STOCKHOLM, Sweden, January 25, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Graninge has granted a lump sum of SEK 600,000 to marine archaeological research surrounding the Royal ship Kronan in Kalmar. This valuable contribution is crucial for completion of the marine archaeological research on the wreck site, according to Project Leader Lars Einarsson.
The funding will come from the Hildur Nordin Memorial Fund, which has provided financial backing to research at the University of Kalmar for the second time within the past two years. The previous contribution, of SEK 500,000, went to research on recycling of wood ash for use as a forest fertilizer. The Hildur Nordin Memorial Fund is controlled by members of the Nordin and Rudbeck families, which make up one of Graninge's largest private shareholder blocs.
Municipal Commissioner Kjell Henriksson (s), Chairman of the Kalmar Municipal Council, commented: "This is yet another good example of the municipality's collaboration with Graninge after the company acquired a 50 percent stake in Kalmar Energi. Furthermore, it is somehow fitting in that Graninge was already established as a company when the Royal ship Kronan sank in a naval battle in 1676 off the coast of Hulterstad, east of Oland."
Kronan went to the bottom with over 800 men in a battle with the Danish-Dutch fleet. Anders Franzen discovered Kronan in 1980. Since that time, dives have been made every summer and far around 25,000 artifacts have been salvaged, examined and collected at the Kalmar County Museum.
Lars Einarsson added: "We believe that there is just as much still to be found on the sea bed. Graninge's generous contribution will make it possible to complete archaeological work on the wreck site. Much of Kronan's considerable value lies in the fact that it is a so-called closed find, which means that when the ship sank everything was left in its original depositional context. Kronan thus represents a frozen moment of Sweden's Great Power era."
Orn Taube, Director of the University of Kalmar, commented: "From the University's perspective, the Royal ship Kronan is an excellent object for research and studies. "
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