The nation was originally intended for students from the city of Kalmar. The first known date for its establishment was February 29, 1696 – some 30 years after the university had been founded – but it is not confirmed whether the nation was an independent nation up until around 1750. It is most likely that it often worked in cooperation with other nations, as Lund University did not have many students at the time.
In 1767 Kalmar Nation formally merged with the Östgöta Nation and Västgöta Nation to form the Götiska Nation. This remained the case until 1817, when the increase in students allowed Kalmar Nation to form its own society.
In 1897, Kalmar Nation held the Storaste Kroppkaka "Largest Kroppkaka" fest, celebrating this Swedish potato dish. It subsequently became one of the known attributes of the nation, and over the years at least 54 fests have been held. It is the oldest student order and ball in Lund.[3]
The Nation bought Roseniusgården, the property adjacent to Kalmargården on May 30, 2023 - thus doubling its number of apartments in the city center.
Housing
Kalmargården
Kalmargården is a house in central Lund, behind Tomegapsgården, where most of the activities around the nation take place. The building was opened in 1952. Already on November 27, 1841, it was decided that Kalmar nation should acquire its own house. To get the money in order to build the house, a lottery was arranged where the highest prize was a car which was donated by a car dealer in Lund. A plot for 35,000 crowns (~538,000 crowns in 2021) was bought and on March 14, 1952, the foundation was laid for Kalmargården.
The house was designed by Hans Westman. He gained inspiration from Domprostgarden in Kalmar. In 1991 the building was reconstructed. Today's Kalmargården stands at four floors consisting of 18 corridor rooms and 4 apartments.[4]
Kalmar Västra
On Måsvägen in western Lund, the Nation's second housing complex, Kalmar Västra (Kalmar West) is located. The building consists of four corridors with 10 rooms each, along with 12 apartments in various sizes.[5]
Roseniusgården
Adjacent to Kalmargården at Biskopsgatan 14, Roseniusgården is a student housing complex that was operated by a private company prior to the nation's purchase of the property in 2023. It consists of 22 dorm rooms.[6]
Today
The Nation's main building, Kalmargården.
Due to its smaller premises, there is no club space, making it the only nation to hold weekly pubs but no clubs. It is also the only nation open on Tuesday nights (Pub Ölkällaren) in addition to its Friday pub (Pub Kaggen).[7] The nation serves lunches (Lunch Neptuni) every Thursday.[8]
Kuratel
Kalmar Nation's Kuratel (executive management) consists of five posts, the Kurator (Q), the Prokurator Ekonomi (PQE), the Prokurator Social (PQS), the Källarmästare (KM) and the PR-Master (PRM).[9]
Incumbent Kuratel
Kuratel (as of 1 July 2023)
Post
Incumbent
Kurator (chief executive and head representative)
Hedda Ljunggren (since 1 July 2023)
Prokurator Ekonomi (deputy to the Kurator, treasurer)
Friederike Küchler (since 1 January 2023)
Prokurator Social (HR, manager of kitchen and food purchases)
Love Källman (since 1 July 2023)
Källarmästare (facilities manager and responsible for alcohol events)
