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Blekinge | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
 | |
| Coordinates:56°20′N15°20′E / 56.333°N 15.333°E /56.333; 15.333 | |
| Country |  Sweden |
| Land | Götaland |
| County | Blekinge County |
| Area | |
• Total | 3,055 km2 (1,180 sq mi) |
| Population (31 December 2023)[1] | |
• Total | 157,973 |
| • Density | 52/km2 (130/sq mi) |
| Ethnicity | |
| • Language | Swedish |
| Culture | |
| • Flower | Oak andmullein |
| • Animal | Lucanus cervus |
| • Bird | Nuthatch |
| • Fish | Cod |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Area codes | 0454–0457 |
Blekinge (Swedish pronunciation:[ˈblêːkɪŋɛ]ⓘ) is one of the traditionalSwedish provinces (landskap), situated in the southern coast of the geographic region ofGötaland, in southern Sweden. It bordersSmåland,Scania and theBaltic Sea. It is the country's second-smallest province by area (onlyÖland is smaller), and the smallest province located on themainland.
The name "Blekinge" comes from the dialectal adjectivebleke, which corresponds to the nautical term for "dead calm".
The historicalprovinces of Sweden serve no administrative function. However, Blekinge is the only province, besidesGotland, which covers exactly the same area as the administrativecounty, which isBlekinge County.
Blekinge was granted its current arms in 1660 at the time of the funeral of KingCharles X Gustav of Sweden (1622–1660) based on a seal from the 15th century. Symbolically the three crowns from theCoat 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."[2]
Relative to the rest of Sweden Blekinge has warm summers and mild winters.[3]Blekinge has a scenicarchipelago and is sometimes called "Sweden's garden" (Swedish:Sveriges trädgård).[4]
The nature of Blekinge is characterized by itsoak forests with occasionalhazel andcommon hornbeam.[3] The relief is an unevenjoint valley terrain with straight and narrow valley bottoms that widen towards the coast.[3]Bedrock in Blekinge is mostlygranite andgneiss of theBlekinge-Bornholm rock province.[3][5]
Evidence of human habitation in western Blekinge dates circa 9700 BC in theVesan area. At this time, Vesan was a small island surrounded by open grassland. A later settlement in the nearbyLjungaviken is dated to 6500 BC and contains the remains of at least 50 wooden houses and a buried dog.[6]
Blekinge was a part ofSweden until the early 13th century when it became part ofDenmark (theDanish Census Book contains the first secure written evidence of Danish control).[7] It then remained a Danish province until 1658, and together with the provinces ofSkåne andHalland, it made upSkåneland, the eastern part of the Danish kingdom whereScanian 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 theTreaty of Roskilde and has remained Swedish ever since.[8]
During the Danish era, the port town ofSölvesborg was the seat of the administration in the western part of the province andKristianopel in the eastern part. Notable fortifications during this period included sites atElleholm,Sölvesborg,Lyckeby andAvaskär.[citation needed] Towns in Blekinge withcity privileges were:Ronneby (1387),Sölvesborg (1445),Elleholm andKristianopel. After the Swedish takeover two new towns,Karlshamn (chartered in 1664) andKarlskrona (1680), were built, and the populations of Ronneby and Kristianopel were forcibly relocated to them. Karlskrona has for more than 300 years been the principalnaval base in Sweden.[9][10]
Hundreds (in Götaland incl. Blekinge calledhärad in Swedish, in Svealand calledhundare) were the historical subdivisions of aSwedish province. Blekinge's hundreds wereBräkne Hundred,Eastern Hundred,Lister Hundred, andMedelstad Hundred.
In Blekinge the dialect was historically closely related to Danish and easternScanian, which is most likely an effect of the former administrative links toScania. Today, the dialect is not as significant as before, with the exception ofListerlandet with its special language.
Football in the province is administered byBlekinge Fotbollförbund.
