Kristianopel
Encyclopedia
Kristianopel is a village (pop. 81) in Karlskrona Municipality
in the southeastern Swedish
province of Blekinge
.
in beginning of the 17th century. The town of Avaskär
, located just a few hundred metres north of present-day Kristianopel, was too difficult to defend from Swedish attacks. The Danish king Christian IV had a fortress built south of it in 1603 and named it after his newborn son - Christian, or Kristian, with Danish spelling. The Greek
suffix
'-opel
' was given to give the town a cosmopolitan ring similar to Constantinople
. Construction of the town was completed in 1606 and held approximately 700 inhabitants.
During the Kalmar War
prince Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden
took the town with a small force on June 25, 1611 and destroyed the supplies the Danes had stored there. The town was burned down and the church was demolished. A new Church of the Holy Trinity was rebuilt between 1618 and 1624.
The city privileges of Avaskär and neighboring Lyckå
were transferred to Kristianopel in 1622, and the town was fortified in 1637.
Kristianopel's significance as a frontier fortress vanished when Blekinge became Swedish as a consequence of the treaty of Roskilde
in 1658 and in 1676 the fortress' equipment was transferred to Karlshamn
. September 25 that same year the abanadoned fortress was taken by Danish lieutenant colonel Lützow, who began shoring up the partially demolished fortifications and made Kristianopel a strongpoint for the Snapphane
guerrilla. Lützow was forced to yield Kristianopel on February 22, 1677, whereupon the fortress was razed to the ground and the burghers commanded to move to other towns. The town was declared dangerous to the security of Sweden, and in 1678 an order decreed that no building be left standing in Kristianopel. The remaining inhabitants were resettled in Ronneby
, Växjö
, and Karlshamn
.
.
Karlskrona Municipality
Karlskrona Municipality is a municipality in Blekinge County, southern Sweden. It borders to Emmaboda Municipality, Torsås Municipality and Ronneby Municipality...
in the southeastern Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
province of Blekinge
Blekinge
' is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden , situated in the south of the country. It borders Småland, Scania and the Baltic Sea.The name "Blekinge" comes from the adjective bleke, which corresponds to the nautical term for "dead calm"....
.
History of the town
Kristianopel (originally founded as Christianople) is located in the easternmost part of Blekinge, which was the easternmost part of DenmarkDenmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
in beginning of the 17th century. The town of Avaskär
Avaskär
Avaskär is a village, with chapel and cemetery, in Kristianopel parish in eastern Blekinge in Sweden.The city is mentioned first in 1350 and existed until 1600, when the city together with Lyckå lost its city charter in favor of the newly fortress city Kristianopel. During the 1300s, the Danes...
, located just a few hundred metres north of present-day Kristianopel, was too difficult to defend from Swedish attacks. The Danish king Christian IV had a fortress built south of it in 1603 and named it after his newborn son - Christian, or Kristian, with Danish spelling. The Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
suffix
Suffix
In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns or adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs...
'-opel
Polis
Polis , plural poleis , literally means city in Greek. It could also mean citizenship and body of citizens. In modern historiography "polis" is normally used to indicate the ancient Greek city-states, like Classical Athens and its contemporaries, so polis is often translated as "city-state."The...
' was given to give the town a cosmopolitan ring similar to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
. Construction of the town was completed in 1606 and held approximately 700 inhabitants.
During the Kalmar War
Kalmar War
The Kalmar War was a war between Denmark–Norway and Sweden. Though Denmark soon gained the upper hand, she was unable to defeat Sweden entirely...
prince Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden
Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden
Gustav II Adolf has been widely known in English by his Latinized name Gustavus Adolphus Magnus and variously in historical writings also as Gustavus, or Gustavus the Great, or Gustav Adolph the Great,...
took the town with a small force on June 25, 1611 and destroyed the supplies the Danes had stored there. The town was burned down and the church was demolished. A new Church of the Holy Trinity was rebuilt between 1618 and 1624.
The city privileges of Avaskär and neighboring Lyckå
Lycka
Lycka is a 1970 album released by folk/rock duo Björn Ulvaeus & Benny Andersson, who later became the male half of ABBA. Most of the songs feature lead vocals by Björn...
were transferred to Kristianopel in 1622, and the town was fortified in 1637.
Kristianopel's significance as a frontier fortress vanished when Blekinge became Swedish as a consequence of the treaty of Roskilde
Treaty of Roskilde
The Treaty of Roskilde was concluded on 26 February or 8 March 1658 during the Second Northern War between Frederick III of Denmark–Norway and Charles X Gustav of Sweden in the Danish city of Roskilde...
in 1658 and in 1676 the fortress' equipment was transferred to Karlshamn
Karlshamn
Karlshamn is a locality and the seat of Karlshamn Municipality in Blekinge County, Sweden with 12,957 inhabitants of the city core and 30 918 in the municipality ....
. September 25 that same year the abanadoned fortress was taken by Danish lieutenant colonel Lützow, who began shoring up the partially demolished fortifications and made Kristianopel a strongpoint for the Snapphane
Snapphane
A snapphane was a member of a 17th century pro-Danish guerrilla organization that fought against the Swedes in the Second Northern and Scanian Wars, primarily in the former eastern Danish provinces which in the course of these wars became southern Sweden....
guerrilla. Lützow was forced to yield Kristianopel on February 22, 1677, whereupon the fortress was razed to the ground and the burghers commanded to move to other towns. The town was declared dangerous to the security of Sweden, and in 1678 an order decreed that no building be left standing in Kristianopel. The remaining inhabitants were resettled in Ronneby
Ronneby
Ronneby is a locality and the seat of Ronneby Municipality in Blekinge County, Sweden with 11,767 inhabitants in 2005.Ronneby is regarded as the heart of "the Garden of Sweden", and in 2005 the park "Brunnsparken" in Ronneby was voted Sweden's most beautiful park. 2006 the park was voted Europe's...
, Växjö
Växjö
Växjö is a city and the seat of Växjö Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden with 64 200 inhabitants in 2010. It is the administrative, cultural and industrial centre of Kronoberg County. Furthermore it is the episcopal see of the Diocese of Växjö. It has a population of about 64 200, out of a...
, and Karlshamn
Karlshamn
Karlshamn is a locality and the seat of Karlshamn Municipality in Blekinge County, Sweden with 12,957 inhabitants of the city core and 30 918 in the municipality ....
.
Crest
The Crest of Kristianopel is very similar to that of KristianstadKristianstad
Kristianstad is a city and the seat of Kristianstad Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 35,711 inhabitants in 2010.-History:The city was founded in 1614 by King Christian IV of Denmark, the city's name literally means 'Town of Christian', as a planned city after the burning of the town of Vä...
.