Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ofitscentral streets makesKvarnholmen adelightful placetostroll.Andsome
buildings still have stories to tell.
The first major cross-street, Kaggensgatan, leads (to the right) down to the
town harbor; a block to the left, on the right-hand side (at #26), is the land-
mark Kullzénska Café, whose owners refused to let it be torn down to make
way for “progress” (it remains a good place for a drink or light meal in a gen-
teel setting—see “Eating in Kalmar,” later).
Back on Storgatan, on the right just before the big square (after #20), look
for the building marked
1667,
with the cannonballs decorating the doorway.
This was the home of a war profiteer—a lucrative business in this military-
minded town.
Storgatan leads to the main square,
Stortorget.
Built in the 17th century in
a grand style befitting a European power, the square tries a little too hard to
show off—today it feels too big and too quiet (locals prefer hanging out on the
cozier Larmtorget). The numbered spaces in the cobbles show where market
stalls were located (though there's no regular market schedule today).
The
cathedral
(domkyrkan)
dominating the square is the biggest and
(some say) finest Baroque church in Sweden. Its interior, which contains a
gigantic 17th-century pulpit and bells from the earlier town cathedral, has
been elegantly restored to its original glory. Its architect was inspired by the
great Renaissance churches of Rome, and it shows. The interior is all very
high church (for such a Lutheran country), with a magnificent Baroque al-
tar, carved tombstones used for flooring, and homogeneous white walls (free,
Mon-Fri 8:00-15:30 except Wed until 18:30, Sat-Sun 9:00-16:00, tel. 0480/
12300,
www.kalmardomkyrka.se
)
.
