Thirty kilometres east of Karlskrona, on the southern part of Sturkö, Sturkö Camping is situated by a cove in lee of the wind. Enjoy the sun and salty bathing on our child-friendly and shallow beach, or find your own bathing cove on the island or on one of the neighbouring islands. Here we have water mini golf, jogging path 4.5 km, and a golf course 15 km away. Walks with quizzes are arranged once a week in July. Bicycles, boats and canoes are for rent. The popular restaurant Storken offers a good dinner, snacks, special of the day or something to drink. Evenings with ballads, sing-along and dancing in our garden are arranged. To many people Sturkö has become the holiday paradise.

Facts on Sturkö

In the old days here were many wetlands with an abundant wildlife. Oak, beech, and other broad-leaved trees formed along with blackthorn, rose hips and juniper bushes an almost impenetrable jungle. So it still is in untouched places. Fortunately, there are plenty of interesting paths on the island. Two factors attracted people to the island: fishing and peace. The latter was scarce on the mainland. In the Viking Age land was cleared for fields and several small villages arose. Soon cattle farming became just as important as fishing. And so the generations lived on. Certainly some of the great events were noticed on Sturkö too, for example the hard times following the Peace in Roskilde in 1658, when Blekinge was one of the provinces Sweden won from Denmark. At that time there were 200 or 300 inhabitants on the island.

Stone Quarrying

In the late 1800s the large quarrying began. Granite and gneiss were good material for cobblestones. Stone companies bought large areas and employed people from near and far. The population grew to approx. 4000 residents. New houses, new church, and better roads were built. The forest was used for timber and fuel, so eventually you could see across the entire island. In the hills explosions thundered, the blow of the stone hammer sounded everywhere. There was screaming, fuss and trouble. Money came into circulation, but the island was devastated. The World War and the asphalt ended the stone industry. After a few decades the population had declined substantially.

Present

Nowadays more than 1400 people live here all the year round. Trees and shrubs again can spread. In 1939 bridges were built, and Sturkö was connected with the mainland. Many people were able to work on the mainland, but still stay on the island. A new bridge, the high-level bridge over Möcklö sound, was inaugurated in June 1998. For many, Sturkö has become a vacation paradise - the island with good fishing and peace.