was a Swedish ship built by the Dutch famed for carrying Swedish settlers to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

in 1638, to establish the colony of

New Sweden New Sweden () was a colony of the Swedish Empire between 1638 and 1655 along the lower reaches of the Delaware River in what is now Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Established during the Thirty Years' War when Sweden was a g ...

. The name comes from the Swedish city of

Kalmar Kalmar (, , ) is a city in the southeast of Sweden, situated by the Baltic Sea. It had 41,388 inhabitants in 2020 and is the seat of Kalmar Municipality. It is also the capital of Kalmar County, which comprises 12 municipalities with a total of ...

and meaning in Swedish. The name was also a tribute to

Kalmar Castle Kalmar Castle () is a castle in the city Kalmar in the province of Småland in Sweden. History During the twelfth century a round defensive tower was built on Kalmarsund and a harbour constructed. At the end of the thirteenth century King M ...

which was a symbol of power during the time of the

Swedish Empire The Swedish Empire or the Great Power era () was the period in Swedish history spanning much of the 17th and early 18th centuries during which Sweden became a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic regi ...

when

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

was a military

great power A great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength, as well as diplomatic and soft power ...

. A replica of the ship was launched at

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

, in 1997.

History

was constructed in about 1625, and was of a design called a pinnace. The ship was originally named , and to distinguish it from several other ships called ''Key'' it was known by the name of the city of

, which purchased the ship in 1629, as its contribution to a state-sponsored trading company, . It was later purchased into the

Swedish Navy The Swedish Navy () is the maritime service branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet (), formally sometimes referred to as the Royal Navy () – as well as marine units, the Amph ...

. When Sweden decided to establish a trading colony in the New World under the direction of

Peter Minuit Peter Minuit (French language, French: ''Pierre Minuit'', Dutch language, Dutch: ''Peter Minnewit''; 1580 – August 5, 1638) was a Walloons, Walloon merchant and politician who was the 3rd Director of New Netherland, Director of the Dutch Nort ...

, was chosen for the voyage. A smaller vessel, , accompanied her. The ships sailed from

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

in December 1637, commanded by Jan Hindriksen van der Water, but encountered a severe storm in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

and had to divert to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

for repairs. They departed on New Year's Day 1638, arriving in North America in March 1638. They built a fort on the present site of the city of Wilmington, which they named

Fort Christina Fort Christina, also called Fort Altena, was the first Sweden, Swedish settlement in North America and the principal settlement of the New Sweden colony. Built in 1638 and named after Christina, Queen of Sweden, it was located approximately 1&nb ...

. A second voyage, which departed on February7, 1640, and arrived at Fort Christina on April17, brought additional settlers for New Sweden. One of them was Reorus Torkillus, the first Lutheran clergyman in New Sweden. The made four successful round trips from Sweden to North America, a record unchallenged by any other colonial vessel. Between colonial voyages, the ship was used by the navy as a transport and courier. She was sold out of Swedish service to Dutch merchants in 1651. At the outbreak of the

First Anglo-Dutch War The First Anglo-Dutch War, or First Dutch War, was a naval conflict between the Commonwealth of England and the Dutch Republic. Largely caused by disputes over trade, it began with English attacks on Dutch merchant shipping, but expanded to vast ...

, she was employed as a fisheries protection vessel under Captain Dirk Vijgh. The ship was sunk off the coast of Scotland in action against Blake's squadron on July12, 1652. Delaware swedish tercentenary half dollar commemorative reverse

Delaware swedish tercentenary half dollar commemorative reverse

Modern replica

In 1986, a group of citizens of Wilmington, Delaware, established the ''Kalmar Nyckel'' Foundation, whose primary source of funding is from the taxpayers of the

State of Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey to its northeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state' ...

, plus donations from corporations and individuals. The foundation designed, built, and launched a replica of ''Kalmar Nyckel''. The modern ship, designed by naval architects

Thomas C. Gillmer Thomas C. Gillmer (1911–2009) was a naval architect and the author of books about modern and historical naval architecture. He was born in Warren, Ohio on July 17, 1911. Early life At his family's summer cottage near Lake Erie in Ohio, he learn ...

an
Iver Franzen
with additional help from Melbourne Smith, Joel Welter, and Ken Court, was built at a shipyard in Wilmington on the

Christina River The Christina River is a tributary of the Delaware River, approximately 35 miles (56 km) long, in northern Delaware. It also flows through small areas of southeastern Pennsylvania and northeastern Maryland. Near its mouth, the river ...

near the original 1638 Swedish settlers' landing site at Fort Christina. She was launched on September28, 1997, and commissioned on May 9, 1998. The re-creation measures on deck and overall, with a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Radio beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially lo ...

