BLEKINGE

ln (county) and landskap (province), southern Sweden, between the provinces of Smland and Skne and the Baltic Sea. It is the second smallest Swedish province, after land. The coast is much indented, and the low, undulating interior slopes up toward the Smland Plateau, where it ends in a forest belt of birch, pine, and beech. Blekinge was ceded to Sweden by Denmark under the Treaty of Roskilde (1658). Intensively cultivated, it is known as the garden of Sweden. Potatoes, a leading crop, are used as a source of starch and alcohol as well as for food. Steel and textile milling, stone quarrying, and the manufacture of industrial and home equipment are important industries. Karlshamn is the chief commercial and industrial centre, but Karlskrona, a Swedish naval base since 1680, is the administrative capital of the county. Area 1,127 square miles (2,919 square km). Pop. (1990) 150,615; (1997 est.) 151,692.