Blekinge

The historical provinces of Sweden serve no administrative function. However, Blekinge is the only province, besides Gotland, which covers exactly the same area as the administrative county, which is Blekinge County.

Blekinge was granted its current arms in 1660 at the time of the funeral of King Charles X Gustav of Sweden (1622–1660) based on a seal from the 15th century. Symbolically the three crowns from the Coat of arms of Sweden had been placed on the trunk of the tree to mark the change in status of the former Danish province, that now belonged to Sweden. The arms is represented with a ducal coronet. Blazon: "Azure, an Oak Tree eradicated Or ensigned with three Crowns palewise of the same."{{cite web|url= https://popularhistoria.se/sveriges-historia/kungar-drottningar/karl-x-gustav-en-vaghals-pa-tronen|title=Karl X Gustav – en våghals på tronen |date=23 May 2017 |publisher= popularhistoria.se|access-date=January 1, 2019}}

Relative to the rest of Sweden Blekinge has warm summers and mild winters.

Blekinge has a scenic archipelago and is sometimes called "Sweden's garden" ({{langx|sv|Sveriges trädgård}}).{{cite web|url=https://www.tradgardsriket.se/2015/06/pa-tur-i-sveriges-tradgard/|title=På tur i Sveriges trädgård|publisher=tradgardsriket.se|access-date=January 1, 2019|archive-date=April 17, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417231409/https://www.tradgardsriket.se/2015/06/pa-tur-i-sveriges-tradgard/|url-status=dead}}

The nature of Blekinge is characterized by its oak forests with occasional hazel and common hornbeam. The relief is an uneven joint valley terrain with straight and narrow valley bottoms that widen towards the coast.{{cite book |date=1984 |title=Naturgeografisk regionindelning av Norden |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Js9CDwAAQBAJ&q=Blekinges+sprickdalsterr%C3%A4ng+och+ekskogar&pg=PA111 |publisher=Nordiska ministerrådet |pages=111–112 |isbn= 9789138082393|language=sv}} Bedrock in Blekinge is mostly granite and gneiss of the Blekinge-Bornholm rock province.{{cite journal |last1=Johansson |first1=Åke |last2=Bogdanova |first2=Svetlana|last3=Čečys |first3=Audius |date=2006 |title=A revised geochronology for the Blekinge Province, southern Sweden |journal=GFF |volume=128 |issue=4 |pages=287–302 |doi=10.1080/11035890601284287 |bibcode=2006GFF...128..287J |s2cid=129372111 }}

Evidence of human habitation in western Blekinge dates circa 9700 BC in the Vesan area. At this time, Vesan was a small island surrounded by open grassland. A later settlement in the nearby Ljungaviken is dated to 6500 BC and contains the remains of at least 50 wooden houses and a buried dog.{{cite book|last=Persson|first=Carl|chapter=Jägare/samlare i Sölvesborgstrakten 9 700–2 300 f. Kr.|trans-chapter=Hunterers/gatherers in the Sölvesborg area in 9700–2300 BC|title=Arkeologi i Blekinge|date=2022 |trans-title=Archaeology in Blekinge|editor-last1=Henriksson|editor-first1=Mikael|editor-last2=Menander|editor-first2=Hanna|editor3=National Historical Museums|editor-last4=Ström|editor-first4=Susanne|publisher=Blekinge museum|isbn=978-91-983465-3-4|page=8}}

Blekinge was a part of Sweden until the early 13th century when it became part of Denmark (the Danish Census Book contains the first secure written evidence of Danish control).Magnus Edekling, "När blev Blekinge danskt?" It then remained a Danish province until 1658, and together with the provinces of Skåne and Halland, it made up Skåneland, the eastern part of the Danish kingdom where Scanian Law (Skånske Lov) prevailed. As a border province, Blekinge was often raided and looted by Swedish troops during Danish–Swedish wars. In 1658, it was ceded to Sweden according to the Treaty of Roskilde and has remained Swedish ever since.{{cite web|url= https://www.sydsverige.dk/?pageID=323 |title=Forsvenskning af skånelandene (1680erne)|publisher= sydsverige.dk

|access-date=January 1, 2019}}

During the Danish era, the port town of Sölvesborg was the seat of the administration in the western part of the province and Kristianopel in the eastern part. Notable fortifications during this period included sites at Elleholm, Sölvesborg, Lyckeby and Avaskär.{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}} Towns in Blekinge with city privileges were: Ronneby (1387), Sölvesborg (1445), Elleholm and Kristianopel. After the Swedish takeover two new towns, Karlshamn (chartered in 1664) and Karlskrona (1680), were built, and the populations of Ronneby and Kristianopel were forcibly relocated to them. Karlskrona has for more than 300 years been the principal naval base in Sweden.{{cite web|url= https://www.sydsverige.dk/?pageID=92 |title=Sölvesborgs Slotsruin

|publisher= sydsverige.dk|access-date=January 1, 2019}}

{{cite web|url=http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/karlskrona.html|title=Naval Port of Karlskrona - World Heritage Site - Pictures, info and travel reports|work=Worldheritagesite.org|access-date=18 February 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150227001426/http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/karlskrona.html|archive-date=27 February 2015}}

Hundreds (in Götaland incl. Blekinge called härad in Swedish, in Svealand called hundare) were the historical subdivisions of a Swedish province. Blekinge's hundreds were Bräkne Hundred, Eastern Hundred, Lister Hundred, and Medelstad Hundred.

In Blekinge the dialect was historically closely related to Danish and eastern Scanian, which is most likely an effect of the former administrative links to Scania.

Today, the dialect is not as significant as before, with the exception of Listerlandet with its special language.

Football in the province is administered by Blekinge Fotbollförbund.

• Blekinge Institute of Technology
• Blekinge archipelago

{{Reflist|2}}

{{Wikivoyage}}

• [http://www.visitblekinge.se/ Blekinge]—Official tourist site

{{Provinces of Sweden}}

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Category:Provinces of Sweden