Oskarshamn : Sweden
Oskarshamn Municipality is a municipality in Kalmar County, in south-eastern Sweden where the town Oscarshamn (pop.17,000) is seat.
The location of Oskarshamn was known as Dderhultsvik since the Medieval age. In 1645, the city of Karlmar, to the south, made a requested to the Royal Government on holding commerce in the bay there, which was granted, giving it merchancy rights as a kping. There followed 200 years of merchancies in the town, during which it was governed and dependant on Kalmar; while the surrounding towns and municipalites made frequent requests to grant it a charter, consequently turned down each of the attempts made in the years: 1786, 1798, 1800, 1815, 1818, 1823, 1825, 1830 and 1838. In 1843 it got some independwnce, with a local council, but the council itself was occupied by citizens of Kalmar. In 1854, the King Oscar I of Sweden promised to grant it a charter as soon as it had fulfilled certain demands, including building a prison and a council hall, among other things. When they had accomplished the feats, the charter was granted, and the city became one of the Cities of Sweden starting 1856, on May 1.
Oskarshamn was then named after King Oscar I of Sweden and derived its coat of arms after the insignia of the King. The current coat of arms was however granted in 1942, but it basically only differes from the old in its alignment of the regalia.
Industrialization began with the inauguration of the railway line to Nssj. From then on, industries as well as the harbour began to expand. When some of the old industries closed down in 1970s, Oskarshamn recieved a nuculear power plant OKG and three reatcors were built between 1966-1985. It is now considered to be a possible location of a future place to have the Swedish nuclear waste storage deep beneath the ground.
The main industry has always been dominated by its harbour. There is a ferry line between the town and Visby on the Swedish island of Gotland, for more information see http://www.destinationgotland.se/
Places of interest: Bl Jungfrun National Park.
It has two local newspapers: Oskarshamns-Tidningen (conservative) and Nyheterna (social democratic).
