Blekinge archipelago is an archipelago in the Baltic Sea , located in Blekinge in the south of Sweden .

Geography [ edit ]

Blekinge archipelago stretches among almost the entire coastline of Blekinge, from west to east. It covers some 210,000 hectares (520,000 acres) including water; the landmass amounts to about 54,000 hectares (130,000 acres). The archipelago is dominated by a few large islands, Tjaro , Aspo , Hasslo , Tarno and Sturko , with smaller islands and skerries interspersed. In the whole archipelago area, some 85,000 people live, of whom 4,000 are islanders. ^[2] The island of Utlangan is the farthest out to sea of the archipelago's islands; only the lighthouse rock Utklippan is farther out.

The landscape is a diverse cultural landscape , characterised by mainly a mix between oak pastures and deciduous forest . For its size, the archipelago exhibits an unusually high biodiversity . Endangered species who find a habitat in the archipelago include Osmoderma eremita and Lecanographa amylacea . ^[2]

Culture [ edit ]

The towns of Karlshamn and Karlskrona are both located within the archipelago area; indeed, Karlskrona is mainly situated on Trosso island. The latter, having been founded as a naval base , is noted for its Baroque architecture and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site .

Shipbuilding has been a traditional local trade within the archipelago and the area is known for a traditional type of small boat, called blekingeeka and used for tasks like fishing and transporting stone locally. ^[3]

In the 1970s, the local diving club discovered a shipwreck in the Blekinge archipelago that was eventually identified by archaeologists as Gribshunden , a 15th-century Danish warship . ^{[4] [5]} The shipwreck is significant as one of the best-preserved wreckages from the early modern period . ^{[4] [6]}

Tjaro island was the site of the Sweden Social Web Camp from 2009 to 2013. ^[7]

Gallery [ edit ]

• 
  Blekingeeka , a type of small boat traditionally used in the archipelago area.
• 
  Typical landscape (Almo island)
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  Typical landscape (Almo island)
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  Typical landscape Aspo island
• 
  Church on Aspo island

References [ edit ]

56°08′N 15°29′E  /  56.133°N 15.483°E  / 56.133; 15.483