Kalmar läns museum

About the museum

Kalmar läns museum is a knowledge organisation and meeting place with the mission of preserving, developing and making the county’s rich cultural heritage accessible. The museum shows exhibitions on the county’s history, archaeology and cultural history, and manages over 100,000 objects in its collections, which can also be explored digitally.

The museum is housed in a former grain store building by Kalmarsund. The Kvarteret Kvarnen block has been associated with grain, flour and bread since the 17th century, and Kalmar Ångkvarn (steam mill) was founded in 1847 by the wholesaler Theodor W. Jeansson. The factory grew into Scandinavia’s largest privately owned flour mill, and for more than a century grain from Öland and the Möre plain was milled here. Repairs to the floors still show the building’s time as a flour mill.

Today the building houses exhibitions, a restaurant on the top floor, a museum shop, a studio and archive, and workplaces for some eighty employees. The flagship exhibition on the royal warship Kronan, which sank off Öland in 1676, tells the story of the greatest ship disaster in Swedish history, and the exhibition series Borgarnas ö deals with Öland’s Iron Age fortresses on the basis of ongoing research.

Highlights

• The royal warship Kronan, sunk off Öland in 1676
• Borgarnas ö – a multi-year exhibition series on Öland’s Iron Age fortresses
• Superkronan, a play exhibition for families with children
• The Ångkvarnen museum restaurant on the fourth floor, with views over Kalmarsund
• Audio guide in Swedish, English and German

Permanent exhibitions

• Regalskeppet Kronan – Flagship exhibition on the royal warship that sank off Öland in 1676, the greatest ship disaster in Swedish history, with finds and a reconstruction of a crew member’s face.
• Borgarnas ö – Multi-year exhibition series on Öland’s Iron Age fortresses and the life around them, renewed each season on the basis of the research project on crisis, conflict and climate.
• Superkronan – Play exhibition where children build ships, climb the mast and explore life in the 17th century and on board the Kronan.

Operated by

Kalmar läns museum

Admission & discounts

Free admission: Certain selected days during the year have free admission for everyone; see the events calendar.

Prices apply 17 August–31 December 2026. Free admission also for teachers accompanying school classes, annual pass holders and members of Riksförbundet Sveriges Museer. The museum is cashless (card or Swish). The ticket gives access to all exhibitions, the day’s guided tours and craft sessions (pyssel) in the studio.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

Automatic door opener at the main entrance. All public spaces are accessible by wheelchair and pushchair, and two lifts with automatic doors go to all floors. Accessible toilets are on levels 1, 2 and 3. Two wheelchairs can be borrowed. There is a tactile panel by the lifts on the entrance level and tactile signs on each floor. Guide dogs and assistance dogs are welcome; other dogs are not.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Hands-on stations
• Stroller-friendly
• Baby changing facilities
• Playground / play area
• Kids’ birthday parties

The play exhibition Superkronan for children from pre-school age, craft sessions in the studio, guided family tours every weekend in the low season, holiday activities and children’s parties for children aged 6–11. Pushchairs are allowed and are parked on the entrance level and on level 2; there is a changing room and a facility for warming baby food.

Getting there & parking

Taxis and färdtjänst (door-to-door transport for disabled people) can drive right up to the entrance.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Restaurant
• Museum shop
• Coat check
• Lockers
• Wi-Fi

Restaurant and café Ångkvarnen on the fourth floor with a lunch buffet; museum shop; lockable lockers on the entrance level (tokens at reception). Free Wi-Fi on the network KLM_guest. Visitors may eat their own packed lunch at the benches beside reception on the entrance level. Rest room on the entrance level, also equipped for breastfeeding.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties
• Corporate events

Premises for meetings, events and conferences with views over Kalmarsund.

Plan your visit