Karlskrona: the Baroque naval base on the UNESCO list

Founded in 1680 as a planned naval base, Karlskrona preserves a unique Baroque urban layout among European naval cities.

The naval Baroque center, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is comfortably explored on foot among the islands that compose it.

The Church of Fredrikskyrkan, in Italian Baroque style, dominates the main square designed according to a planned urban layout from the city's founding.

A few steps away, the Naval Museum, among the oldest maritime museums in the world, displays original figureheads and a visitable historical submarine, along with period ship models.

Continuing, one observes the historic shipyards of the base, still partially active as headquarters of the Swedish military marine, with period docks and cranes.

Toward evening, the archipelago of islets surrounding Karlskrona, reachable by ferry, offers rocky beaches and historic coastal fortifications, a usual summer destination for residents.

Karlskrona was designed from scratch according to rational baroque urban principles, with a regular grid of streets designed to facilitate military movements toward the harbor and naval shipyards.

The entire naval base and historic center of Karlskrona were recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1998 as an exceptional example of a systematically planned European naval city.