Event
Walk in the fortified city
Around central Kalmar there is a wall that used to protect the city against enemies and strangers. The wall was built in the 17th century...
Läs merKvarnholmen fortifications
Even massive stone walls require maintenance. On behalf of Kalmar Municipality, the County Museum is participating in the ongoing refurbishment of Kvarnholmen's fortifications.
The masonry fortification that still surrounds a large part of Kvarnholmen was built during the second half of the 17th century, in connection with the city of Kalmar being moved there from the area west of the castle. After the fortifications became obsolete during the end of the 18th century and lost their original defensive function, the walls fell into disrepair until the 1930s. Extensive renovation and reconstruction work was then carried out. All walls were rejoined. Unfortunately, a hard cement mortar was used instead of the type of lime mortar with which the stones were bricked from the beginning.
In recent decades, the negative effects of the choice of materials in the 1930s have become increasingly apparent. Where water penetrates behind the superficial joints, the remaining inner limestone mill that still holds the walls together to sand withers. In many places where the joints have finally fallen off, grass and shrubs have been able to take root. In the long run, the process can lead to a bigger race. To prevent this from happening, all old cement mills from the 1930s are now being replaced by lime mills. Following the procurement, the municipality of Kalmar has signed a multi-year framework agreement with NCC, which has masons with experience from the same type of work at, among other places, Kalmar Castle. The work began at Västerport in the autumn of 2017. The renovation is part-financed by the County Administrative Board of Kalmar County.
Year: 2017
Location: Kalmar
Client: Kalmar municipality
Responsible building antique dealer: Jan Westergren
