From Hoglands Park to the Naval Museum: A Tour of Karlskrona
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About the Tour
About the Tour
Karlskrona isn’t just another coastal city – it’s a completely planned naval fortress from the 1680s. It’s so perfectly preserved that UNESCO named it a World Heritage Site. On this walking tour, you’ll discover how a Swedish king transformed a farmer’s fields into one of Europe’s most powerful naval bases, and hear the stories of the farmers, soldiers, and royals who shaped this unique maritime city.
The tour starts at Hoglands Park, where farmer Vitus Andersson once owned all this land before King Karl XI seized it to build his new naval city. You’ll climb to Stortorget, one of Europe’s largest squares built specifically for military parades, and learn why this archipelago of 33 islands became Sweden’s strategic answer to Danish threats.
You’ll cross onto Stumholmen Island, once a strictly forbidden military zone, and explore the heart of naval operations. There, you’ll find the clothing workshop with oversized windows for tailors, and the barracks designed like a ship’s interior where 500 sailors slept in hammocks.
The tour ends at the Karlskrona Naval Museum, where the historic ship Jarramas – launched in 1900 to train young naval cadets – now serves as a symbol of the city.
On this 90-minute tour, you’ll have a chance to:
- Discover whether farmer Vitus Andersson’s three curses – fire, plague, and flood – ever came true
- Visit Amiralitetskyrkan, one of Sweden’s largest wooden churches, built to seat 4,000 naval officers
- Walk past baroque churches and the quirky Water Fortress
- Follow the footsteps of sailors and shipbuilders through streets designed with mathematical precision
- Meet the wooden beggar Rosenbom beside the church steps and learn the legend behind his removable hat
- Hear the full “Whiskey on the Rocks” story at Bastion Kungshall, about how a Soviet submarine ran aground inside Sweden’s most sensitive military zone in 1981
- Explore Båtsmanskasernen, naval barracks designed to feel like the interior of a ship, built to prepare future sailors
- Learn how a navy bakery fed thousands of sailors with knäckebröd tough enough to survive months at sea
By the end of this tour, you’ll understand why Karlskrona remains Europe’s most complete and best-preserved naval city – still active, still strategic, and still full of stories.
Tour Producer
Tour Producer
Ausra Visocke
Hi! I’m Ausra — originally from the Baltics and now living in Sweden for almost ten years. For the past seven years, I have worked as a professional tourist guide, leading international groups in Stockholm Old Town, Uppsala and across the Nordic region. People repeatedly say they feel my passion, and my tours are among the very best they have ever had!
I have a deep interest in history, cultural traditions, and the stories that connect countries around the Baltic Sea. What I truly love is weaving separate historical events into one meaningful, connected story of a city, a country, or even an entire region of Northern Europe.
In my tours, you will discover connections between:
* past and present
* major historical events and modern cultural identity
* powerful personalities and the story of a nation.
One of the key historical figures in many of my tours is Katarina Jagiellon, the Lithuanian-Polish princess who became Duchess of Finland and later Queen of Sweden. Her mother was Italian, and her other ancestors were from Austria, Hungary and other European royal families. She connected Europe through art, culture and influence. Her powerful life story unfolds, connecting Stockholm, Uppsala, Vaxholm, Kalmar, Kaunas, Tallinn and many other cities in the region, revealing how dynastic politics and religious conflicts shaped the Baltic Sea region. It is a loyal, strong lady who was often overshadowed by her husband, the King Johan III, but I am on a mission to tell her remarkable story to the world! Most probably, you will learn a bit about her in one of the stories of my tours.
Now, as a mother of three small children, my opportunities to travel frequently are more limited. But thanks to VoiceMap, I can continue sharing my favourite stories and guide you through wonderful cities in the Nordics.
Cities where I offer self-paced audio tours:
* Stockholm Old Town (Gamla Stan)
* Central Stockholm
* Uppsala
* Vaxholm
* Kalmar
* Karlskrona
* Tallinn Old Town
* Kaunas Old Town
I am proud that some of my self-paced tours are top-ranked on platforms such as Viator and TripAdvisor.
If you are looking for a self-guided audio tour in Sweden or the Baltics and a historically rich walking tour experience, you are in the right place.
Thank you for choosing to explore Northern Europe with me.
Ausra
Preview Location
Preview Location
Location 33
Whiskey on the Rocks 2
But here’s the surprising part: Karlskrona has nev... Read More
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Major Landmarks
Major Landmarks
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Stortorget
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Fredrikskyrkan
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Amiralitetskyrkan, Ulrica Pia
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Bastion Aurora
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Stumholmen
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Karlskrona Naval Museum (Marinmuseum)
Getting There
Getting There
Route Overview
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Start locationParkgatan 2, 371 14 Karlskrona, Sweden
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Total distance3km
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Final locationBastionsgatan, 371 32 Karlskrona, Sweden
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Distance back to start location877.69m
Directions to Starting Point
The tour starts at Hoglands Park's end, closer to Stortorget - the main square and city centre. Multiple parking areas are available around.
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Tips
Tips
Places to stop along the way
The best places for eating or a coffee break are either at Klaipeda Square at the beginning of the tour or at the end of the tour, either at the Marine Museum or at other nearby options.
Best time of day
From dawn till dusk.
Precautions
Respect the signs and do not cross into the protected military zones, as they will be passed by.
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