Marstrand

Marstrand is on an island reached by a short ferry, with no cars, and Carlsten fortress stands over it - a seventeenth-century stone fortress built after Bohuslan became Swedish, used as a prison for a long period and open now with tours and a summer programme. The town below was a herring port that boomed and collapsed with the fish, then reinvented itself as a bathing and sailing resort in the nineteenth century when Oscar II summered here. Sailing has stayed: Marstrandsregattan in July fills the sound with boats and the town with people, and the Match Cup has been sailed in these waters for decades.

Background

The town takes its name from the island it stands on and has held city privileges since 1200, which is why it is often called a city despite having 1,320 inhabitants in 2010. King Gustav III made it a free port from 1775 to 1794. In 1775 an early Swedish Jewish congregation formed here, and in 1780 Fort Fredriksborg became home to one of the first synagogues in Scandinavia. The Jewish community peaked at around 60 people in the 1790s, and by 1805 all but one family had moved to Gothenburg. Carlsten fortress is named after King Charles X Gustav. Each year the town hosts the Stena Match Cup Sweden and the Marstrand Regatta.

Source: Wikipedia, "Marstrand"

The main sights

• Carlsten fortress above - seventeenth century, long a prison.
• A car-free town - reached by a short ferry.
• Bathing and sailing history - from the resort years onward.
• Regatta week in July - the sound full of boats.

When to go

June to August; regatta week is the peak. A full day.

What to expect

Regatta week is packed and expensive. Out of season much of the town shuts. The fortress involves a steep climb. Parking is on the mainland side, before the ferry.

Nearby

Kungalv and Bohus fortress are inland; Karingon is north.

Key facts