Kalmar Strait, Sweden (No. 4)
Färjestaden is a settlement in Torslunda parish (to a small extent also in Algutsrum parish ) in Mörbylånga municipality on the west coast of Öland, which connects to Kalmar on the mainland with the Öland Bridge. With its roughly 6,000 inhabitants (the central part), Färjestaden is the largest urban area on Öland, larger than the two central areas of Borgholm and Mörbylånga. Statistics Norway has demarcated for the development in the town a built-up area making up the main part of the town, and a separate small town before 2015 for development in the south-western part, which was named Färjestaden (south-western part) and which in 2015 amounted to the urban area. The ferry town is growing in area and today the areas of Saxnäs , Björnhovda, Runsbäck and Eriksöre are also more or less connected to the town.
Already during the 14th century, the place was an important connection between the mainland and Öland. In connection with the intense wars around Öland and Kalmar during the 17th century, Kråkeskär's Skans was built to fortify the place. At the same time, the mainland connection had been established with a permanent ferry organization, and a community began to emerge with, among other things, a courthouse, an inn and a tannery. The first ting was held in 1644 for Öland's southern mot. A courthouse was built in the early 18th century, and was replaced in 1811 by the building that is today Hotell Skansen's main building.
Until the beginning of the 20th century, Färjestadens gård owned both the harbor and the inn, as well as significant land in the area. In 1903, the port was sold to the neighboring country municipalities, which began an extensive expansion of the port area and the construction of a pier, marina and ferry berths. Previously, the harbor had only consisted of a simple wooden jetty. In 1909, Södra Öland's Railway connected a railway line between Färjestaden and Borgholm around the new ferry berths , and a locomotive workshop and storage for the shipment of goods arose in the harbor area. In the early 1920s, a timber trade was established, which increased construction and population growth in the following decades. The development was for a long time concentrated around the main street, which is today Storgatan.
In connection with the decision to build the Öland Bridge in the 1960s, the community entered a long-term phase of expansion. When the bridge was inaugurated in 1972, the regular ferry traffic ceased and the ferries were sold. One of the old ferries, Kalmarsund VIII, was bought back to Färjestaden in 1999 and is now moored in the harbour.
