Kalmar has been guarding the south-eastern coast of Sweden for eight hundred years, and the castle shows it. Kalmar Castle, a Renaissance palace with moat, towers and green copper roofs, sits on a small island at the edge of town, rebuilt in the sixteenth century by the Vasa kings from a medieval fortress. In 1397 a treaty was signed here that united Denmark, Norway and Sweden under one crown in the Kalmar Union, which lasted, on and off, for over a century, and the town still carries that history proudly.
The old town is a mix of grid-pattern streets and pastel wooden houses, with a cathedral in baroque style and a harbor. Kalmar was also the departure point for the Kalmar Nyckel, the ship that carried the first Swedish settlers to the Delaware River in 1638, to found New Sweden. The Kalmar Strait, between the mainland and the long island of Öland, is shallow and sheltered, and is the setting for the town's life.
For riders, Kalmar is the gateway to Öland. The Öland Bridge, about six kilometers long, opened in 1972 and for a time was the longest bridge in Europe, and it arcs high above the strait, with big views from the crest. On the island, the main road runs along the length of a flat limestone plateau called the alvar, a barren, windswept landscape of thin grass, wildflowers and stone walls, studded with old windmills. Borgholm, with its ruined castle, and the Iron Age fort at Eketorp are among the stops. Wind is the main hazard, as gusts on the bridge and the open plateau can push a bike about.
Kalmar has fuel, supermarkets, restaurants and hotels, and it is the logical place to prepare for the island. Färjestaden, on the island side of the bridge, is also well served. The best months are June to August, with warm days and long light, though the island is busy in July. Spring brings orchids on the alvar, and autumn has bird migration. Winter is cold and windy, and the bridge can close in storms. Speed cameras and limits are enforced, and elk and deer are a hazard on the mainland.