Kalmar County

Kalmar
—  County of Sweden  —
Coat of arms
Country	Sweden
Capital	Kalmar
Government
– Governor	Vacant
– Council
Area
– Total	11,171 km2 (4,313.1 sq mi)
Population (March 31 2011)[1]
– Total	233,168
– Density	20.9/km2 (54.1/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
– Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
GDP/ Nominal	SEK million (2004)
GDP per capita	SEK
NUTS Region	SE213

Kalmar County (Kalmar län) is a county or län in southern Sweden. It borders the counties of Kronoberg, Jönköping, Blekinge and Östergötland. To the east in the Baltic Sea is the island Gotland.

The counties are mainly administrative units. Geographically Kalmar County covers the eastern part in the Småland province, and the entire island of Öland. For the areas history and culture, see those areas.

Culture

Much of Öland's present day landscape known as the Stora Alvaret has been designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. This southern part of Oland is known for a large number of rare species; early paleolithic settlement at Alby; other prehistoric remains such as the Gettlinge Gravefield and Eketorp Fortress; and the Ottenby Nature Preserve.

Administration

Kalmar County was integrated with Kronoberg County until 1672. Blekinge was a part of Kalmar County between 1680 and 1683, due to the foundation of the naval base at Karlskrona.

The seat of residence for the Governor or Landshövding is Kalmar. The Governor is the head of the County Administrative Board or Länsstyrelse. The County Administrative Board is a Government Agency headed by a Governor. The current Governor is Sven Lindgren. See List of Kalmar County Governors.

Since 1997 The municipalities and the county council cooperate through the indirectly politically controlled Regional Council of Kalmar County. The regional council represents the municipalities interests in regional growth issues, coordinates infrastructure planning, higher education, common cultural issues and administers various governmental an EU grants.

Municipalities

On the mainland:

• Emmaboda
• Hultsfred
• Högsby
• Kalmar
• Mönsterås
• Nybro
• Oskarshamn
• Torsås
• Vimmerby
• Västervik

On Öland:

• Borgholm
• Mörbylånga

Heraldry

Main article: Heraldry of Småland

The County of Kalmar was formally granted its arms in 1944. Before this the county carried the arms of Småland and Öland side by side. The current arms is a combination of the arms for Småland and Öland. Blazon: "Quartered, the arms of Småland and Öland"

References and notes

1. ^ "Kvartal 1 2011". Statistics Sweden. http://www.scb.se/Pages/TableAndChart____228187.aspx. 

See also

• Linnaeus University

External links

• Kalmar County Administrative Board
• The Regional Council of Kalmar County
• Kalmar County Council
• University of Kalmar
• Hotels in Kalmar

Coordinates: 56°44′N 15°54′E / 56.733°N 15.9°E / 56.733; 15.9