk or bicycle ride away. Not to mention a real castle with towers and pinnacles.

Time for meetings

Today, Kalmar is a modern city offering a wide variety of experiences, but wherever you go, you can feel the echoes of history. Back in medieval times, Kalmar was already an important centre for commerce and politics. Many important meetings took place here, the most famous of which the Union Meeting in 1397 at which the Kalmar Union was established. Sweden, Denmark and Norway were parts of a single kingdom until 1523, when Sweden withdrew, and Gustav Vasa was proclaimed as king.

Central Kalmar

Kalmar’s original urban core grew near Kalmar Castle and Castlesfjärden (Castle Bay), the site of the major harbour. The Danish attack on Kalmar in 1611 caused major devastation. The city needed a safer location, and in 1640 a decision was made to move the city centre to its present location on Kvarnholmen. Kalmar residents were first unwilling to move, but after a fire in 1647, the decision was implemented.
Almost everywhere in central Kalmar, there are reminders of the importance Kalmar once possessed. You can see it in the carefully renovated buildings and fortifications from the period when Sweden was a major power. Many of the old buildings now host charming shops, restaurants and pubs.