Kalmar County


Kalmar County 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.

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 Öland 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 Stefan Carlsson. 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.

Governors

Municipalities

On the mainland:
On Öland:
The five most populous localities of Kalmar County in 2018:
#LocalityPopulation
1Kalmar40,434
2Västervik21,452
3Oskarshamn18,541
4Nybro13,494
5Vimmerby8,298

Heraldry

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"