SWEDEN - Scandinavia - page 877

tial island neighborhood of Ängö, traditionally home to sailors and fishermen,
now one of Kalmar's most desirable areas.
• Or, also from Stortorget, you can head for the...
Ramparts and Harbor (South): Turn right on Sjögatan (at the start of
Stortorget) and head down to the little square called Lilla Torget, with some
fine old wooden homes. Just beyond, the surviving ramparts (free to walk
on top of) mark the old harbor line. It's strange to think that these sturdy
ramparts became largely irrelevant so soon after they were built, when the
Swedish-Danish border shifted dramatically to the south. As you pass through
the walls, a modern shopping mall called Baronen is ahead and to the right;
beyond it, around the little guest harbor, is the maritime academy building that
also houses the TI. To the left are some charming old merchant houses and
the stand-alone old Customs House (Tullhuset); beyond those, the waterfront
is dominated by giant red-brick buildings—steam mills once used to grind
flour and strip rice. Today this complex houses a concert hall and the Kalmar
County Museum, worth visiting and described next.
▲▲Kalmar County (Läns) Museum —Dedicated to telling the story of
Kalmar County, this museum is worth a visit mostly for its excellent exhibit
on the royal ship Kronan, a shipwrecked 17th-century warship that still sits
on the bottom of the Baltic just off the island of Öland. Soggy bits and rusted
pieces, well-described in English, give visitors a here's-the-buried-treasure
thrill. It's a much more intimate look at life at sea than Stockholm's grander
Vasa Museum—though, crucially, this exhibit lacks the boat's actual hull.
Cost and Hours: 80 kr, less off-season; Mon-Fri 10:00-16:00, Wed until
20:00; Sat-Sun 11:00-16:00; Skeppsbrogatan 51, tel. [phone],
www.kalmarlansmuseum.se .
Self-Guided Tour: As you enter the building, notice that from the mu-
seum's door, you can see the distant half of the long bridge leading to the is-
land of Öland.
Beyond the entry, the first floor has temporary exhibits and shows off the
cannons recovered from the Kronan wreckage. In those days, cannons were
so valuable they were prized the way a Rolls Royce would be today, so each