, a

draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

, and a

displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and physics *Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

of 300

ton Ton is any of several units of measure of mass, volume or force. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses. As a unit of mass, ''ton'' can mean: * the '' long ton'', which is * the ''tonne'', also called the ''metric ...

s. The ship is operated and maintained by a volunteer staff, under the leadership of a paid captain,

boatswain A boatswain ( , ), bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun, also known as a deck boss, or a qualified member of the deck department, or the third hand on a fishing vessel, is the most senior Naval rating, rate of the deck department and is responsible for the ...

, and

chief mate A chief mate (C/M) or chief officer, usually also synonymous with the first mate or first officer, is a licensed mariner and head of the deck department of a merchant ship. The chief mate is customarily a watchstander and is in charge of the ship ...

. In November 2006, the captain of the ''Kalmar Nyckel'', David W. Hiott, who had commanded her for nine seasons, died from the effects of recurring

melanoma Melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer; it develops from the melanin-producing cells known as melanocytes. It typically occurs in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye (uveal melanoma). In very rare case ...

. Captain Lauren Morgens took over on April1, 2007, with Sharon Dounce as Port Captain/Relief Captain. Volunteers maintain the ship, run the education program, and sail her from port to port. Since 2016, the ship has served as the official tall ship of Delaware. It was adopted as a state symbol for serving "as Delaware's seagoing ambassador both at home and at many ports of call, raising awareness of the First State for thousands who see her and come on board."

Ship's cats

Toolbox was the senior

ship's cat The ship's cat has been a common feature on many Merchant vessel, trading, History of research ships, exploration, and naval ships dating to ancient times. Cats have been brought on ships for many reasons, most importantly to control rodents. ...

and official warrant officer with the title of 'Captain's Assistant'. The offspring of a feral cat, she was born in a toolbox while the ship was under construction in 1997. She had always lived on the ship and therefore had the greatest accumulated sea time of any member of the crew. A celebrity in her own right, she is the star of two books. Unfortunately, due to her failed eyesight, Toolbox retired from her position on ''Kalmar Nyckel'' in November 2012. A retirement party was thrown in her honor, and many past and present crew members came to celebrate her 16 years on the ship. In addition, a number of other cats have served with ''Kalmar Nyckel'' at various times, including Clew Garnet, Lagan, Sven, Timmynocky (nautical equivalent of thingamajig) and Ditty. The last ship's cat was called Chester, a full-grey American shorthair, who retired during the COVID pandemic, and currently lives on land with a volunteer.

Symphony

In 1986, composer

Benjamin Lees Benjamin Lees (January 8, 1924 – May 31, 2010) was an American composer of classical music. Early life Lees was born Benjamin George Lisniansky in Harbin, Manchuria, of Russian-Jewish descent. Lees was still an infant when his family emigrate ...

was commissioned to write a symphony to honor the founding of Wilmington, Delaware. Lees named the resulting work ''Symphony No. 5: Kalmar Nyckel''. The piece was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

in 2003, following release of
recording
by the German orchestra

Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz The Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz (German State Philharmonic of Rhineland-Palatinate) is a German orchestra based in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, in Ludwigshafen am Rhein. The orchestra performs concerts principally a ...

Gallery

File:Kalamar Nycel bow figurehead.jpg, The bow of the replica ''Kalmar Nyckel'' including a two-tailed lion

figurehead In politics, a figurehead is a practice of who ''de jure'' (in name or by law) appears to hold an important and often supremely powerful title or office, yet '' de facto'' (in reality) exercises little to no actual power. This usually means that ...

, one tail symbolizing the old ship and one symbolizing the new ship. File:Kalmar Nyckel Chesapeake Bay.jpg, In

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...

, 2008, flying from foretop to stern the Finnish, Swedish naval, Dutch and American flags. File:Kalmar Nyckel stern.JPG, Stern of the replica File:Toolbox of the Kalmar Nyckel.JPG, Toolbox, the former senior ship's cat of the ''Kalmar Nyckel'' File:Wilmington Riverfront.JPG, The ''Kalmar Nyckel'' with the Wilmington skyline in the background

Notes

References

Other sources

* *

External links

*
''Kalmar Nyckel'' ship's boat, the shallop "Little Key"Iver Franzen, naval architecture & marine consulting
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