Kalmar Nyckel Celebrates 25 Years

In 1637, an expedition of the New Sweden Co. led by Peter Minuit and consisting of two ships, including the Kalmar Nyckel, left Gothenburg, Sweden, to establish a colony in the Delaware River Valley. It anchored in March 1638 off โ€œThe Rocksโ€ on the Christina River, and, when spring arrived, the colonists built Fort Christina โ€“ the first settlement of New Sweden. Three hundred and eighty-five years later the replica Kalmar Nyckel, first launched in Wilmington on September 28, 1997, is the official Tall Ship of Delaware and an ambassador for the City of Wilmington while serving as a floating classroom and inspirational platform offering educational programs that reach more than 30,000 people each year.