Sweden has identified some wonderfully innovative subjects for its WHS list – We have seen most of them and had looked forward to another “interesting” inscription at Karlskrona – “a planned Naval Port from the late 17th century”. Indeed we do usually enjoy this sort of site but, for a number of reasons, Karlskrona failed to ignite our interest.

Despite the town being pleasant enough and largely intact as per the original plan, the historic naval aspects didn’t come across that strongly during our visit. It is certainly laid out in grand proportions, starting with Stortorget, or the main square, which is said to be “one of the biggest and most beautiful in northern Europe”. The town’s topography is complex and comprises a number of islands, some of which have been joined together by causeways/infill. Some of the areas are quite modern and industrial as it is still Sweden’s primary Naval centre and a shipbuilding town. Whilst the core has a reasonable historic feel to it some of the forts and naval buildings are spread out way beyond the town center, some on the islands, and we did not attempt to search out all the nominated buildings - perhaps the chilly dull morning made these distances seem windier and duller. Unfortunately the town’s Maritime Museum wasn’t open (I understand it has since moved to a fine new building and that its exhibits have been considerably enhanced including some real ships!), the county museum had little of interest and the harbour seemed to be largely a yacht park. We certainly didn’t gain any great feeling for its “specialism” as a historic “Naval” town – alright, we could see the grey Baltic - but that was about all! There are other planned 17th century towns relatively close - eg Fredericia in Denmark and Kristianstad in Sweden itself which admittedly lack the “Naval” dimension, but which we found just as interesting as “planned towns” per se.

Indeed I can’t have noted anything particularly photogenic either, as the only photo from Karlskona we have is of us in “tourist mode” playing with the wooden statue of “Rosenbaum the Beggar” (photo). This is situated outside Sweden’s largest wooden Church Amiralitetskyrkan (Admiralty church). To quote - “It depicts ex-constable Matts Rosenbom, who froze to death on New Year's Eve in 1717. He was found in the morning with his hand outstretched, his hat pulled over his ears, and a beggar's bundle on his back. Since then, the wooden statue of Rosenbom has tipped its hat to all who give alms to the poor”.

So did we just “flunk out” on what Karlskrona had to offer or is there an available WHS niche for another naval town? Ship building and naval history are not well represented on the list compared with eg rail transport, mining or manufacturing. There is Bryggen for maritime trade but Karlskrona is the nearest there is to a “Shipyard”. The UK failed to get “SS Great Britan” accepted in 1988 on the basis that movable objects are not acceptable as WHS but it still has Chatham Dockyard on its T list and this is cited in the comparative analysis of the Karlskrona inscription as being “exceptionally well preserved” with the comment that it is “complementary” to Karlskrona. I will not pass comment on how it might measure up as I deliberately avoid reviewing any sites from within my own country (Many of the reviews on this site demonstrate how easily “ugly ducklings” can become “patriotic swans”!). Over recent years Chatham has been undergoing considerable development as a “tourist attraction” and no doubt the lengthy processes required to gain “inscription” are in train – it will be interesting to see what species of “bird” eventually emerges! Perhaps Karlskrona has not had the last word on this type of site.