Kalmar Strait
Encyclopedia
The Kalmar Strait, Kalmarsund, is a strait
in the Baltic Sea
, located between the Swedish
island of Öland
and the province of Småland
of the Swedish mainland. The strait is about 130 kilometres (80.8 mi) long and between 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) and 25 kilometres (15.5 mi) in width.
There is a road bridge across the strait, the Öland bridge
.
and Bronze Age
habitation; moreover, Mesolithic
peoples crossed the strait on an ice bridge
in the early Holocene
period as glacier
s began to recede from Öland
. A place where early Mesolithic settlement of the island of Öland occurred is Alby
, whose people migrated across the Kalmar Strait approximately 6000 BC, and established one of the oldest known Mesolithic villages in Northern Europe.
Strait
A strait or straits is a narrow, typically navigable channel of water that connects two larger, navigable bodies of water. It most commonly refers to a channel of water that lies between two land masses, but it may also refer to a navigable channel through a body of water that is otherwise not...
in the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
, located between the 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....
island of Öland
Öland
' is the second largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden. Öland has an area of 1,342 km² and is located in the Baltic Sea just off the coast of Småland. The island has 25,000 inhabitants, but during Swedish Midsummer it is visited by up to 500,000 people...
and the province of Småland
Småland
' is a historical province in southern Sweden.Småland borders Blekinge, Scania or Skåne, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name Småland literally means Small Lands. . The latinized form Smolandia has been used in other languages...
of the Swedish mainland. The strait is about 130 kilometres (80.8 mi) long and between 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) and 25 kilometres (15.5 mi) in width.
There is a road bridge across the strait, the Öland bridge
Öland bridge
The Öland Bridge is a road bridge connecting Kalmar on mainland Sweden to Färjestaden on the island of Öland to its east. At long, it is one of the longest in all of Europe...
.
Prehistory
The areas along the Kalmar Strait have a heritage of NeolithicNeolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
and Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
habitation; moreover, Mesolithic
Mesolithic
The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....
peoples crossed the strait on an ice bridge
Ice bridge
An ice bridge is a frozen natural structure formed over seas, bays, rivers or lake surfaces. They facilitate migration of animals or people over a water body that was previously uncrossable by terrestrial animals, including humans. The most significant ice bridges are formed by glaciation, spanning...
in the early Holocene
Holocene
The Holocene is a geological epoch which began at the end of the Pleistocene and continues to the present. The Holocene is part of the Quaternary period. Its name comes from the Greek words and , meaning "entirely recent"...
period as glacier
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
s began to recede from Öland
Öland
' is the second largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden. Öland has an area of 1,342 km² and is located in the Baltic Sea just off the coast of Småland. The island has 25,000 inhabitants, but during Swedish Midsummer it is visited by up to 500,000 people...
. A place where early Mesolithic settlement of the island of Öland occurred is Alby
Alby, Öland
Alby is a village on the Baltic Sea in the Hulterstad district at the western fringe of the Stora Alvaret. Archaeological evidence indicates this settlement to have been one of the oldest on the island of Öland, with excavations, dating to the paleolithic era, showing the presence of...
, whose people migrated across the Kalmar Strait approximately 6000 BC, and established one of the oldest known Mesolithic villages in Northern Europe.