Kalmar Nyckel

Calmare Nyckel oil painting by Jacob Hägg, 1922
History
Sweden
Name	Kalmar Nyckel
Owner	The Ship Company (Skeppskompaniet)
Route	Gothenburg, Sweden — New Sweden, North America
Launched	c. 1625
Acquired	1629
Fate	Sold to Swedish Navy, 1644
Commissioned	1644
Decommissioned	June 19, 1651
Fate	Sold into merchant service, 1651. Sunk in Dutch service 1652 (sunk by the English Navy while escorting Dutch fishing vessels in English territorial waters).
General characteristics [1]
Type	Pinnace
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Crew	40 sailors & 28 soldiers (in Naval service)
Armament	12 × 6-pounder cannon 2 × swivel guns

Kalmar Nyckel (Swedish for 'Key of Kalmar') was a Swedish ship built by the Dutch^[a] famed for carrying Swedish settlers to North America in 1638, to establish the colony of New Sweden. The name Kalmar Nyckel comes from the Swedish city of Kalmar and nyckel meaning 'key' in Swedish. The name was also a tribute to Kalmar Castle which was a symbol of power during the time of the Swedish Empire when Sweden was a military great power. A replica of the ship was launched at Wilmington, Delaware, in 1997.

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